Rep Power: 0

hi guys!

i just got a problem that i wanna share with you. i also want you guys to share your opinion...maybe story about the same experience or how to fix it..

well, this happened to me several times.....hm, not many, probably 2 or 3 times...however, it makes me worry about my clutch...

OK, so...
basically, it happened on the red light...i stopped on the red light...waited till green..
now, the the green comes, i pressed the cluth pedal...till floor....and then shift the to the first gear....
NOW, this is the problem...at certain times, the gear seems to be "locked," it only shift halfway.....F***!!! I tried few times to fully depress the clutch pedal and shift the gear **** to normal...and try shifting again. YET, same thing happened....two or three times....

The problem is, it's green like and i've to start moving, so, i try to depress the clutch and that "half" position, and BAM!!! my clutch grinded!!!! F***!

there was a "chreeeeeeeeek" sound coming from the engine...
oh man...i HATE it.....i realize that i was griding my clutch...just a lil' bit though....less than 1 second...

CRAP! what should I do? this problem usually occurs at the redlight, which really ANNOYS the hell out of me!

any opinion? story? same experience? any idea what happened and how to fix it?

EDIT::
actually, I wanna ask you guys about this too...since you bought ur civic...how many times did you grind your clutch? when? (is it the same experience as mine?)

THANX!

 
Rep Power: 305

seems to happen to me with reverse sometimes..try putting it into first before the light turns green and just leave your clutch pushed in?

 
Rep Power: 0

hm!
that's a good IDEA!

thanx! I think im gonna do that....

DAMN it...i dunno why....i was playin with my clutch before the green light...and got no problem
and then when the green light comes, the problem comes! WTF!

so ridiculous............

 
Rep Power: 0

ive grinded my clutch probably 3 times in 2 years or so, its not the funnest thing in the world, and idk about at green lights unless its rush hour i usually leave my car in first with the clutch pushed in

 
Rep Power: 0

it happens to me in reverse ...almost all the time it pisses me off ...for real... but all i do is put it in first then try to put it back in reverse ...and it works ...any solutions..?

 
Rep Power: 0

next time that happens just leave the clutch in and pull the shifter back into 2nd before going back to 1st, that should get everything in the right place. Iworks by giving the synchros a little nudge so they will help you get into gear. I started doing that ages ago in my f150 cause it gets stuck like that all the time.

Just a question. When you stop, do you down-shift or just brake with the car in neutral? If you shift the car down from speed, even with the clutch in, it will help prevent this form happening. I usualy pull the shifter into 2nd as I roll up to the stop then wait for the light in neutral. My car hasnt done this since I started stoping that way.

oh yeah, always wait for the light in neutral. I learned that from motorcycles, waiting with the clutch in puts a lot of un-needed heat into the clutch.

 
Rep Power: 0

or just give the car a little gas, get the sycros to move a bit, and then try again!

 
Rep Power: 0

Very interesting information, thanks guys!!

are u sayin that after waitin for the light...then when this thing happens, I should shift to 2nd gear then try again to the 1st gear ? hm, i think that's very logical.......thanx!

I should give this method a shot!
but anyway....I need to find a way to resolve:
--> why this problem actually occurs in the first place??
--> how to prevent this problem?

you guys probably understand my feeling....DAMN, the problem occurs in the stoplight.....that's bad, guys....I gotta move or people gonna start yelling at me...Moreover, this situation makes me feel afraid and nervous with the situation....THAT's why I tried to depress the clutch even though it's not fully engange....which leads to grinding.......F***

anyway, what do you guys mean with "synchros"?

NOW, this is very interesting...I just realize that this problem usually occurs when I DON'T down-shift....

I kinda switch between stopping with downshifting or stopping with neutral+brake...
When I'm lazy, I usually shift to neutral and just use the brake.....NOW, I think the problem usually occurs at this situation....

that's very right, thanx for reminding me again!

 
Rep Power: 339

I have the same "problem". My dad's van is worst, reverse almost never works... but anyway. All I do if 1st or reverse dont seem to want to get in is put it into 3rd.... never tried second as many have mentioned, but putting it into 3rd gear 1st never failed me. And waiting at the light in 1st is not good, clutch spring will lossen, and premature clutch wear. How about this, when the walk lights are blinking, then try 1st, if it's not going though, 3rd, then 1st again. I dont have to do that b/c it usually goes in after 2 tries to 1st gear.

