Glad the clutch seems to be working better after the fluid change!
If the problem starts up again, try just touching the throttle momentarily to increase the engine speed 500-800rpm. Sometimes as the syncro's in the transmission wear they need a bit of help to do their job.
They basically match the transmission speed to the engine speed to make it easier for the gears to engage. Also for some unknown reason on my manual transmission Solstice some times if it wont go into 1st gear when idling If I engage reverse, then immediately shift into 1st gear it works better. Just some things to try. Hopefully you will not need them. Also you can release the clutch when the transmission is in neutral, and then reengage the clutch, that also sometimes helps.
Well, over 3 months of having a smooth running transmission, it happened. I was taking my daughter to school and I noticed every time I had to stop, it got harder to get into gear. I always put it in neutral if I'm at a stoplight that is long, because I don't want to hold the clutch down too long. Once I got to her school it became really obvious something was wrong as it was really hard to get it into both first and reverse. I was able to get it, but then once on the highway the clutch pedal went down and didn't come back up. I was able to pop it up with my foot but there was no pressure. I live on the deadliest stretch of highway in my state. I remembered cammerjeff's post about throttling a little bit if that happens so that's what I did from neutral to 3rd. I drove like a granny the rest of the way home & thankfully I made it.
Checked the MC reservoir and this was a first...fluid was down to the bottom. I've never had the fluid drop, not even when it was black. And then came the disappointment...the kind that comes with tears...lots of them. I thought I had really accomplished something by successfully bleeding and getting the pressure back myself but seems I only delayed the inevitable.
I refilled the reservoir. Clutch still on floor so I got the air out again. Checked the interior around the clutch pedal, didn't feel anything that indicated a leak on that side. Looking from the top down on the other side of the firewall, I didnt see anything, but I really can't see the MC from up there.
Once I did get the clutch pressure back I moved her onto the cement part of the driveway and put some white cardboard under it where all the transmission parts would be. The next morning there was one small drop of fluid under the MC/clutch pedal area about the size of a quarter. I hadn't spilled any refilling the reservoir. Everything else was clear.
I have a strong suspicion the MC is failing. As long as the car sat, that had to have been rough on the seals. I hope it's not the slave too but it wouldn't surprise me. I know it's better to replace these 2 cylinders together, although not mandatory. From what I've been told the slaves that are in the bell housing are engineered to last longer, but I don't know for sure. It seems that the slave cyl would be shielded a little bit more from the elements. I've also heard if you replace one cylinder and it is performing much more effectively than the other cylinder, the older one will be stressed more and fail soon after.
She'd been to the mechanic back in August & had a good tune-up which included a change of transmission fluid, freon added to the a/c, oil change, new fuel filter, new brakes and fluid, power steering fluid, new spark plugs, new backup/neutral switch and windshield wipers. They also inspected her and she's legal again. Said she's still a good car. We've already invested a lot in getting that done. I've also put a lot of time and love in this car and it means even more to me since I have. Even had gotten her severely warped dashboard looking a lot better with some fuel line around the windshield edge and a little JB Weld high heat epoxy under the padded vinyl covering in front of the crushed defroster vent. Replaced the vent too. Point being, it'd be a shame at this point to not have the transmission dropped if it is needed.
It's odd because I had just driven the car for 90 min a couple days before and it did beatifully. This just happened all of a sudden. Since I've been driving it again, I've realized how much I've missed driving a manual. That's predominantly what I've driven for most of my driving life. Even before I was old enough for my permit, I drove my dad's old tractor with the old mechanical clutch when I helped him on the farm. I generally don't enjoy driving, especially around here. But that changed when I got the 5-speed back.
My question is, if I check the fluid before I leave and take some dot 3 fluid with me, am I safe in getting her 10 min up the road to the mechanic? I don't want to do any damage to the transmission. I figured if I can't get it into 1st after a stoplight then I can turn the car off and shift it into first then restart it.
The engine had to be a well-built one to be able to come back from the dead after so long.