manual transmission advice (not in VX)

my g/f told me last night something was wrong with the clutch in her 95 del sol.. said that for about the first 5 minutes of driving it would feel very spongy and occasionally not even let her shift, after about 5 minutes it would be fine, before i got a chance to drive it she called and said she cant get into gear at all and when she presses the clutch in, it just stays in until she pulls it back out, even after letting the car warm up for 10 minutes she cant get it into gear... ill be going to look at it later, any suggestions?

to me it sounds like a leak, im not even sure if shes got a hydraulic clutch.. but it sounds like maybe a seal has finally given out because of the cold (its been below freezing all week and for the first time since shes owned the car) but then again ive got just general knowledge of MTs...

any help would be GREATLY appreciated

Yeah, it sounds like the reservoir has gone dry. So there is no clutch engagement. The bigger problem could be though, where is the slave cylinder? I had a Jeep in which the slave cylinder was in the bellhousing. If there was a leak inside the "bellhousing" it could have contaminated the clutch disc and it would need to be replaced. Just an internet guess though.... :confused:

Time to cruise some Del Sol forums, as hunting down a mid-engine transverse layout for the reservoir and any bleed points will likely not be easy. Then again, what you seek could be in the owners manual too! ;)

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Originally Posted by Joe_Black

Time to cruise some Del Sol forums, as hunting down a mid-engine transverse layout for the reservoir and any bleed points will likely not be easy. Then again, what you seek could be in the owners manual too! ;)

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Del Sols are FF not MR.

yes indeed.. engines up front..

i picked up a haynes manual, read the section on bleeding the hydraulic system, doesnt make it sound difficult at all, makes no reference to even removing anything, so hopefully everythings easy to get to once the cars in the air (im just glad shes parked in a flat lot) i went out there last night to scope it out.. the resivoir for the master cylinder was empty, i put some dot III brake fluid (thats what the cap on it said), had her pump the clutch a little, got some air bubbles then a very nasty looking greenish fluid.. then the clutch would come out on its own but still couldnt get into gear.. guess tonight ill go out there and actually bleed the system and hope that works

Yeah, if it's gone bone dry you'll need to bleed the system of any air otherwise there'll be little to no effect from simply dumping in fluid at this point. Another concern, especially if it was over a prolonged period, is that the master cylinder seal may be compromised at this point from being forced around dry.

im not sure.. she complained of a problem wednesday night, thursday she couldnt get it into gear so hopefully its not too bad.. im out hunting through scrap yards on sunday anyway so if bleeding it tonight doesnt work ill try pulling a master cylinder from another car?

Replace the master or the slave, whichever one is leaking. If replacing the master, bench bleed the master first, then install it, then bleed at the slave's bleed screw. No matter how much air is in there, you can bleed it all out manually if the system is sealed properly.

Everytime you pump the pedal, air pressure will build up, which will be released when you open the bleeder screw. Then close the bleeder screw, and the pedal will come back up, pulling fluid in from the reservoir. Eventually, you will get all of it. the clutch line isn't very long, so this isn't like trying to bleed out brakes from a dry state.

I wouldn't use a junkyard master; get a rebuild kit for your old one instead.

P.S. Don't get brake fluid on the paint, you'll be sorry. (Wipe it up immediately if you do).

Nate

I have read if you replace either the master or slave replace them both together. Not sure how important this is; just keep it in mind. If it does seem best to replace them together it might just be as well or easier to replace the line between them as well. Then again, maybe the line is all you need to replace. Good luck!

yeah, id read that too about replacing both, i think tonight im going to go out to the car and bleed the hydraulic system and hope that fixes it enough that i can drive it home (about 3 miles) that way i can work on it with all my tools handy (and more importantly.. a heater) lucky for me she doesnt need it til sunday

thanks everyone! ill let ya know how it goes

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Originally Posted by nbvolks

Del Sols are FF not MR.

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Oops! :mbrasd: Dated a lady who had one back when they were new and just had it in my head they were mid-engine. My apologies for posting before checking my facts.

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Originally Posted by Joe_Black

Oops! :mbrasd: Dated a lady who had one back when they were new and just had it in my head they were mid-engine. My apologies for posting before checking my facts.

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hehe...no biggy...they sort of look as if that's how they are, and I remeber reading something somewhere that listed them as MR as well.

the del sol can use transmission from a civic, integra or crx. basically anything with a b-series/d-series engine could be swapped in. the problem depends on whether or not u have the hydrolic transmission or wire. i dont remember my hondas too well so i couldnt tell you form the year. but its a pretty safe bet tat a civic or integ of the same year should ahve the same transmission. always do ur hw before u buy....

I used to have a '95 Delsol. To help me I will need to know if it is an S 1.5 sohc 105hp?, an SI 1.6 sohc vtec 116 hp (D16Z? something engine code), or a 1.6 DOHC vtec 160hp.

I am most familiar with the SI as that is what I had. On mine, the hydraulic clutch master is of course inside the firewall behind the clutch. There should be a metal hydraulic line that runs down the drivers side towards the front of the car near the transaxle, and then curves towards the engine on the front of the transaxle. It will connect to the slave cylinder almost in the middle and to the right of the bellhousing right smack in front of you when you pop the hood. I believe that there is a bleed screw right there. It shouldnt be much of a problem on this car if it is an SI. the other models I would recommend like you said- a delsol forum. OR If you can tell me which engine model, I can cross reference the engine with other civic models where someone may be knowledgeable. Other than that, it should be as simple as a brake bleeding, pressure test operation.

Good Luck! Let me know what you find out.

Dont let her find out that with lowering springs, shocks, sway bars, bushings, and tires, that thing will exceed 1G laterals!!! The 2002 SCCA winner had a modified Delsol. Loose chassis, slightly overweight for its size, but low center of gravity. front and rear strut tower bars are EXCELLENT modifications to the Delsol, more than on any other car that I have driven with and without (due to the loose chassis). The front strut bar can be had for cheap right from the dealership as it is a stock component on the DOHC VTEC model. BTW, if its not a DOHC VTEC, her car doesnt even have a rear sway bar!!! Big improvement :)

mr crowley... im buyin you dinner! your description was awesome, your directions to the release cylinder were awesome (it is an SI), went out there and bled the hydraulic system in the freezing cold.. once it was all done, the friction point of the clutch came out about 2 inches farther than it used to be and it drives beautifully!!!! thanks to all who helped out

Woohoo! Glad I read the board- I dont get as much time to come by as much. You must have good karma :p

Edit: I just noticed you're in Philly. You owe me a Philly steak! LOL :_steering Im there dude. I miss living in DE sometimes.