 
Rep Power: 0

that is alo very interesting. thanks man!!

hm...anyway, we don't exactly got that pedestrian light over here...hehe...not all stop light got that light....

anyway, no one knows about why this problem occurs in the first place?

 
Rep Power: 339

Oh, heehee... it happens ( I think) b/c the shift gates on practically ALL stick cars move around after a while. Just gotta kind of put em back in place

 
Rep Power: 0

Yeah, I always shift into second then to first gear.

 
Rep Power: 0

thanks guys!

damn i don't wanna grind my car no more...

anyway, whadday mean with shift gates?

I think im gonna shift to 2nd gear first from now.....
hehe, now i gotta the trick to overcome the problem....damn, think about it....ur in my position when the greenlight lid and you got no clue how to overcome the problem...... dang it sucks.....u finally grind ur car unwillingly...

 
Rep Power: 0

bumped.

can anybody help me with the term of "shift gate" and "synchros"?

i actually read about synchros...in which the gear at the next shifting must be spinned to the same speed when you shift gear...

however...in that case...when u downshift to engine break....isn't it kinda sad for the 2nd gear...in the sense that the 2nd gear must be synch'ed to the higher gear that ur currently using..?

 
Rep Power: 361

let off the cluch a tad until it slips in

 
Rep Power: 339

dont HAVE to be at the same speeds... just match rev...
honestly, I dont know the exact problem, but moving it into other gears will help "smooth" it out. Grinding gears is bad. I have done it a few times, but not in 1st. I remember maybe 2 times in 2nd, many times in 3rd, and maybe 3 times in 4th.... all b/c I was trying to shift too fast....

 
Rep Power: 0

thanx for the infos again, dude! hehe, it's really helpful..

yeah, I think moving into other gears will definitely help "smooth" it out....

anyway, I've been trying to bump myself into that problem....however, I can't...I tried NOT downshifting in the redlight....meaning, just using the brake....which MIGHT leads to the problem...however, it never happens again...hm, I actually wanna try the trick that u guys gave me...

ANYWAY, that's good....but it really makes me nervous on every stoplight....
Im afraid of getting that problem JUST the time when the greenlight lid...

F*** this sucks.

luckily, I never grind my clutch on any other gear....probably once on the reverse...that's because I THOUGH that the clutch was fully engaged into the reverse gear....while actually, it was only 3/4 in...

 
Rep Power: 0

synchros are hard to explain without this turning into a transmision design lesson. To put it simply, they help you engage the gears by matching the speeds of the shafts in the transmision. In really old cars, or race cars (some) you have to double clutch to do this. Double clutching works like this(downshifting used as an example because it is the most comon use of double clutching). From 3rd gear down shifting to 2nd gear you would depress the clutch pedal, move the shift lever to the neutral position, release the clutch pedal, rev the engine to match revs, depres the clutch pedal again, move the shift lever to 2nd gear, release the clutch pedal. See how complicated that is? you do this in a non-synchromesh transmision to match the output shaft speed to the input shaft speed within the transmision, thus preventing the grinding. Synchros do this for you but if you dont downshift properly (engaging each gear as you slow down) they might not be in the right places or turned quite right. Engaging 2nd or 3rd gear, with the clutch in, will move the synchros and spin the output shaft alowing you to engage 1st gear. Long answer, but I hope it clears things up for you. In short, nothing is wrong with your car, it just needs to be opperated a little differently then you were doing. Hope this helps.

 
Rep Power: 0

yo dude!

that's really helpful, man! thanx!!

yeah, it really helps me to understand more about the clutch system...thanx..

yeah, i did what everybody here suggested me....trying to engage the other gear before the first or reverse gear...

my trick, i shift to 3rd gear if problem comes with the reverse gear,

and shift to 4rd gear if problem comes with the first gear...

basically, i shift to the gear opposite to the one with the problem....
and it really works like charm...THANX GUYS!