97 sunfire ...clutch pedal to the floor to shift
roonie
02-20-2009, 04:54 PM
My daughter has a 97 sunfire gt...200kms. She bought the car last fall.Earlier this yr. she had low clutch fluid and the clutch would not shift. I filled the clutch fluid up as it was nonexistant. It was the one fluid i never checked i guess.
Anyway...now the clutch pedal needs to be all the way to the floor to shift but yet the clutch fluid is still full.
Can someone tell me ...is this hyd. clutch adjustable?
Is there a sollution to this or does this car now need a clutch?
IMO..the clutch pedal feels the same from top to bottom travel.Thanks
Anyway...now the clutch pedal needs to be all the way to the floor to shift but yet the clutch fluid is still full.
Can someone tell me ...is this hyd. clutch adjustable?
Is there a sollution to this or does this car now need a clutch?
IMO..the clutch pedal feels the same from top to bottom travel.Thanks
SafariVan
03-02-2009, 07:53 AM
No adjustment to my knowledge. I went thru this shortly after I bought my '99 GT 5 spd in '03.
Low clutch fluid is indicator of clutch wear if I recall, similar to how brake fluid level will drop in the master cyl. as brake linings wear.
The hydraulic system is "self-adjusting" as opposed to the old mechanical linkage systems that you had to turn an adjusting rod screw as the disc wore to adjust the clutch linkage. You need to keep fluid level up, but still limited by pedal travel.
You reach a point that clutch is worn so much that full pedal travel is not enough to disengage clutch. Started to get some gear clashing is when I knew I had a problem.
New clutch disc solves problem. My new clutch disengages with maybe half pedal travel. No need to push to floor like when it was worn out.
I bought the car with about 90,000 miles on it and original clutch. No idea how badly the original clutch had been abused but the original Owner told me he drove the car in a lot of stop n go Atlanta commuting. If your clutch is original, I'd say you got pretty good life (200kms = 120K miles).
Unfortunately, not a cheap repair (unless you can tackle yourself). I haven't done a clutch on a fwd so I chose to pay to have mine replaced, I think I paid $800 or $900 US at the time.
Low clutch fluid is indicator of clutch wear if I recall, similar to how brake fluid level will drop in the master cyl. as brake linings wear.
The hydraulic system is "self-adjusting" as opposed to the old mechanical linkage systems that you had to turn an adjusting rod screw as the disc wore to adjust the clutch linkage. You need to keep fluid level up, but still limited by pedal travel.
You reach a point that clutch is worn so much that full pedal travel is not enough to disengage clutch. Started to get some gear clashing is when I knew I had a problem.
New clutch disc solves problem. My new clutch disengages with maybe half pedal travel. No need to push to floor like when it was worn out.
I bought the car with about 90,000 miles on it and original clutch. No idea how badly the original clutch had been abused but the original Owner told me he drove the car in a lot of stop n go Atlanta commuting. If your clutch is original, I'd say you got pretty good life (200kms = 120K miles).
Unfortunately, not a cheap repair (unless you can tackle yourself). I haven't done a clutch on a fwd so I chose to pay to have mine replaced, I think I paid $800 or $900 US at the time.
Xoza
01-22-2010, 10:42 AM
I just picked up a '95 Sunfire with a similar issue and a lot of miles but runs beautifuly. I honestly don't think the engine in it is the original but i've not yet verified it.
To the problem at hand, I have to press the clutch to the floor and only in the last 1% I can get a good clean shift. Being a clean shift I can tell the clutch itself can't be 'bad'. The fluid levels are good. I've been asking around some of the best mechanics I know, being told its a hydralic clutch and the adjustment for it would be inside the tranny. With some help I could probably do the fix myself, but I just want to verify there's no way to 'bleed' or initiate an autoajustment of some kind I could try before I go all the way.
To the problem at hand, I have to press the clutch to the floor and only in the last 1% I can get a good clean shift. Being a clean shift I can tell the clutch itself can't be 'bad'. The fluid levels are good. I've been asking around some of the best mechanics I know, being told its a hydralic clutch and the adjustment for it would be inside the tranny. With some help I could probably do the fix myself, but I just want to verify there's no way to 'bleed' or initiate an autoajustment of some kind I could try before I go all the way.
Automotive Network, Inc., Copyright ©2024