Trouble shifting

[Kathryn]

Hi,
I am an owner of a 1985 Tercel 4WD and NOT a mechanic. Is there a reason besides transmission issues that the car has difficulty shifting into gears? Someone told me it needed a new clutch. I replaced the clutch some time ago and actually have had trouble since. Maybe the clutch repair was not done properly. I am trying to prep the car to sell and want to fix what I can to get as decent a price as I can.

[dlb]

if you have had trouble shifting since the clutch was replaced, i think it's safe to say that it is the likely cause. the best case scenario is that the clutch cable just needs to be adjusted -- only takes a few minutes. worst case scenario, the wrong clutch parts were installed and it will need to be re-done. the latter has happened to a few people here. sometimes parts will be labeled with the incorrect part # so once you install them and get things back together, you find it doesn't work, and it's not till you pull it apart and compare the offending part with another new one that you can see difference in thickness of friction disc or whatever.

let's hope the clutch cable just needs adjusting.

[marlinh]

Is it difficult to shift through all the gears with the engine off? Or only when it is running?

[larry mcgrath]

The clutch cable is self adjusting. If this hasnt worked properly since the clutch job,its quite possible the clutch disc was instaled backward (springs should be facing to the rear) the only to check this out is to pull the trany to check the clutch disc visualy Larry.

[Kathryn]

Thanks so much for your replies. The car shifts smoothly while engine not running. My brother said that double clutching while driving helps a lot. Should any competent mechanic be able to repair clutch if that is the problem? I had the clutch repaired at a shop here in Portland that specializes in brakes, may have been a mistake.

[xirdneh]

i had a problem similar after replacing clutch, pressure plate, and pilot and throwout bearings
it was real hard to shift into reverse, first and granny gear, the rest of the gears were easier but not great
in my case the pressure plate was defective

[marlinh]

When was the job done? It may be under warranty. The responsibility of the shop to repair.

[Kathryn]

Work done too long ago for a warranty. After the job was done and I was having trouble shifting and keeping in fourth gear I went back to the shop. I took a ride with the shop manager to show him the problem and he told me there was nothing he could do and that I should just hold the gear shift in fourth. They refused to take responsibility.

[dlb]

all you can do is never go back to that shop, review them on yelp, tell all your friends to avoid them, etc.

my friend just had a breakdown in his vw westfalia. a shop charged him $410 to replace the fuel filter and distributor points. the fuel filters for those things are $15, the points are less, and both jobs combined would only take an hour, so he got raked over the coals too. sucks when you're at the mercy of crooks.

[marlinh]

If you are having a problem keeping it in fourth gear it sounds like there is also a transmission problem.

[Petros]

Could you explain a bit more what "difficut shifting" means, be more specific about exactly what it is doing. Hard to get into gear, all gears? or just first gear? does it pop out of gear, if so which one, all of them?

Several things can cause difficult shift that can be fixed with out removing the trans, first thing you want to do is verify that the clutch cable auto adjuster is working properly. That is an easy check by looking under the dash with a flash light up at the top of the clutch pedal. there is a white plastic half gear like device with a spring loaded "ratchet" type adjuster, lift it and the cable should go slack, pump the pedal and the cable should snug up on its own. Or verify the clutch cable is not all loose. If it is loose the clutch will not disengage until the pedal is all the way down on the floor.

the other thing is to verify the gear oil in the trans is full all the way to the fill plug. sometimes filling is slow, and you have to drain the trans when the clutch is changed, and an inexperienced mechanic may not get all of the 4 liters of gear oil back into it. If it is full, sometimes doing a trans flush will help shifting, fill the trans with a 50/50 mixture of cheap gear oil and Automatic Trans fluid (ATF), the pink stuff, drive it for a few days gently, than drain it out and fill it with quality gear lube (not synthetic gear oil). That cleans it out sludge and particles and sometimes improves shifting.

If the problem developed after the clutch change, it likely is related to the clutch job: it could be a bad clutch (as noted above, some after market clutches are too thick and do not fit properly, it would have to be changed out), the gear oil was not filled all the way, the cable and adjuster was not installed properly (all of these have to be removed to install a new clutch). Good luck.

[xirdneh]

One of my tercels has the late model transmission and it has been quietly coming out of fourth gear for the last ten years or so. Usually when you let off the gas going down hill. Someday i will take it apart to find out why. Its not a clutch related problem.