This morning I tried to put my car into reverse and I literally had to force it. It didn’t grind or anything, no funny sounds that I have heard, just didn’t want to go. It also felt like shifting was kind of “stiff” or tight… The car has 76K on it and I’ve never replaced the clutch, so it might just be due, but it kind of happened out of the blue. After the first incident of the reverse not cooperating, I didn’t have any problems for the rest of the day, but shifting in general still kinda felt off… A coworker said that basically means I’ll need a new clutch within a few weeks.
Is it just time for a new clutch? Or is there something I can do?
And, so I don’t get taken for everything, any suggestions on how to present this problem to my mechanic? I trust them, but I want to be as informed as possible when I go in to talk to them.
Have you recently had the car serviced and the mechanic topped off the transmission. Even a 1/2 pint of 90W transmission oil will cause shifting to be stiff at start up but once moving it will warm up and improve. Most late model manual transmissions use ATF or a very light oil specifically made for manuals.
You might be having problems with the hydraulic clutch linkage. It is common for a failing clutch master cylinder to cause the clutch to drag when cold yet work fine as the engine compartment warms up.
First have someone check the fluid level in the clutch master cylinder reservoir. If it is okey, the mechanic will have to check the clutch disengagement with the vehicle curb cold. If he/she determines that the clutch is dragging, replacement of the clutch master cylinder would be in order. The clutch master cylinder replacement does not involve removing the transmission so the cost is a lot lower than a clutch replacement.
If the slave cylinder is leaking or the mechanic would like to change it at the same time as the master cylinder, you might as well install a clutch kit. The transaxle will have to come out to replace the slave cylinder in a Focus.
Hope this helps.
I don’t know, I drive nothing but automatics, and have since 1950