97 Sunfire, Will NOT move!

Hey all, my friend has a 97 2.2 5 speed sunfire, that I am going to buy, BUT, it wont move. me and him were driving it about a month ago, shifted fine and everything, but now when you turn the car on, and try to shift into ANY gear to move, theres nothing. It worked fine the night before we parked it and the next morning it was like that, I need to know whats wrong with this because I have to get it from where it is before they move, help!

He and I...

That would be "He and I were driving it..."

Anyway, since it's a 5-speeder, I'd suspect the clutch not engaging (stuck hydraulics, hanging hydraulic puck/cylinder behind the pressure plate, or a stuck throwout fork). Another possible cause is damage to the side gears in the differential case. It's also possible that one of the half-axle shafts has a problem, but that's not hard to miss just by looking.

AFAIK, the manuals don't have a primary drive chain like the autos, so that's not on the table.

I'd suggest you start by relieving the hydraulic pressure slightly through bleeding to see if the slave cylinder is hydraulically locked.

I have never owned or worked on a standard, I have all Automatics. So I have no idea what any of that is or how to do it. Any pointers?

The clutch should be hydraulically actuated on that vehicle. You might as well learn something about it now, if you intend to make it one of your's.

There is a clutch master cylinder attached to the firewall. Just above it is a small white plastic reservoir with a black rubber cover, similar to the brake master cylinder but much smaller. Follow the rubber hose from the reservoir down to the end of the clutch master cylinder. From this master cylinder, a hydraulic line routes to the clutch. Bleeding is not normally necessary on these small systems, since air tends to self-purge. However, you can relieve pressure by loosening the hydraulic line at the master cylinder or the bleeder screw at the transmission slightly and allowing fluid to escape. If the slave cylinder is hydraulically locked, this can relieve the pressure and allow the clutch pressure plate to engage the disc. If the slave cylinder is mechanically stuck on the input shaft, this will not likely help.

You might find some useful information here:

http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/19/24/ad/0900823d801924ad/repairInfoPages.htm

I know where the clutch fluid resevoir is, alright when I get time I will try that. Ill post to let you know how it goes. Thanks!

My nephew just had the same problem with his 97 cav 2.4l. But he was driving down the highway and it started to redline. Now it won't move. If I find anything out I will post it. I am going to check the hydraulics and if its not that I guess we will have to open it up.

Awesome because I need to figure it out too.

I have ebeen asking everyone around here I know with standards, and they say I need to bleed to system. Because the car was driven for a day without fluid and didn't know, so when the clutch lost resistance, checked fluid and it was bone empty. so filled it and pumped the clutch and it works great again but what I am suspecting is using it for that day without fluid, it was drawing lots of air in and when I filled it, put lots of air bubbles in the system......and the fluid is dark, it goes in clear(DOT 3/4 Brake Fluid) and after a bit turns dark......so bleeding the system might fix my problem anyone think?

im having almost the same exact problem with my 2000 cavy except mine is a 2.2l auto but mine was self inflicted(doing donuts bad idea) my car will turn on engine is fine but the car wont move at all. I put it into 1st and you can hear the rpms go up same thing for 2nd and drive but something sounds like its grinding from under the car but i canty really pinpoint where the sound is coming from i didnt want the car running for to long just incase it would cause more damage. my 1st thought was i blew my tranny but it could also be sumthing to do with the axle...? i dont really know so can ne1 please help me.i can give another look if more details are needed. ty ahead of time for ne responses.

o and sorry for jacking your thread there are just some simiar problems with my car and no1 was responding to mine :(

busted CV shaft ?

does it physically go into every gear fine ?

does it stay put and not roll easily when put into gear and shut off ?


need more details from you

If you dont press the clutch, and put it into any of the 5 gears, no noise and it goes in, but if you try to put it in reverse without the clutch it grinds. its on a flat surface, so couldnt tell you if it will roll or not.

If you dont press the clutch, and put it into any of the 5 gears, no noise and it goes in, but if you try to put it in reverse without the clutch it grinds. its on a flat surface, so couldnt tell you if it will roll or not.

I was reading what was in this thread and I thought I understood what was going on until I got to your last post. Let me get this straight - with the engine running and without using the clutch pedal you can move the gear selector from nuetral to 1st gear without it grinding?

RE: flat surface, take the brake off and push the car forward.

As for the fluid turning dark - it's just the old fluid and residue in the system making it's way up to the resevoir. That's pretty normal and iut means the fluid is at least flowing throughout the system. I wouldn't be as concernced about bleeding it as I would be about finding out where it is leaking.

The car is boxed in with snow and on a flat surface so i dont knwo if it will roll or not but yea, engine running, it can go into any gear without the clutch but will grind when you try reverse.

It kinda sounds like reverse is the only gear that is working then. Or maybe the linkage or shift cable is bad.

reverse grinds, but doesnt work, no gears do, im getting it towed tomorrow to a mechanic, since I cant pinpoint the problem, i will post what was done to fix it

Its at the shop, the Clutch is gone.

Got it back today $600 later. The clutch was completely burnt off. works fine and dandy now!