Hi everyone,
I'm new here, but like solving problems.
I’m really puzzled by this one, though - while the car is still cold everything is just PERFECT and it is shifting really nicely. Once it warms up the clutch starts working lower and lower and eventually I can't put it on gear, when stopped. It is felt that at this point the clutch doesn't separate engine from transmission. Has anybody gotten something like this? It's a real pain now when it’s getting warmer outside. Any opinion will be appreciated! It is a standard GEO TRACKER 1997. The cable is brand new.
97 1.6L , right?
first is to set the clutch free pedal play. to about 1/2 inch by
removing or adding slack at the clutch arm adjuster.
it works just like a bicycle or motorcycle left brake lever.
right side of bell house , see lever , see end , bingo. (jam nut?)
the acid test of bad clutch.
find a friend.
put friend in drivers seat.
not running, brakes set and wheels chocked.
tell person to press pedal and report distance moved. 1 inch 2inch...
1: driver presses pedal.
2: you look at lever ( laying on back looking up at that lever)
3: does lever move in direct proportion to the drivers foot.
if it does and the pedal goes to floor and does not release the clutch and the lever moved linearally all the way , then the clutch is
history.
some have reported the pedals shaft breaking too.
but in this case pedal doesnt return or act at all like a normal pedal. nor will it be linear.
if you move pedal and the lever on bell housing fails to move.
you have linkage problems.
there is about (text book) ratio of 6:1 between the foot and the lever. foot moves more in relation to lever.
Thank you JTGH!
Thanks Paul!
Yes, it's 97 1.6L, JTGH.
There is a little history: I bought the car 1 year ago and since then this prob has been existing. I had the clutch changed (the whole kit), flywheel machined, everything inspected professionally (hope mechanics know what to do ); and I personally have gone through the adjusting procedure several times; I changed 3 cables - two used and the last - brand new.
Now what drives me nuts is after the thing is done according to text book, it keeps behaving the same way. I'm asking myself what may make the clutch working differently when cold and warmed up (after 1 hour drive, approx.)??
It may look stupid, but I'm thinking if it's possible that something changes it's parameters because of heat - flywheel or friction plate or pressure plate or whatever, and thus eats out the play??!! Because it always comes to the point when I can't put on gear to start (trying this, I feel the car pulling slightly forward which tells me transmission is still engaged to engine).
On the other hand, there's no problem when the car is cold - free pedal is just fine, it shifts as if it has just come out from the factory.
if it passes my clutch lever test (full stroke and linear) then the clutch is bad again.
maybe:
rear seal leaks and throws oil on clutch and disk swells and jams.
always put in new rear seal on clutch jobs. and glue it in like the FSM shows.
shows putting grease behind seal lips, and oiling lips and the the crank boss, etc.
if the thing sticks at 1st startup it can rip it to heck.
who , what or why is not an issue. (is it good or is it bad?)
when you pull it apart you will find the answer.
the disk could be cracked or oil soaked, the pressure play could be warped or the
some springs bad. or the throw out bearing is now just a shell of it former self.
if the bell housing lever moves the correct range then the clutch is bad.
also the front flywheel pilot bearing, if it seizes the flywheel is now married to tranny.
causes same symptoms.
Thanks JTGH!
The only thing I'm not absolutely sure is whether clutch lever goes full stroke forward - some squeal at the end of the pedal movement is heard when the prob appears. Eventually I'll have to pull it apart, as you say.
reason i mention relative motion as many here posted that the pedal bracket broke on theirs.
4 failure points are possible:
1-pedal to cable end.
2-cable shieth not attatched to mount on both ends (firewall mount and mount just before bell housing.
3-last is bad clutch.
4-cable end loose as a goose at lever adjuster.
Heya, sounds very similar to a problem I've just had with my Grand Vitara.
I'd really really recommend getting the bell house casing looked at, I had a problem with my clutch which caused the bearing to seize, and has literally sheared the lever off in the bell house caring The thing that rang bells here was that as I was struggeling to get my car to the garage it reached the point where it just wouldnt go into gear, that is until I turned the engine of for a couple of minutes and she cooled down. I'd hate to see yours hit the same point and not have said anything, maybe you just need a bearing change, or it may not be the same thing, but hope this helps anyway.
bad throw out.
bad pp , the fingers in the Pressure plate are tempered if the throw out siezes and gets hot , it anneals these fingers , now they are no good and it might work better cold.
when hot, the bend,
Sometimes the Thow out melts the lever fingers too.
you name it , it has happend before.
See fingers broke off clutch Pressure Plate, seen disc cracked in half.
see disc hub center slines so worn they wrecked the tranny input shaft ( MINE ).
you need a new clutch.
5 seconds ofter remove, bingo, oh what a mess.
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A clutch problem
); and I personally have gone through the adjusting procedure several times; I changed 3 cables - two used and the last - brand new. 
The thing that rang bells here was that as I was struggeling to get my car to the garage it reached the point where it just wouldnt go into gear, that is until I turned the engine of for a couple of minutes and she cooled down. I'd hate to see yours hit the same point and not have said anything, maybe you just need a bearing change, or it may not be the same thing, but hope this helps anyway.
Linear Mode
