2qwik4u

Was at a red light, all of a sudden I go for first gear and its tough to get into but it goes in. As night goes on it gets worse, towards end of night clutch pedal begins to vibrate and gets very tough to put into 1st gear and reverse!!
Whats going on?

thanks, leo

wwest

rubber clutch explosion...

2qwik4u

Whats that?
Now when I press on clutch it makes a load rattling sound.
When car is shut off it will go into all gears.

911vet

It sounds similar to what happened to mine. Mine became increasingly difficult to put into gear (any gear). As if it couldn't find the gate.
No grinding, no noise, just refused to go in a gear.
Clutch pedal felt no different, felt fine.

If I continued to hunt and finally got it into gear, it drove as if no problems.

Problem: clutch rubber was toast. Had a new clutch installed.

I hope it's something simpler and less expensive for you.

2qwik4u

O ****! That stinks!m My clutch feels fine, but I get a very loud rattling when I press. There is no grinding noises from gears, they just dont go in, unless I really force it.

How much did clutch cost you?

leo

2qwik4u

BTW I have a g50 trans.
Clutch replaced Nov.2000, 20,000 miles ago.

911vet

OK, that's good news. Mine was the original clutch with 117K miles on it!. I've heard of some going at 60K miles, but 20K isn't likely unless it's been abused.

Relax, there are other things that could be going on.

It can be hard to know where a rattling sound is coming from. Where do you think it is? Sometimes the bushings in the shifter are worn and if yours has been updated, that can cause a rattle.

I replaced all my shift bushings (didn't solve my problem unfortunately, but it could be your issue).

911vet

Don't jump the gun. But I'll answer your question: Clutch cost me $2600. Included replacing some seals and other stuff that needs done while in there. I had an OE rubber style installed. It's a little cheaper to use a metal spring plate and it will give you better performance. But it's definitely a $2000+ job unless you do it yourself.

2qwik4u

Records say release fork was also updated when clutch was replaced at 48k miles. Car now has 69k.
I just bought car 1 month ago. PPI gave thumbs up on clutch. Definetley never been abused, PO was middle aged women that drove on weekends(if that). I put 1k miles on it so far and no abuse.

2qwik4u

rattel sound defitnetly coming from the rear, but dont know where.

911vet

If the clutch is that new and they did the fork update, etc, then it's unlikely that's your problem. These clutchs don't fail with that low of mileage.

Do you feel a vibration in your pedal? Or do you only hear something?

2qwik4u

Both, strong vibration and loud rattle when clutch is pressed.

thanks, leo

old man neri

You never know, it may only be 20K but it is 8 years old. Rubber ages with time as well.

911vet

Not to depress him, but you have a good point. And if the real seal is leaking... that will eat the rubber.

Leo: Do your records happen to indicate if they used a rubber clutch or a metal spring plate???

2qwik4u

Here are Pete's thoughts:

Leo: This is the type of problem that is very hard to diagnose without hands on availability, but it definitely sounds like clutch. Based on the invoice that states that the clutch has already been done, and we can only hope it was done right, and the suddenness of the problem it's very possible that it's a hydraulic issue. If you have a good mechanic available I would have the car towed, but before you do that check the brake fluid level in your reservoir. Low fluid means a leak somewhere, and even with adding fluid bleeding the clutch will be necessary. Hopefully the hose to the clutch slave started to leak, and the repair will be straight-forward. Good luck with it!

I hope he's right! I had car towed before I heard from pete so I didnt think to check blake fluid.