Body Roll

Anyone have this problem, that's happening more and more frequently for me:

Manual transmission. After braking, it's hard to get out of gear. Doesn't really matter which gear, and it doesn't have to be hard braking. But if I put the clutch in, wait a few seconds and then take it out of gear, then it's just fine.

No problems getting it in and out of gear when accelerating.

And the car has new RS motor mounts, which are excellent.

Any help is appreciated...................................................

matt777

I have a number of posts on this subject as I have had a similar problem. When decelerating it was hard to pull out of gear. The engine rpms would hang up for a second or two after the clutch was depressed. I ended up changing the clutch out which resolved the problem. However, the clutch was only 50% worn so I concluded that it was just dried up grease and corrosion on the clutch disc and input shaft splines. Others have reported that this was the cause of their problems too.

Body Roll

Thanks Matt. But if the master/slave cylinders are working properly, how can the input shaft splines be the problem? It seems like the pressure plate would disengage, but it would just take more force to press the clutch pedal.

Maybe I should try bleeding the slave cylinder.

matt777

I bled the slave and then changed it out. Neither helped much. You might as well try it because it is easy and cheap to do. I had a hard time believing that gunk on the splines could hinder the disengagement of the disc but...

Body Roll

Well it's not that easy....lol. What a pain. But compared to changing the clutch it's easy I guess.

But for the gunk theory to be correct, either the fluid needs to be compressing or the fork needs to be bending. Something's got to give!

Plus I'd expect a delay in engagement as well as disengagement.

matt777

Not really. The gunk is on the splines so this is mechanical and not hydraulic. During engagement you have the pressure plate pushing the disc against the flywheel with a lot of force. During disengagement there is no real force pushing the disc back. This is all based on how I see things working although my logic could be incorrect.

BobbyT

The fluid is not compressing (basic physics), unless it has air in it. Old dried grease or corrosion on the input shaft splines can make the clutch action "lazy". BTDT.

Body Roll

Ok, I see it. The force of the fork is acting through the diaphragm spring of the pressure plate. The spring would flex more than it should until its force overcomes the friction provided by the gunk on the shaft.

That sucks. Is there any way to lubricate this thing without taking the clutch apart?

JPP

Isn't this the infamous 'hanging clutch' problem? It could be as simple as cleaning and lubricating the pedal assembly and there's a TSB that replaces the kinematic lever with a better design on '95's as well... I believe it's on pcar.com's list ....

Body Roll

No, it's not the hanging pedal problem. That only affects the pedal return and not the clutch disengagement.

But I was also thinking, the gunk on the shaft theory doesn't explain why I only see it after braking. I've never seen it during acceleration.

Matt, did you see it only under braking?

TMc993

Did the problem exist before the installation of the RS motor mounts?

Body Roll

Yes, it's partly why I installed the mounts.

matt777

Only when decelerating in gear. My guess/theory is that the shaft/disc thrusts towards the flywheel when decelerating. Who knows. I didn't see a way of lubricating the splines and i think it needs cleaning anyway. It was a very annoying problem. Someone on the forum reported that they took the tranny off, cleaned and reassembled with success. You might be able to search for that thread. If your clutch is old then changing it out makes sense anyway. I had a leaky RMS so that got fixed too.

Body Roll

Crap, that's not what I wanted to hear man. I was really hoping your problem was different than mine.

Dropping the engine turns my stomach.

chris walrod

This is common and is more than likely a rusty or sticky input shaft spline. The issue isnt the fact that the PP is released, its that the disc must slide a small amount on the input shaft splines to release. If it resists to do so, the disk still hangs at the flywheel friction surface providing just enough drag to keep the syncro ring locked or preloaded.

Does your car want to lurch forward a small amount if you go to start it in gear, clutch pedal on the floor?