Clutch in my car....

[Pakwah]

I was driving today and in the middle of driving and shifting, my stick just slipped out of gear, and remained out. I had to coast to a stop and now its completely loose...wtf happened? before i have to tow it somewhere...i would like to know just what the hell happened.

 

[ketostix]

What make, model and year car is it? When you say the clutch slipped out do you mean the clutch pedal won't disengage the clutch, or the clutch won't engage? If the clutch won't disengage then you probably have a leaking clutch release cylinder or clutch cable depending on the design. If the clutch won't engage then maybe you have a bounded up pressure plate or broken clutch assembly.

 

[xingcong]

Clutch is a pedal, connected with cables to your transmission's clutch. It is highly likely that problem lies somewhere within this connection. On the other hand, it could be your clutch itself.

If you don't have tools, and if you don't know how to take out transmission, you should go to a mechanic.


There is a possibility that your car could be on a warranty, so explore that route first. Prefer dealer service to Pep Boys, etc..



Now, this is a bad place to post this question. Google "car model" forums, and post there for maximum effect. Those people probably had the same problem, and could give you specific instructions on what to do.

 

[Alle_Gory]

Describe the clutch.

 

[Pakwah]

less than a year, there is no way i ran it after a year. its a new clutch and stick on an old tempo, 92.
Thing is, I was just driving, there was no warnings, no loud noise, nothing out of the ordinary, it just seemed like it slipped out and stayed out.
I guess i should be more specific and say its not the clutch but the shift stick, so my apoligies
Someone said it could simply be the chord that broke?, or maybe a pin popped out?? or that something went in the transmission
don't like the sound of the last one.
The clutch i can still take right to the floor and it pops back up, it does not stay down. I can still start the car, just can't get in into first or anything.

 

[Alle_Gory]

so the shifting rod from a manual transmission broke, and you accidentally pulled it out?

cars don't have chords. maybe you mean some kind of cable. some manual clutching systems don't use hydraulic fluid. they use a metal wire that pulls on the pressure plate in the clutch to engage and disengage the clutch. one end is hooked up to the clutch, the other end is hooked up to the pedal.

 

[pLaYtHiNg]

Beware of Fords. LOL

I had this same problem once... luckily it was the forth gear in a four speed, so I still had the use of gears 1 through 3. I could hold it in place, but as soon as I released the shifter it would pop right back out. Not being something I could tackle myself, I took it to a shop who told me the linkage needed adjusting. Now, I'm not an expert on transmissions, but this did correct the problem.

Since your clutch won't stay down, (broken clutch cables don't have any resistance), I would think the problem is in your shifter. Have it looked at by a mechanic.

 

[ketostix]

less than a year, there is no way i ran it after a year. its a new clutch and stick on an old tempo, 92.
Thing is, I was just driving, there was no warnings, no loud noise, nothing out of the ordinary, it just seemed like it slipped out and stayed out.
I guess i should be more specific and say its not the clutch but the shift stick, so my apoligies
Someone said it could simply be the chord that broke?, or maybe a pin popped out?? or that something went in the transmission
don't like the sound of the last one.
The clutch i can still take right to the floor and it pops back up, it does not stay down. I can still start the car, just can't get in into first or anything.

OK so it's not the clutch at all. This particular car has a clutch cable and a cable for the gearshifter. So are you saying it popped into neutral and the shifter won't go into gear, or the shifter moves freely into gear but the transmission doesn't actually go into the gear selected? It's possible your gearshift cable has broken or came unattached. It's also possible you transmission lost its fluid and went out. You could look for fluid leakage and check the fluid level. I am betting something is wrong with your gearshift cable.

 

[Alle_Gory]

Have it looked at by a mechanic.

With that money you can buy a used Tempo.

 

[pLaYtHiNg]

With that money you can buy a used Tempo.

tee hee :crackup:

 

[Pakwah]

when i said chord, i meant cable
and lol...yeah im not looking to spend alot of money on this, if its too expensive then this car becomes a big ass paper weight
im hoping the cable just came unattached, hence the no noise or warning, or bang or anything.
Can't check the car till tomorrow cuz its in a parking lot right now.
And yeah, the shifter wont go into gear.

 

[Alle_Gory]

And yeah, the shifter wont go into gear.

Because you can't disengage the clutch. Fix the cable, and watch the shifter work again.

 

[horaholic]

Shifting problems are usually not cheap! You might get lucky though.

 

[Duffdog]

This is the wrongest possible place to look for an answer to that problem. There are an unlimited number of things that can wear out and cause problems like you describe:

If you have a hydraulic clutch master and slave setup, either one of the cylinders could be bypassing fluid, the release bearing fork can actually break, the clutch cable swage fitting can bend the receiver and fall out of the bracket, the motor mounts could be worn causing the transmission to orbit around the axle under high torque conditions, the syncronizers inside the transmission could have broken teeth, the transmission could be a cheap ass pile of crap and not be syncromeshed to begin with and have lateral wear on the contact surfaces...

Just buy a new car.

 

[Pakwah]

while lifting the car up for the tow...yep there is your problem...
the rod underneath snapped off near the pin.
so its either what they say is a 20 minute welding job or 2 hours of work to replace it ...phew!!