manual transmission rough

Good day, I have a 1990 Camry, manual transmission which takes some force to put into each gear on startup through the first couple of minutes of driving. After those first couple of minutes it seems to work fine. I'm thinking about flushing the trans fluid but could there be something that's part of a bigger problem? Thank you.

Check the clutch slave cylinder for fluid leaking from it. Pull back the boot if necessary. If there is fluid there, the slave is leaking and may not be providing enough force to move the rod which places the transmission in neutral. If not all the way in neutral, the transmission shifts will be rough. As the car heats up, the heat from the engine compartment expands the seal inside the slave, producing more pressure and more normal shifts. It's usually this internal seal that is actually leaking. If you do find it leaking it's time for a slave rebuild or replacement. Many techs replace or rebuild both the clutch master and slave at the same time figuring if one goes, the other is likely to follow soon.

Mike

Thank you for the tip. I've been reading my repair manual at the same time trying to follow your suggestion. Not sure if it's leaking but the clutch reservoir tank is just about empty so that leads me to a suspicion that it might be leaking. I'll have more time to work on this tonight. Thank you.

You can try just filling up the reservior with Dot 3 brake fluid, to see if that helps the problem. This will also varify the fact it is a hydraulic system leak. Since it is low, there is one more source for you to check for a leak. The clutch master cylinder itself can leak. If it does, it leaks inside the car, on firewall up under the dash. Crawl under the dash with a flashlight and pull back the carpet and check for leaking clutch fluid above the clutch pedal. If it is leaking there you must replace or rebuild the clutch master cylinder and then bleed the whole system. It takes quite a bit of bleeding to remove all the air from the clutch hydraulics so be patient when bleeding. You have to bleed the system thoroughly whether yopu replace the clutch master, the clutch slave cylinder, or both.

Mike

After adding more fluid and bleeding the system I was still having the problem. Leads me to believe there's a failure with the hydraulics. I replaced both the master cylinder and the slave and it works perfectly. Thank you very much for the help.

You're welcome.

Glad everything is working smoothly again.

Mike