Greybeard Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 This afternoon my wife called me and said she couldn't get the shifter to move in her 70,000 mile '05 Legacy GT. For some time we have had to push the clutch all the way against the floor to shift. I assumed it was the clutch not disengaging, now I'm not so sure. When I got to her work I found the shifter to be stuck in 1st, a good hard tug freed it and the problem seemed solved, it worked normally all the way home. The car has the dealer installed "short shifter" option. Does this sound more like a transmission, than a clutch problem to anyone else? There are about 5000 miles left on the extended warrenty, so if it's the transmission, I definitely want the dealer to repair it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 (edited) Could the clutch be dragging? Might need adjustment. If it's not, then I would say there's a good chance you need a new transmission. Have the dealer drain the gear oil and check for metal. I just replaced a '96 5 speed at 113k where 2nd gear had frozen to the shaft (needle bearing failure), and the tranny tried to be in 2 gears at once. Tore all the teeth off 2nd gear. It's not unheard of for the 5 speed's to fail but it's pretty rare. I've seen a couple. GD Edited December 9, 2009 by GeneralDisorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankosolder2 Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 The easiest way to differentiate between clutch drag issues and other issues is "how does it work when the engine is off?" If it shifts OK with the engine off, it's almost definitely clutch drag. If it still binds it's got to be the trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greybeard Posted December 9, 2009 Author Share Posted December 9, 2009 Funny thing, it shifts fine, IF you push the pedal all the way to the floor, if not it drags, but it has for some time. My wife drove the car further last night and it was trouble free, leading me to believe it is a transmission problem. The only problem with that is I need to demonstrate the problem to the dealer in order to have him repair it under warrenty. She does park in a parking garage all day, so there is an opportunity for someone to hit the car without my knowledge, no marks on the rear bumper though. Could another car just bumping into it cause the transmission to jam in gear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Could another car just bumping into it cause the transmission to jam in gear? No, not really. Sounds like a clutch adjustment is warranted and tell the dealer you want the gear oil drained and checked for metal. Something could be eating itself in there. If there is very little metal in the gear oil then it will likely be ok, and if there's a ton of metal in there then you have a good reason to ask them to replace the transmission. It is normal for the gear oil to be a dark amber color and for there to be a small amount of metal on the magnet of the drain plug. If there is a mountain on the drain plug, anything big enough to feel between the fingers, or metallic swirls in the gear oil (or, as I've seen - the gear oil looks like siver paint ) - strange things are afoot at the Circle-K......:-\ GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankosolder2 Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 I think you're best off addressing the clutch problem first. If it really needs to be pressed ALL the way to the floor to disengage, something is wrong and you should be able to demo this problem to the dealer, as you've said it's not intermittent. Likely suspects would be the clutch master cylinder or the clutch slave cylinder. This is a hydraulic clutch, so it's not adjustable. It's also possible that there's a problem with the release arm or release "throwout" bearing. GD's suggestion for checking the transmission oil is also a good one. If you have had an ongoing clutch drag problem it could accelerate wear of the trans synchros... you could have both clutch and transmission issues. Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greybeard Posted December 10, 2009 Author Share Posted December 10, 2009 All good points, I'll take a look at the transmission oil first, and try bleeding the slave cylinder too. Then, if I must, I'l replace the slave cylinder before I replace the clutch master. I've been putting this off, I don't want to pull the I/C. About one year ago the dealer reolaced the mainshaft bearing / bearings in this transmission, but he wouldn't pull it and look at the actual gearbox internals. In the last 3 months the clutch travel hasn't noticably changed. That seems like curious behavior for bad hydraulics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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