Clutch Issues. Bleed or Replace? (Page 1/4)
Addition1291 AUG 04, 05:40 PM
Good Afternoon,

I just bought an 86 SE 4-Speed this weekend and I have an odd problem with the transmission. The guy I bought it from said that the clutch needs to be bled but I wanted to check on here first to see if anybody has input.

The car turns on just fine. When its running and when its not, I can hear the transmission click into gear whenever I shift it. The clutch pedal seems fine, it has good pressure and returns to its original position without any problems. If I open the clutch fluid cap, I can see that there is plenty of hydraulic fluid in there, albeit its a little dirty. I don't see any fluid leaking.

Issue #1: The sometimes the car will roll forward as if its in first gear when its in neutral on start up.
Issue #2: If I put it in first gear, the car will not take input. Regardless of how much gas I give it, it won't move.
Issue #3: The brakes are very squishy. Could be unrelated but I know some vehicles use a shared reservoir, I don't know if the Fiero is like this.

The previous owner was able to drive it yesterday before we loaded it up. There were a couple of times where he had to press the clutch several times before the car would start moving. He said it just needed to be bled. I'm thinking I might need to just replace the clutch.

This is my first stick shift and my first Fiero so this is all very new to me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
FX AUG 04, 05:50 PM
Sounds like it has to be 'pumped up' to work, could be air in the lines, but why is the question. Check the master and slave cyls. for leaks...If they're not leaking, one of them could be slipping through (Piston seal) and needs to be replace or rebuilt...
Gall757 AUG 04, 06:11 PM
Welcome to the Forum!

Your Issue #1 is unusual.....makes me wonder what is in the transmission.
johnt671 AUG 04, 06:21 PM
The easy check would be bleeding it. It won't cost anything. Put the front up a little higher than the rear, remove the clutch master cylinder cap, to to the back and open the bleeder. Let it gravity bleed some and watch for air bubbles. Seal the system up and see how the clutch works. If it works good for a while and starts to malfunction, you might be getting air in somehow. All it takes is a little bubble to mess up a the clutch.

If the car is rolling some and it's on a slight hill, that's normal if the E-brake is off it will roll downhill. If it's in neutral and rolls when you start the car the clutch isn't releasing which could be air in the system. The part about the car not moving with the clutch released is a different problem and could be a worn clutch plate, but try bleeding it and see what happens.
Patrick AUG 04, 08:57 PM

quote
Originally posted by Addition1291:

Issue #2: If I put it in first gear, the car will not take input. Regardless of how much gas I give it, it won't move.



This has nothing to do with any hydraulic issue.

What does the car do if you try to get going in another gear besides 1st?
AsaBergman AUG 05, 04:46 AM
For issue 1 and 2 your shift cables are likely misadjusted/stretched. Try starting the car, shift to third and slowly let off the clutch and see if it starts to engage.
Steel AUG 05, 05:19 AM

quote
Originally posted by AsaBergman:

For issue 1 and 2 your shift cables are likely misadjusted/stretched. Try starting the car, shift to third and slowly let off the clutch and see if it starts to engage.



+1
Addition1291 AUG 05, 01:45 PM
Thanks for all the great replies.

I did a little investigating into the shifter and shifter cable and I found the root of at least some of the issues. The shifter is misaligned and I can't get into first hardly at all, which would explain a lot.
As you can see in the picture, the shifter has a little bit of damage on it because first is too far to the left and is where that plate is.



Does anybody have some decent guides on how to readjust the shifter?
AsaBergman AUG 05, 03:23 PM
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[This message has been edited by AsaBergman (edited 08-14-2019).]

Addition1291 AUG 05, 06:05 PM
Ok so I removed some bits and got a little better look at what is going on with the shifter.
After playing with it for a bit, I have concluded that it goes into 2nd and 3rd just fine. It has problems with R and 1st.

It can shift into R, but it will snap over to the right if you let go, not sure if that's normal.
It can't seem to get into first at all. The shifter cable won't move forward for some reason. I'll probably have to do an adjustment on it.

Also, the shifter does have the bend, the last picture didn't show it very well.