1999 sc2 manual not shifting
 

Hey, everyone

My car isn't want to shift into gear, especially when it is cold. It acts as if something is blocking the lever from going into gear, especially in first. I can get it to work(ish)by shifting through all the gears when sitting still, from 5th to 1st, but even then it is very hard to get it in. It doesn't grind or anything, so I know it isn't the clutch.

My car has 192,XXX miles, and I don't know if there is something I can do to fix it, or if it's on it's way to meet St. Christopher at the pearly garage, if you know what I mean.

Thank you

Does it shift easily through all the gears when stopped and the engine is off?

Yes, clutch issue
No, linkage issue

Yes it does. It will also shift freely every once and a while when I am driving, but most of the time it feels like something is pressing against the lever.

Could it be something with the trans fluid? I've heard that low/old fluid can contribute to this kind of nochy behavior. I didn't know if that was the only cause though since the notchiness is so extreme

I've had that happen with other manual transmissions, and it seems that if you let them warm up just a little in neutral with the clutch out and then go through the shift pattern including reverse it seemed to help.

I'd check the trans fluid and bleed the slave cylinder too.

How cold is it when that starts to happen?

Next step, put the car in first gear, open flat parking lot, parking brake off, clutch down and start the engine. Hold the clutch to the floor and see if the car starts to creep. If it does creep at all, you will probably need a new clutch. You could try bleeding the clutch first as that doesn't cost anything if you do it yourself, but most likely you will need a new clutch assembly.

It doesn't creep at all. It's in the 20s and lower when it starts to act up

Have you pulled the dipstick on the transmission to see if the fluid is a bright red color. This transmission uses Dexron III ATF, not gear oil. A past owner might have replaced the the ATF with gear oil. Worth checking. If it is bright red, there is no need to change it, in the manual transmission, ATF lasts a lifetime.

I really expected it to creep. Where is the friction point on the clutch? Is it close to the floor or about half way up. How much freeplay is there at the top of the clutch, i.e. the easy part when you start pushing down the clutch. Should only be about an inch.