156,000 miles

I am having trouble getting the car into first gear and into reverse. It feels as if something is blocking the motion of the stick-shift. After several tries, it goes into gear, but shifting is hard. Is this a clutch problem?

Thanks!

 

The clutch/hydraulics is the first place I'd look. Make sure the master reservoir is full for the clutch. Have someone push in the clutch pedal and see if the slave cylinder extends to push the release fork coming out of the transmission. Also look for evidence of oil leaks on the master/slave cylinder.

 

IIRC, the slave cylinder should push on the lever back & forth about 10 or 12 mm. Much less than that & I'd suspect air in the lines or something like that.

Also, if you can shift easily into reverse & first when the engine is not running, that also says it's a clutch problem. The clutch is dragging.

A less common thing can happen if the clutch disk is nearly worn out. The disk either warps or else bits of the friction material begin coming loose & dragging on either the flywheel or the pressure plate. The result is that when you press the clutch pedal, the clutch doesn't actually disengage COMPLETELY.

One way to test is to get the car on a very smooth level place. Have the engine running, transmission in 1st gear. Release the brakes while holding the clutch pedal down on the floor. If the clutch is dragging, it will pull the car forwards very slightly. Kinda like an automatic transmission but not as strong.

 

Thanks. . .! I will find out on Wednesday when the tech takes a look at it.