I have a 1996 Saturn SW2 (that’s the wagon) with a 5-speed. It’s getting a little difficult to shift gears and I wonder if that means the clutch is on its way out. Or is it a <gulp> transmission problem? It has 78000 miles, I bought it last fall. The clutch pedal has to be all the way in, and the last little fraction of an inch really matters, or it grinds. It’s also often difficult to put in first at a stop sign or light.
Thanks.
Hmm…
Kind of sounds like the clutch. 78000 miles sounds low to me, but I do mostly highway miles.
I would guess that it is a hydraulic clutch. Make sure the fluids are full. There should be a reservior under the hood.
You either need a new clutch, or it just needs to be adjusted. The trans is probably fine, but won’t be for long if you keep grinding it
The mileage does seem low to me too, but I’ve only had this car a few months and put 4000 miles on it. So I didn’t put the majority of the miles on it. I’m pretty easy on clutches, I’ve had manual transmission cars my whole driving life and I’ve never had to replace one. My last car still had the original clutch at 172000 miles. Thanks for the input.
The clutch cable may have stretched beyond the point that where adjusting it can take up the slack. You might just need a new clutch cable.
I’ve got a '97 SW2, 125K on it. My clutch still seems fine to me but I do more highway driving than city. It’s certainly possible to kill a clutch in 78K though. If you lived a good life than it’ll just be an adjustment, or cable replacement.
Push the pedal with your hand & see how much free play there is, it should be about an inch. The cable may need adjusting.
Its a used car, so you don’t know how the people before treated it, so 78k could be the right time for new parts.
Saturns have hydraulic clutch operating systems, which means that the transfer of motion from your foot on the pedal to the clutch mechanism (between the engine and transmission) is done with hydraulic cylinders and piping (in other words, there is no cable). There is no provision for adjustment (they self-adjust).
The symptom you describe could be caused by a problem with the clutch mechanism or a problem with the hydraulic operating system. It is much more likely a hydraulic problem. Probably one or both of the hydraulic cylinders is leaking externally or internally. External leakage is more common.
Check the clutch fluid reservoir. If it is low, that indicates external leakage. Topping it up with brake fluid will sometimes improve operation temporarily. The leakage can be seen at the cylinder(s). Sometimes it’s necessary to peel back the rubber dust boot on the cylinder to see the leaked fluid. The cure is to replace the leaking cylinder(s). Even if only one is leaking, it’s not a bad idea to replace them both, as the other is likely to fail before the year is out.
If the reservoir is full and the cylinders are dry, that leaves an internal cylinder problem or a clutch mechanism problem. Sometimes it takes careful testing and evaluation to be certain which is the case. Nevertheless, at the age and mileage of this vehicle, hydraulic failure is much more likely than clutch mechanism failure.
If you can shift into first and reverse normally when the engine is not running, there’s no reason to suspect a transmission problem. But it makes sense to fix the clutch problem ASAP, as the difficulty in shifting is hard on parts of the transmission, and if it goes on too long could result in a transmission problem.
You the man, Gary T. Thanks for the info.