93 MX-3 Clutch problem

[nvidian]

Hi GUys,
i have a 93 MX-3 5spd V6 . My car was having some idling problems before. it still has an idling problem but not tht bad. before the rpm used to die whenever i used to stop at red light.Now, Its really hard to shift into first and sometimes second gear( when u start from rest). NOTE: Once it takes off its not hard to shift into 3rd,4th and 5th gear. and also even if u r pressing on clutch n the car is in gear it will try to slowly move after 5-6 seconds. plz help

[2fazed]

There's a few things to look at. Check your linkage to the shifter and tranny. Make sure there not on too tight. Then check your slave cylinder. It's right in front, next to your tranny mount. See if it pushes the arm back in forth, by pressing the clutch in and out. If those are good, it could be the synchros in your tranny. That would require either a rebuild or replacement. Good luck.

[nvidian]

hey thanks for the reply. I will check these 2 things on friday after work.

[davmac]

nvidian you describe perfectly a bad clutch master or slave cylinder. As they get old they are unable to hold pressure required to push the clutch fork (move the pressure plate away from the clutch). So even though your foot is holding the clutch pedal to the floor the transmission may still be (or will be after some time) engaged. Eventually you'll have no pressure in the clutch pedal and you won't be able to shift because the transmission is always engaged with the engine. Your car almost certainly has 100K + miles so it is not unusual to replace a master and slave clutch cylinder. You might start with the slave cylinder which on most cars is easier to access and change. Make sure you bleed the system of air (just like bleeding brakes). That might fix you up for many 1000s of miles. Good luck

[nvidian]

hey Davmac thanks for your reply. My local part source doesnt carry Mx-3 parts any more. I think you are hundered percent right that its either master or slave cylinder. Clutch was getting too bad for the time being i put a bolt on the fork and put some silicon on the bolt.. no theres no ply or distance between slave cylinder and fork. this helped solved 60% of my problem now atleast i can hold clutch for 7-8 seconds after tht it automatically starts to enagage.. i ordered both master and slave cylinders today. thanks again for replying because i was still not sure tht it was slave/master cylinder problem. thankyou