i was exiting a neighbor hood and it was grinding as i was down shifting into 2nd and as i was putting it into first, but not as i shifted up into 2nd. i knew something was wrong but i was in no position to stop and push the car home or anything like that. so i keep driving, carefully.

so i was coming home on the freeway, its about 12:45 am, and i was having trouble shifting into 4th it was kinda like blocked almost. so i drive more on the freeway and the clutch is actin all weird. the last i remember is the clutch was like halfway depressed without my foot being on it. so i didnt know what was going on so i hit the clutch and it did nothing, dropped it to the floor and nothing happened, didnt drop out of gear im sure cuz i had my foot on the accelerator and i could hear it in gear and the revs didnt shoot up like they should have. after i depressed the clutch about...maybe 3 times...it sticks to the floor. dosent pop back up and its still stuck in 5th! so im thinkin 'OH SHIT. ITS STUCK IN FIFTH AND I HAVE TO EXIT THE FREEWAY AND GO THROUGH MY NEIGHBOR HOOD TO GET HOME.' so i exit the freeway as slowly as i can in 5th. i drop it to about 700 rpm just enough to keep it from stalling. then i have to make a hard 90. so i make it again as slow i can w/o stalling. then im close enough that i can kill the engine and drift so i do and now that i have the key out and on the dash i drift in and as i do i hear what sounds like things coming apart... ...so i park it and jump out and lay on my back under the car (as much as i can). i see my tranny its kinda covered in oil lookin.

i dont know what going on. we have two trannys in out garage and it looks like im gonna lean to rebuild them now...

what should i do about the clutch thing?
can i replace a clutch myself?

what did i do wrong and how can i fix it?

what should i do?
id like to do all the work myself to keep the cost down...if i can...

any help, advice, or sympathy would be appriciated...

Ok Dude

Sounds like a strait ass clutch problem, if the trans wasn't damaged.
Start by checking the obvious, clutch cable, cable tube.

Doin a clutch job is not to hard to do. Use a "flywheel" seal kit while you are there and check/adjust motor end play.
Replace with a Sachs kit, best clutch for the price on a stock replacement. Not expensive. And don't forget to service the trans and add a gear additives.

Going for broke ? Replace the clutch cable anyways - good idea. Replace the shifter bushings....you will be amazed with the end results.


At least you wern't intoxicated, at this hour...
or is it just me...
If you need help ask around, maybe some bro in your area could stop by if your stuck....then there's always the club


later

Maybe clutch tube broke through firewall?
Check this :

This can happen if the clutch cable isn´t adjusted properly

my guess is your engine or transmission mounts (or both) have disintegated and your driveline is sitting on the shift rod. that would be in addition to whatever's going on with the clutch.

engine or transmission oil? makes a difference so you'll know which seal failed and soaked your clutch with what kind of oil.

you know how to shift without a clutch, yes ? god thing to know.

for future reference: NEVER PULL THE KEY UNTIL THE CAR IS STOPPED! on lots of cars, the steering lock won't engage with the key in the ignition. just switch off. having the steering locked in a moving car is A Bad Thing.

welcome to the world of vintage sports cars. get a cell phone and AAA.

good luck.

The clutch pedal went to the floor? One of two things happened, I bet. Either the clutch cable broke, or the roll pin in the pedal cluster failed. There is a spring that pulls the pedal toward the floor, and if the cable isn't pulling the pedal back up (or the pedal gets disconnected from the rest of the linkage), the spring will push it straight to the floor.

Then move on to your oil leak.

--DD

Clutch cable wrapped around a gizmo in the cable link is my guess. Just look at the round nylon wheel at the fork where the cable transfers motion from foot pedal to clutch arm. Always look for the least expensive solution 1st on a 914 problem and you usually find the problem.

Been wrong MANY times before but this is my only opinion, not an argument to what others suggest.

Mike Cooley
Memphis

I agree totally with dave. If it was an imediate BAM foot to the floor, then the pin roll pin broke, the snap pin broke


Or the cable itself broke.

While your ordering parts, buy a shift linkage bushing kit, cus it also sounds like your bushings are junked...

QUOTE (shaggy @ Oct 2 2005, 12:34 AM)

... the clutch is actin all weird. the last i remember is the clutch was like halfway depressed without my foot being on it. so i didnt know what was going on so i hit the clutch and it did nothing, dropped it to the floor and nothing happened...

OK, re-reading the above, I'm even more convinced that the roll pin is the problem.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/M...dal_cluster.htm

--DD

QUOTE (ArtechnikA @ Oct 2 2005, 06:21 AM)

for future reference: NEVER PULL THE KEY UNTIL THE CAR IS STOPPED!  on lots of cars, the steering lock won't engage with the key in the ignition.  just switch off.  having the steering locked in a moving car is A Bad Thing.

