[edit]gosh durnit, I do this every time: The car in question is an '87 4+3 with a barely opperable Bose deck :D [/edit]

I was sitting at a light yesterday waiting for a green. I thought the light would change quickly so I left the car in 1st gear and held the clutch I also was holding the brakes. Well the light wasn't changing so I decided to take it out of gear, let the clutch out, and give my leg a rest...but it wouldn't come out of gear! It was like trying to get it out of reverse with no key in the ignition. Furthermore, if I let off of the brakes, the car would move forward! There are very few inclines in FL and I was not on one of them. I had the clutch pedal to the floor too. It has done this in reverse before but never before in a forward gear. It does not do this often and when it does I'm able to get it out of gear by turning the engine off. :confused:
Sometimes, if I do not have the clutch pedal TO THE FLOOR it will grind when I put it in reverse. I think these problems are probably related.


So what do you think? I don't know the symptoms of a bad clutch... What's the procedure for bleeding the clutch?


[Modified by A, 9:25 AM 11/7/2001]

 

You have the deadly clutch pin bushing problem. Its curable though. When I get home, I'll post the GM part number . You need to replace the broke/worn out plastic bushing that fits over the pin on the clutch pedal and goes through the clevis on the end of the clutch master cylinder rod. You should also have some extra effort shifting into gear and added clutch pedal force along with having to push the clutch pedal further down to disengage the clutch.

 

Sounds to me like you glazed the clutch to the flywheel.

 

The bushing is GM part number 14094900.

 

If he was able to get the pedal to the floor without a lot of effort, it's not the bushing. At least I don't think so. When my bushing went it took a TON of force to get the clutch even 3/4 of the way down.

 

It is tough to shift into 1st and 2nd sometimes but I assumed that that was probably due to the locking slider Romeo and I used when we rebuilt the 4-speed. We used the locking slider to keep it from popping out of 2nd gear on deceleration. How tough is it to replace that part? Have any instructions?

 

But it only does that sometimes. I don't understand the mechanics of how a clutch works yet... I'm still driving the car and all, it's not stuck or anything and it hasn't acted up like that yet today... does it still sound like a glazed clutch? :confused:

 

It's fairly easy to replace. You lie on your back in your driver footwell to see the clutch pedal and pull the clutch master cylinder rod off the pin on the clutch pedal. Pull out the plastic bushing, replace with the new bushing and force the clevis on the clutch rod onto the pin on the clutch pedal. I don't know what the part costs , but I would be surprised if it is more than $5.

 

Depends...how did the clutch finally disengage? It is possible it cooled down and all is fine, but if it continues to act like this occasionally, then it probably is not. A glazed flywheel will generally let the clutch slip, but if you super heated it by using it to hold the car, then the clutch can get hot enough to meld to flywheel. Whether this is what happened or not, I do not know for certain.

Was there a bad odor?

Chris

 

May also be a weak pressure plate. I would first check the pedal bushing out first as that is easy to do. If it checks out, make sure that your clutch is properly bleed and is working properly. If these items check out then your down to either a clutch disk or pressure plate problem.

 

No, no odor... It wouldn't have had time to cool down either. It was acting up, so I shut the motor off and tried it again and it came out of gear fine. I then restarted and drove away.

It did it again today in reverse. I had been in Subway and I got in the car to back out to leave and I had to shut the car off cause it would not come out of reverse...

 

Stumped me. It does not sound like the clutch if you can not shift in and out of gears (especially out). Try looking at the bushing everyone is mentioning.

Chris

 

When that bushing goes, it allows for linkage misalignement preventing you from even being able to push the clutch pedal down.

 

Surprise! The part was $6 :crazy:

Now, which way are the 4 little fingers supposed to point, toward the inside of the car or toward the outside?

Wether or not this cures this problem, this part DEFINANTLY needed replacing. The old one was severely mangled.

 

Nevermind, I got it. :smash:


[Modified by A, 5:15 PM 11/8/2001]

 

See, I told you it would be that bushing thing :jester

 

Well,I dont know if it fixed this problem, but the clutch pedal is noticably smoother now. I also added some fluid... it was a hair below "add"

It doesn't really shift much smoother but that's only in 1 and 2, 3 and 4 have always been pretty smooth.

 

When the bushing wears out it allows the clutch rod to angle off instead of staying straight in line with the clutch plane. This causes higher clutch pedal forces and less master cylinder stroke which doesn't allow the clutch to fully disengage. A clutch not fully disengaged causes more force to shift into and out of gear and it also causes grinding. Your symptoms indicate that you have found the major problem. Since the part is over $5, I'm now surprised.
:bb (no surprised smiley, but close).