UPDATE: Clutch was fine. Apparently the bracket that anchors the pedal to the firewall broke and the pedal wasn't engaging the clutch correctly. I had put in a new slave cylinder and was about to put in a new master and new clutch because the car started dying everytime I tried to put it in a gear from stop. Thank God a family friend figured it out and welded it back together for me.

My car has 164k on it. No major issues so far, only replaced starter and brakes. Been having difficulty shifting for a few thousand miles, but has gotten progressively worse. Car won't go in reverse except occasionally and now won't go into 1st so I'm having to start moving from 2nd gear. Other gears are difficult to shift into but not impossible. Reservoir tank was low on fluid, so I did add fluid but didn't notice a difference. I'm going to replace my slave cylinder, should I also replace the clutch master cylinder? Also, what are the best/most reliable brands of slave and master cylinders?

 

welcome to forum


so when you try for reverse, at a stop, does it grind / clash?


So clutch fluid wasn't kept up, easy to overlook. How many miles on the tranny fluid?

 

Tranny fluid has about 7 or 8k on it. Clutch fluid low because my slave is leaking. Happened recently because fluid wasn't low when I replaced tranny fluid couple months ago.

 

What you're describing might be caused by air in the clutch hydraulic lines. After you replace the leaky slave & bleed the clutch, wait to see if the problem goes away.

 

So would the air have gotten in from the leaky slave? Or should I check the lines for leaks as well? I was thinking air could be causing it, as sometimes it shifts fine, others it won't move. When I'm trying to put it in reverse from a stop, it doesn't grind it simply won't move into gear. So to go in reverse, or 1st I have to turn off the car, put it in gear, and restart the car. Not to sound dumb, but what's the best way to bleed the clutch system? Never deal with clutch issues before so this is new to me.

 

Not sure about a couple things...

I figured with some air in the lines, your clutch would drag a bit. Now I *THINK*(?) that reverse doesn't have a synchro. So reverse would grind because there's no synchro to prevent you from pushing into gear. I'll try to figure out whether reverse has a synchro. Is it 4-cyl or V-6?? 2-door or 4-door? 5-spd or 6-spd?

I thought maybe air got into the lines from the low reservoir level. But it never hurts to take a real good look at the lines. Especially find the part that's rubber hose. I'll look for a picture after you tell me what you have.

Any other leaks? I ask because if the engine & transmission are leaking "a little bit" then you may not notice a couple drops of brake fluid coming from the hose.