'96 Firebird clutch/transmission problems?

I have a 1996 Pontiac Firebird. I was driving today in the rain - gears were shifting just fine. Suddenly, the engive revved and the clutch got sticky/hard to push. I pulled to the side of the road and by then I couldn't shift out of 1st. I finally got it out of first and into neutral, but then I couldn't get it back into gear except Reverse. When I tried to put it in reverse, it would go into gear but whined very loud and the car bucked. It did NOT move in any gear - wasn't driveable. I noticed when I turned the car off and took the key out, I could shift in and out of gear WITHOUT holding the clutch. But, if I tried to turn the car on in 1st, it would jerk once and fail to start. :banghead: Oh, and two things - I went through some water, not overly high but high enough and I turned the defroster on. Those are the only two things that happened prior to the problem. I had to get towed home and now it's stuck in first. Someone told me may be something to do with master cylinder, pressure plate, or release bearing.

Can anyone help with advice or offer suggestions?

You don't mention what size engine you have, so I don't know if you have a 5 speed or 6 speed tranny. What I do know is I have a 6 speed trans, which uses a hydrolic clutch (and I assume the 5 speed is the same way).

1. check fluid level in clutch resivor (on firewall near brake booster)
2. if your out of fluid I'd first put fluid in & bleed the system (I use a mighty vac to bleed the system from the top) I use the vac to push fluid down into the hose thru the resivor, then the vacume side to remove air. push fluid first as this will make the cylinder that attaches to the clutch pedal open and allow the air in the system to escape.
3. if your car is leaking fluid most likely its the slave cylinder that has gone bad inside the trans bell housing. see how fast the fluid leaks, its a big job & requires you to drop the transmission out of the car. if you have to replace it I've been told you should replace the clutch cylinder on the firewall at the same time, might not hurt to check out the clutch too while its apart.

hope this will atleast get you back on the road for a while.

I just re-read your post, clutch hard to push doesn't match what im talking about, that should make the pedal push real easy ... check the hose that enters the bell housing of the trans (hydrolic line), maybe it somehow came apart & fluid will no longer flow from the clutch cylinder to the slave cylinder (in the bell housing). Nothing else makes sense, if it was a trans issue the clutch would feel normal, even though sticking in gear is a symptom of a bad syncro in a trans, its also a symptom of the clutch not disengaging. my last guess would be a bad clutch cylinder on the firewall (resivor, cylinder & hoses all one piece thru the GM dealer).