help please!!

asmoboba

Registered User
Hi guys,

I just got back from my local service place I take my '89 SC to, and I suspect they're trying to screw me over and I need some real opinions from the experts instead of the clowns at the auto shop.

My car is a 5-speed, and last year had the slave cylinder and clutch replaced, and after that no problems. Over the past couple of months however, the clutch has gotten to the point where it lets out very gradually and the car has very little thrust off the start...like if I'm starting on an uphill, I have to really rev the engine and let the clutch out fast just to get going basically. Also, it is very hard to put the car into gear, specifically when it's been sitting cold overnight or something. I leave it in first overnight, and in the morning I have to basically force it out of first and it kind of clunks, and then once it's in neutral at that point, it's very difficult to get back into any gear...I have to push the shifter hard toward any of the gears for up to two minutes sometimes before it'll push into one. Also, when I'm driving, the problem is way less severe, but it still does not go smoothly into gear....I have to push it pretty hard, rather than it sliding in.

So, I take it to this repair place today who did the clutch and slave cylinder last year, and they say that it's going to be 7 hours labor and $630(canadian) just to take the entire transmission out to find out what the problem is. Then, on top of that, I'll still have to pay for fixing/replacing whatever the problem turns out to be!!! Does this not sound ridiculous to anyone else? They need to take the transmission out for 7 hours to figure this problem out? Last year when they fixed the slave cylinder and clutch there was no big thing like this...they just fixed it. Anyways, I told them I can't afford that right now and I'm going to pick the car up.

Now can anyone suggest based on what I described what the problem is, or whether or not what the service place suggested needs to be done? I trust you guys way more than I trust them!!

Thanks!!!!
 
one other thing...

I forgot, they also said they'd have to "machine" I believe the word was the flywheel in addition to the other stuff...
 
i would deffinitly take it somewhere else 7 hours does seem like alot, It should only cost 30 to 40 (us) dollars to machine a fly wheel, this should be done whith a new clutch it is the same thing as turning rotors for new brake pads. check the fluid in your tranny if it is empty it will be hard to shift.
good luck
joe
 
Where in Canada are you located?
Can you get it in & out of gears with the engine off?
Have you ever checked or changed your engine mounts?
Did you check the fluid level in the Slave Cylinder?
How firm/sloppy is your shifter?
Can you do any inspection from under the car yourself?
Can you contact any local SC owners, that may know more about these cars, and have them have a look at it?
Good luck
 
The throw out bearing...

The throw out bearing is common on 5-speeds to go bad. I had it go bad on my 1995 SC and it will make the clutch feel like its slipping. There is no other way to really see what is wrong inside unless they do take it down as far as I know.


Hopefully someone else here can elude so more light on this...


Don
 
vancouverBC said:
Where in Canada are you located?
Can you get it in & out of gears with the engine off?
Have you ever checked or changed your engine mounts?
Did you check the fluid level in the Slave Cylinder?
How firm/sloppy is your shifter?
Can you do any inspection from under the car yourself?
Can you contact any local SC owners, that may know more about these cars, and have them have a look at it?
Good luck

I am located in Victoria, BC. With the engine off or on doesn't seem to make a difference...sometimes when I start it up after it's been sitting it'll go in and out of gear fine, sometimes it's 'locked up' in first and is hard to pull out of first, and then impossible to get back into a gear. This never happens while I'm driving the car or if it's warm.

I don't know anything about engine mounts. I don't know where to check the slave cylinder fluid...I have checked the transmission fluid and it is full to the top. I'm not sure what you mean about the shifter being firm or sloppy, but honestly when I'm shifting gears it feels like it would feel if it was out of fluid....it feels like I'm pushing the gear into something that would normally be lubricated and is instead dry.

I cannot look under the car myself, and am useless even if I could ;)

A quick note also, I got the car back from the repair place, and now the clutch is much more firm than it was before, i.e. harder to push in, and it's not slipping as much when I'm accelerating from a stop...so they did something to it without telling me, because I wasn't charged but it's different...could they just have tightened it? Anyways, beyond that, the gears are still the same way.

I guess I was hoping someone has had almost the exact same problem or a few of you, and could just tell me what needed to be done so I can instruct someone to do that, rather than them taking the transmission out to find out! On their repair sheet they gave me it said "possible slave or clutch" as what it may be, and yet those are the two things they repaired last year that are under warranty...so maybe that's why they want to charge me all this labor?
 
ah ha!

Wait, I checked to make sure that it doesn't go into gear well with the car either on or off, but it is completely fine when the car is off...there is no problem at all...it's only when the car is turned on....what does this mean?

Thanks again.
 
I think there is a vent to release pressure,check that out.
joe
 
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