944teen

I was coming to a light and on my way there i downshifted to first. I heard a noise that sounded like a thud then i couldnt get the car into any gear and the clutch pedal was at the floor stuck. I pushed the car to somewhere safe but then the steering column locked. I then got the pedal unstuck and at that point i could get the shifter into the gears but the car still wouldnt start. Hell i cant even turn the ket over enough to get so i can put my windows up. Part of me thinks it could be the clutch cable? Or tranny or clutch failure. Please help 944 down lol

odonnell

What area of the car did the thud come from? Also our cars have hydraulic clutches so there are no cables. But you do have a master/slave cylinder setup. If the pedal collapsed it usually means there's a breach in the system. You say you got the pedal unstuck: does it still go to the floor when you press it again?

944teen

thud sounded like it came from the back and the pedal goes in but i cant start the car, the key wont turn

konakat

Try rocking the steering wheel back and forth while turning the key, it is probably just the steering lock.

TurnerJ

+1

odonnell

You need to determine if the clutch pedal is operating the clutch or not. Does it come back up after you press it? The direct link between the transaxle and the clutch system is the clutch disk itself, which rotates with the input shaft of the trans. If the rubber center gave out suddenly it could cause that thud and cause hard shifting.

944teen

the clutch pedal comes back up after applied pressure. It feels pretty normal too which just leads into more mystery on whats wrong

944teen

the clutch pedal comes back up after applied pressure. It feels pretty normal too which just leads into more mystery on whats wrong

JustinL

My guess is the rubber centre clutch let go and temporarily wedged some rubber that kept the pedal from rebounding. The steering lock is what is keeping you from turning the key.

944teen

UPDATE: I went into the car to try to figure out what happened today and the car started and went into gear? it changed gears like normal but the clutch pedal had a weird feel to it. So i assumed it would be the slave cylinder. After checking to where the slave cylinder attaches to the pedal i noticed that it feels kinda loose. Could that be the problem? Also there is a were shaking sound that seems like it is coming from shift linkage, havent found out what that could be yet

konakat

Do you feel any clunking if you are driving with the car in gear then abruptly let off the gas pedal? If you aren't getting a clunk when you go on and off the gas, it probably isn't the rubber center of the clutch. It is pretty certain that the problem is somewhere in the clutch system, not the trans, since the clutch pedal feels funny.

944teen

I just went under the car today to try to figure out what was wrong and i checked the hole that goes into the transmission next to the starter and there wasnt any rubber pieces or anything out of the ordinary

Tom M'Guinn

The master cylinder is the part on the firewall up top, and the slave cylinder is the part down by the starter. If you can press the pedal to the floor, put it in and out of gear, and have the pedal return to the top on its own, then the clutch hydraulics are most likely fine. That would mean that something is wrong inside the bell housing. If the pedal vibrates when you push on it, or has a rough clunky feel as you push on it, then that further suggests something isn't right inside the bell housing. Either way, if the hydraulics work, then you will likely need to dig into the bell housing to fix the problem.

odonnell

To expand on that, you should do that test with the engine running. Just have the car stationary with the ebrake on, in neutral. Start engine and clutch in, see how it shifts between gears.

Another thing you can do at the same time is to clutch in and put in first. But this time stay on the clutch for 10+ seconds to see if the engine bogs down. If it does, that means the hydraulics are losing pressure and there's a leak and/or air.