1994 Firebird V6 clutch/trans issue

C

C-Note jr.

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Alright, first thing first. I'm brand new to the forum and being 16 I'm also pretty new to the car world although I have been wrenching on snowmobiles, ATV's, dirt bike, and so on for years. I can handle all of the basics such as brakes, plugs , oil, and general electrical diagnostics. But none of that can help me in the situation I'm in. I have a '94 Firebird with the 3.4 V6 and standard 5 speed trans. The car has been in storage for the past 3 years or so up until about a month ago. I noticed that right away the throw out bearing was making the typical grind/moan they make when on the way out when the clutch is engaged and the car is in neutral, but the issue I'm having currently is I was driving along about a week ago and come out of a corner in first gear and get on the throttle moderately (not ragging on it) and about 4-6 seconds after I let the clutch pedal out (engaging the clutch) I hear a relatively loud pop towards the front of the transmission and the car coasts to a stop and bogs the engine out to where it stalls out. So I start the at back up and attempt to take off in first gear and the car does want to creep, but just bogs right out. So I was towed home by a buddy and later on started it back up and re engage the clutch when in neutral and the grinding/moan is about twice as bad as it was previously with an occasional small bang that sounds like something is slightly bumping into something else. I also noticed right away that the clutch pedal has roughly an inch of play before I can feel the pressure of the clutch springs fighting me. The car web sitting, not started with clutch engaged or disengaged will shift in every gear including reverse as smoothly as it always has, so I'm thinking/hoping that nothing is wrong in the trans. I didn't think to try taking off in 2nd or reverse to see if it would move in fear something else could break. I'm just curious as to whether or not anybody has experienced anything like this and whether or not you think it's clutch related or trans related. Thanks in advance!
 
You have to start taking things apart to determine what is causing the issue. After the vehicle had been sitting for so long did you check the fluid level in the transmission?
 
I did already start to rear things apart. I didn't check out the fluid level when I pulled it out of storage, which I definitely feel stupid for, but after pulling the driveshaft I did have some fluid trickle out from around the output shaft, I'm about 90% sure that it is the throw out bearing that took a dump, but again, I'm not a car mechanic so I don't have much experience to be able to know exactly what the problem was. I was mainly just wondering if anybody has had the same experience I have and what their issue was. Thanks for the response though!
 
I'm sure people have had the same experience but the root cause can be a number of things. As you already realize it could be the throwout bearing but it also could be a broken finger on the clutch pressure plate or the the clutch disc has started to break apart or it could be internal to the trani but I would put that at the bottom of the list. Please let us know what you find.
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Will do. The only reason I don't have it apart is because I have to either modify a wrench to look like an S wrench, but just the boxed end to get to the upper right bolt that mounts the transmission to the bell housing or else get a crows foot type tool that is like a box end wrench instead of the open end. I spent about 2 hours alone trying to get that one bolt busted loose and its giving me trouble. Plus I'm at my dads house right now about 70 miles away from the car so there isn't much working on it anyways.
 
I havent seen the bolt you are referring to but how about a socket using a universal joint?
 
Already tried that. I wish I could take photos off of my phone and put them into photo bucket to upload them, but it won't allow me for some reason. I only have about two inches of clearance between the bolt and the unibody and do not have room for even a shorty socket. So we bent a 15 mil wrench so hopefully that will work for me with a slight extension added. If not, off to a shop it goes I guess.
 
I think that's the bolt you need a 3 ft extension for.
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I don't know if your serious or not, but I do actually have an extension that long. It's just a matter of getting a socket into the little pocket. There are fins that stick up and I couldn't even get a shorty socket in there. I suppose I could see what snap on or Mac offers though.
 
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