Hard to shift into gears - Clutch going out?

06monera96

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Hey Everyone,

Well the car is a 2005 GT 5 speed with a centerforce dual friction clutch
The engine is a stock with an M90 blower making 438hp/438tq
Clutch was installed at 176,000km, supercharged at 200,000km( Engine only had 10k on it)
The car now sits at 265,000km
It's seen a lot of "Mexico" and been beating on it recently at the track.

I have been having issues shifting into gear lately something all gears are a bitch to get into. almost like there a mini block before it slips into the next gear (riding hard on the synchro?)
Sometimes I can try to go from 1 to 2 and it will grind.
Feels as if the clutch is not releasing all the way.
Sometimes when I am at the stop I leave it in 1st gear, with the clutch in but if i slip it into the neutral the car start to roll back (clutch still grabbing a bit when in gear / clutched in)

Going into reverse is a battle sometimes almost impossible without slamming it into position.

When the car is cold, it shifts ok but once it warmed up or stuck in traffic it gets hard to shift without hearing that amazing grind noise ( As if I'm learning to drive standard)

When cruising there little to no resistant shifting (cooling down engine bay and brake fluid)?

I also tested my Brake fluid which detected it had 3% moisture in it ( Could it contribute to my slave not working well to push out the clutch?)

My question is Is the clutch on it's way out? Or maybe the moisture in the lines is effected the slave cylinder?

If you guy manages to read thru my crapy English ( I am french from the Frenchy lands of Canada ) I much appreciate your input and effort!
 
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1950StangJump$

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Sounds like a clutch to me.

When I first got mine, it was very hard to get into first gear or reverse. With the clutch pedal to the floor and sitting still, I would hit a wall trying to get it into 1st from neutral. It would even start to roll forward as I was trying to shove it into gear despite the pedal being on the floor.

If the car was already in 1st, I could put it into and out of gear easily. It was only when pushing the clutch to the floor and coming from neutral.

A new clutch fixed it. Although, I will say, shifting effort in all gears is still higher on this car than any other I’ve owned. At first, I was concerned the clutch was not disengaging all the way still, but it has been that way for almost a year and about 3k miles, so I guess it is just the nature of the transmission.
 

06monera96

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Sounds like a clutch to me.

When I first got mine, it was very hard to get into first gear or reverse. With the clutch pedal to the floor and sitting still, I would hit a wall trying to get it into 1st from neutral. It would even start to roll forward as I was trying to shove it into gear despite the pedal being on the floor.

If the car was already in 1st, I could put it into and out of gear easily. It was only when pushing the clutch to the floor and coming from neutral.

A new clutch fixed it. Although, I will say, shifting effort in all gears is still higher on this car than any other I’ve owned. At first, I was concerned the clutch was not disengaging all the way still, but it has been that way for almost a year and about 3k miles, so I guess it is just the nature of the transmission.
Thank you for your input.

New clutch slave, pilot bearing and flywheel(old one was machined once already) are on their way.
 

Dino Dino Bambino

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If all the gears are equally hard to shift into, it's pretty unlikely to be worn transmission synchros and far more likely to be a worn clutch plate.
 

Anti

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Yea, sounds like clutch. If you can sit still and pump the clutch slowly about 40-50 times and it doesn't get better, all clutch.

Side note, i used to grind from 1st to 2nd and swapped my motor mounts for poly's from bmr and that quit, for what it's worth, while you're down there. Lol
 

JeremyH

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Like said time time for new clutch and slave. Based on your mileage do a fluid change in the trans as well. I reccomend mobil 1 synthetic atf.
 

46addict

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If the clutch is not actually slipping does he still have a bad clutch?

The symptoms sound more like a master cylinder problem. If there is an internal leak there will be clutch engagement/disengagement issues. There is a separate thread here on shimming the slave 3/8" to 3/4" to get the proper amount of throw.
 

1950StangJump$

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If the clutch is not actually slipping does he still have a bad clutch?

The symptoms sound more like a master cylinder problem. If there is an internal leak there will be clutch engagement/disengagement issues. There is a separate thread here on shimming the slave 3/8" to 3/4" to get the proper amount of throw.

It is possible too be in the clutch ASSEMBLY even when the clutch isn't slipping . . . could be the pressure plate or even the throw out bearing.
 

06monera96

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Well, I found out 1 of 2 issues.
The pivot point was worn out hence wasn't getting full press upon depressing the clutch.
Well, this happened yesterday on the highway.
Now that I installed the metal rod eye.. the clutch engaged and disengaged properly.
Except my engagement point is super high so the clutch is almost done.
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rocky61201

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Where did you get that eye and does it have a set screw?

Yes I've broken the plastic one before too. I was going to use a metal eye I had lying around from an adjustable brake master cylinder pushrod but it didn't quite fit right.
 

06monera96

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1950StangJump$

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The S197s are infamous for having an engagement point very high on the travel pedal . . . even stock. My brand new Spec Stage 2 (with new TOB) is very high.

So, while your clutch might be on the outs (I wouldn't know), I'm not sure a high engagement point is necessarily an indicator.
 

06monera96

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The S197s are infamous for having an engagement point very high on the travel pedal . . . even stock. My brand new Spec Stage 2 (with new TOB) is very high.

So, while your clutch might be on the outs (I wouldn't know), I'm not sure a high engagement point is necessarily an indicator.
Use to be much lower now it grabs all the way up
 

Balthazor72

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I replaced my stock clutch with an exedy stage 2 with the matching TOB/slave from American muscle last August on my 08 GT. The slave already failed. I dropped my tranny to replace it and after pulling all the air out, I still have issues getting into 1st and R. Car has 88k miles. Is it often that the master cylinder fails? Am I missing anything?
 

1950StangJump$

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Are you sure the pressure plate hasn’t failed?

With a TOB failure, the engagement point usually gets lower and lower. Since these cars have generally high engagement points, it should be obvious.

When mine wouldn’t go into first or reverse, I had the whole clutch assembly replaced and that fixed it.

Note, even on a good clutch, when you first slam the clutch pedal to the floor in neutral and at a stop, 1st and R will be a little tougher anyway cause the input shaft is still spinning and the syncros must overcome it.
 

Balthazor72

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When I first replaced the clutch, flywheel, etcetera, the engagement was low to begin with. It would typically engage as I barely lifted up on the clutch pedal from the floor. Engagement should be higher than that, but I thought with this being an upgraded clutch over stock, I thought that's the way it was until it got worn in. FYI, I barely drive this, so it doesn't have a lot of miles on the new clutch.
 

Balthazor72

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Question, can the master cylinder re-introduce air into the system during use? I don't have a leak, but when I pull the air out (disconnecting the line to the reservoir and pulling from it) and pop the clutch a few times. It feels like the use is sucking air into the system as the air removal is a never ending battle.
 

Balthazor72

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Yes. And then when I try to start it, I have to pump several times to get I to 1st/R
 

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