NuzzoKnows

I purchased my 2004 Lancer Ralliart in June of 2013. This is the first car with a manual transmission that I have ever owned. I noticed the transmission was getting increasingly harder to put into gear. It doesn't slide into gear, it began to grind and soon became near impossible to put it into first/second/reverse even with the clutch fully depressed. I would dread traffic lights because I would be unable to put the car back into gear after coming to a complete stop. I purchased a new Clutch Masters Stage 1 Clutch replacement kit, a new master cylinder, a new slave cylinder, and fresh gear oil and had the whole thing redone. However, upon completion of the job the car is still drive-able but the transmission is just as grind-y and hard to put in gear as ever. To put the stick into reverse I have to turn the car off, shift it into reverse, and start the car back up. The shifter slides into all of the gears beautifully when the car is off, but it is very difficult to shift into all of the gears. I literally find myself forcing it into gear to be able to go to and from work. I have researched this problem and the only solution I can find is that maybe my clutch is "dragging"? I was hoping anyone on this message board could shed some light on my situation, sorry for the wall of text just trying to provide as much information as possible.

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

flush and bleed the clutch control system...unlike brakes you simply have someone depress the clutch pedal to the floor (do not pump!) and open the bleeder valve briefly and close it. Release the pedal and repeat until all the air is out, and new fluid is visible. Old contaminated brake fluid will be frothy and/or discoloured. Use a length of 1/4 tubing and a bottle to catch the old fluid. It's also important to keep the fluid level above maximum during the entire procedure. I usually fill it to about the fill neck. If the situation doesn't improve, then check you clutch master and clutch slave cylinders, and lines for leaks, who installed all of this?. This topic has also been covered before, try an advanced search next time. cheers

if you can jack the car so both front wheels are off the ground, you can start the engine, and with the clutch pedal depressed, the wheels should not move.

RalliartN

iTrader: (1)

Classic case of using tranny gear oil with no friction modifiers. The oil is "too slippery" and the synchros cannot function properly. No slick shifts. Its like the gears never slow down and are hitting each other when you're shifting.

Change out the tranny oil for Mitsu OEM or something else like BG synchromesh or GM synchromesh or Redline as per the many threads.

What gear oil did you use?

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

ahh, good point Nick, thank you.

Redline highly recommended...MTL if you live in an area that has cold winters, MT-85 if it's nice, and MT-90 if you race, or it's stupid hot all the time.

NuzzoKnows

I had a local mechanic put all the parts in for me, I bought the clutch from Amazon and the slave/master cylinder from Rock Auto. I am a full time lurker of the forums/internet in general and I was only able to find problems similar to mine, not so much exactly the same. I used Mobil 1 75W-90 Gear Oil, I do not do any of the work on my car myself as I am not so mechanically skilled. I will purchase new gear oi and have the system bled, I will report back to this thread with the results. I am afraid the transmission is going to get worse making the car unfit to drive, and I am also afraid that I am damaging the transmission and the brand new clutch.

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

the clutch will live...but transmission damage is your primary concern...

NuzzoKnows

Is there any way I can troubleshoot to definitively find out if its my shift linkages or my gear synchros? These are the common problems I have found throughout my internet searches. I'm hoping its as simple as the system needs to be bled. I'm going to try and have the clutch engage point moved higher up on the pedal to ensure that I am fully disengaging the clutch plate with the pedal

RalliartN

iTrader: (1)

You must go step-by-step, starting with the most obvious and inexpensive things. Whoever convinced you to spend so much $ on those unnecessary new parts you installed? You normally get a new clutch only when the old one is slipping, which is a really easy thing to test for; and only buy new cylinders when they leak.

Anyway. First, change tranny oil for Redline MTL or something "synchromesh" like I mentioned. Buy this yourself, have a garage put it in.

Ask a mechanic to test drive it. If you are inexperienced with manual trannys he will be able to tell if the clutch engagement point is in the ballpark, which means its bled okay and the linkage is fine.

Then, if it pops out of gear and the gears grind, pull the tranny because now everything else is now new and adjusted so thats the last bit to change out.

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

rebuilding the transmission is pretty in-depth, and you need to understand that it's not rocket science but great care must be taken. A tranny shop may charge as much as half of what a brand new transmission is worth...a brand new transmission is over $2,000. I really hope it just needs to be bled more, cause a new first and second gear, synchros and bearings would cost probably $400 in parts alone.


one thing I overlooked is make sure your linkages are good...maybe one of your cable bushings is busted or something..but it could also be a whole slew of things...

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

I just had a revelation....


so all your clutch control parts were replaced...were they aftermarket or genuine OEM? the reason I ask is because I just ran into the same problem...


My clutch slave failed, so I replaced it with an aftermarket part from a local part store cause it was much cheaper than OEM. now the clutch would not fully disengage after bleeding. so I was like wtf?!?! then it hit me...I figured the internal cylinder displacement must be larger in the new slave, or the throw was shorter (I forgot to compare the old and new slave push rod), so what I did was I adjusted the master cylinder pushrod throw one turn at a time until the clutch would fully disengage. worked like a charm.


here's how to do it:
put your driver seat as far back as you can. get a 12mm combination wrench and a pair of medium sized needle nose pliers. now lay down on the floor under the steering wheel, your lower body will be outside of the car, unless you're some kind of contortionist. on the clutch pedal arm, you'll see where the master cylinder pushrod fork is connected to the pedal by a clevis pin. you don't need to remove the clevis pin. loosen the jam nut on the master cylinder pushrod a few turns, on the pushrod beyond the threads should be a double flat spot. use the needle nose to turn the rod, so that the piston extends deeper into the master cylinder. do this one turn at a time, start the engine, press the clutch pedal, and cycle through the gears, repeat until shifting through the gears is smooth. once you're able to fully disengage the clutch and move through all gears smoothly, tighten the jam nut.