My key in the ignition seems droopy and seems easily pulled out while driving.. The idiot in me was having the urge to pull the key out while driving, "just to see what it'll do." Glad I didn't try it.

i talked with my dad (John, 'Flatvw') this morning. he told me that this has happened to him before on this car. he said the clutch went out and he managed to drive it home. he later took it the the shop where we get most of the work done Karl's Kustom Vee-Dub (42ish st and indian school) and the simply adjusted the clutch and everything was fine.

so my question now is how do i just adjust that?

should i just replace the clutch all together?

what should i do about the tranny?

thanks for all your responses. im glad most of you dont think it was the tranny or engine, that inspires some hope.

should i just drop the engine and take everything apart and rebuild it all?
would that be a good idea considering all my previous posts?

thanks again to everyone!

ok, well...first of all, Get a Haynes manual...biggest thing that will help you! You can go down to Barnes and Noble and have them order one, Amazon.com, ebay, or a friendly club member. I dont know about the pedal cluster, I cant help you there, but first thing I would do, would be to locate the clutch cable. Should be on passenger underside of the transmission....There is an arm on the transmission that the cable actuates the transmission, by engaging and disengaging it, when you depress the pedal. The cable should be attached to it...grab it. Tug on it a little, if you pull down on it hard enough, you should see it move the arm on the transmission. If that is the case, you cable is probably not broken. Follow the cable to the firewall..There is a funnel looking tube that the cable runs to on the firewall....Sometimes, when a clutch is adjusted to tight, the funnely looking tube will punch threw the firewall, therefore, rendering your clutch cable useless. If that is the case, you can probably get the tube welded back on for cheap, by any local reputable shop...These two suggestions might help...There is also the possibility that your clutch may be way out of adjusment, that is an easy 10 minute fix...But I wont tell you how to do it...Get a Haynes manual. You will be glad you did.

PS: If the clutch is indeed shot on your car, dont stress, a new clutch is not hard or all that expensive to do, you dont really need to even drop the engine to do it, ya just need a friend and about 2-5 hours...Also, if this is the first time you have really looked at the underside of your car, make sure that oil on the transmission is not just caked up oil that is running from a leak on your motor...The transmission can get filthy after years of driving, just from a small engine leak...

I will shut up now, scary that me, off all people is trying to give technical advice....Just trying to help, lol

-Jared

good luck, and have fun...be careful what you do right now about this...you may find your fix to be an easy one...but you might find 50 other things you would like to fix as well...pick your battles wisely, if you ever want to drive your car...

thanks!

what if the cable is broken?

is that a costly fix?

how should i look to see if there was any tranny damage done?

If the clutch cable broke, it takes about 30 - 60 minutes to replace it.

If you look for a white plastic wheel/pulley mounted to the tranny and follow that cable to the arm sticking out of the transmission you'll see a nut or two (there should be two). That is your clutch cable adjustment. If you can pull the cable out, it's broken. If not, look at the area that Michelko pointed at in his picture to see if the metal is cracked/torn. If that looks fine then tighten the nuts on the cable and see if you get the pedal back. If that doesn't help, pull the pedal board and check the roll pin where the clutch pedal attached to the assembly.

Those things I just said will take you about 1-2 hours to check and will help you find out exactly what's wrong. Take the time to check things out. No one is going to be able to tell you what's wrong with your car. You have to get your hands dirty or get your wallet out.

Now get out in the garage!

check the clevis end on the clutch cable....it's the thing that the red thing in Andrews pics clips to......

Here's the clutch cable replacement from a earlier post......

"It's a easy fix that you can do yourself.

Buy a replacement cable (did you check the clevis end?).

Jack up the car on the right side and put a jackstand underneath it.

Undo the nut on the trans end of the cable (measure the amount of turns the nut is from the cable end first).

Undo the nut on the wheel that the cable goes around near the trans.

Now go to the inside of the car. Where you inspected the end of the cable where it attaches to the pedal assembly. Use a screwdriver or plyers to pop the clevis off the assembly.

Pull the cable forward (measure the amount the end on the cable is screwed on to the cable) and then unscrew it.

Go to the back of the car and pull the cable towards you.

Put the new cable in the the hole where the old cable came out of and then reassemble.

Reassembly is the reverse. Screw cable end on the same amount you measured. Attach to pedal cluster (small hands needed for this part). Loop over wheel at back. Tighten nut back (same amount you measured before at the clutch lever and go for a ride.

Time 2 hrs from start to jacking to back on the ground (includes tool droping and swearing time).

Cost to do this depends on if you have a jack & jackstands and about three different mertic wrenches. If you have to buy these...total cost under $100 (includes buying replacement cable)

This is versis paying a garage $100 + an hour & shop materials, + their markup on the cable that they will be buying from the same places you will.

If you need pics of the areas I've spoken about. Just ask.

But check the clevis end first to see if it is the same problem I had.....could save you all the work (in my case if I had it would have saved me $800 in plane fare (another story) "

Hammy,

If you don't have a Haynes manual.. GET ONE.. Like right now!!!

If you have one... that is your new BIBLE. read it every day until you Really get to understand this car...

It will help you learn how to ask the appropriate questions with the most appropriate technical terms.

ALL of us had to learn this way at some point. Now it's your turn...

NEXT. When you have a question... search the databases here on the club board FIRST if you have time... Simply use the search function at the top of the screen.

Bro, We are all here to help you... And you will get the best help we have.
Now it's your turn to get BOOK educated on the subject of teeners. We are here to fill in the gaps.

Yeah.. I remember being a young guy myself...

Let us know what you found out on this.. I follow your threads all the time....

Now kick some ass and get your car fixed..!!!!!!!!!! YEEE Haawwwww

Twystd1