Can't Shift Into 1st or 2nd when stopped - after half hour or so of driving

BlueBomber

Member
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03 P5, 5-SPD
So here's my issue:

Car is a 2003.5 Protege5
~152,000 km

Car is in really good shape, but over the last few months it's developed a pretty major issue.
After driving it for 30 - 45 minutes, I can't shift the damn thing into first or second gear from a stop. When the problem first started, I could still muscle it into gear, now, forget about it. Pumping the clutch helps, but barely.

I have read a couple bookmarked threads I have, but I figured I start a new thread for my problem.
I just had the clutch and brake hydraulic fluid flushed and the clutch pedal checked, still have the problem.
I have a feeling the clutch is failing to pull out fully after it heats up to a certain temp.

So where should I go from here? Master/Slave cylinder replacement or just get the clutch replaced?

Thanks,
BB
 
Does the clutch pedal hold pressure or slowly bleed down? Have someone push the clutch pedal to the floor and watch the clutch fork. The soft clutch hose could be expanding, the seals in the master or slave could be leaking (would be more consistent), the trans fluid could be low, the clutch could be wearing out or the synchros inside the trans may be shot.
 
I can't see the clutch fork, I'm not actually working on the car myself, I don't have the location, knowledge, or TIME to get that deep into car repairs.

Thank you for your advice, I will talk with my mechanic about your points and see what he thinks.

It has to be something related to heat buildup (right??), because the clutch system works no problem until 30-45 minutes of driving, then it becomes inoperable.
If the synchros were shot, wouldn't it be impossible to shift regardless of temperature or driving time?
 
I can't see the clutch fork, I'm not actually working on the car myself, I don't have the location, knowledge, or TIME to get that deep into car repairs.

Thank you for your advice, I will talk with my mechanic about your points and see what he thinks.

It has to be something related to heat buildup (right??), because the clutch system works no problem until 30-45 minutes of driving, then it becomes inoperable.
If the synchros were shot, wouldn't it be impossible to shift regardless of temperature or driving time?

Yeah, it's a clutch problem, not the trans.
 
Yeah, it's a clutch problem, not the trans.

Had this same issue on my 2001 P5. Shifted great when cold, when hot it was a pain. Even worse in summer. Changed all shift bushings, smoother shifting when cold, but when hot same issue. Don't know when clutch was done (or if ever done, I bought car about 2 years ago with 148,000mi on it) Someone said hydraulics are worth a shot before clutch replacement. Quick logon to Rock Auto and I purchased slave/master and hydraulic hose for about 70 bux. Installed all parts and followed up with a bleed using Harbor Freight pneumatic vacuum bleeder. After that, no more issues. worth a try....cheaper and less work than a clutch R/R.
 
Had this same issue on my 2001 P5...

There was no 2001 P5... Only 2002 and 2003.

My car was built in September 2001 but labelled 2002.



The new crop of 2018 vehicles will be available in a month or two... We've got six months to go till 2018.
 
I haven't had a chance to deal with it yet, unfortunately my family-hauler (Pathfinder) has issues that need to be dealt with first. When I get the time I am going to replace the master and release cylinders and the clutch line and cross my fingers hope to hell it solves it.
 
So I finally got a few minutes to look at what it's going to take to replace the master and release cylinders. Looks pretty straightforward. The only thing that looks like a bit of b**** is disconnecting the master from the clutch pedal... any tricks I should know? From the schematic drawing it looks like it just slides right off, but oh how I've been wrong before.
 
I could post the FSM info but photo bucket has decided I need to pay them for "third party hosting"....

I think all my photos/diagrams are gone/blocked...
 
Make sure you get a stainless steel clutch line. My clutch was super spongey and just replacing that line made it firm and consistent again. I got mine for like $18 on Amazon.
 
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