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'98 tracker difficulty with shifting into gears and grinding noise on occ. when attempting reverse
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ljparsel
Novice
May 31, 2015, 2:40 PM
Post #1 of 10
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'98 tracker difficulty with shifting into gears and grinding noise on occ. when attempting reverse
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First off, apologies for any of my post not making sense, I have very little knowledge about vehicles.
I have a 1998 Chevy Tracker manual transmission with 161k miles and cable linkage. A few weeks ago I began having trouble shifting my car into gear. I first noticed it had troubles after my car had warmed up a bit. Had my husband take a look at it and of course it didn't act up. Well now it is occurring more commonly (and it is also warming up here) and finally it did it to him as well. The hardest gears to get my car into are 1st, 2nd and reverse. I attempt to place into first and second sometimes it will not go into those gears, but after a few attempts I can get it into gear either by luck or by pushing slight harder on the shifter (probably not a good idea to force it). Normally, I just drive to and from work and my drive is very early in the morning (before it warms up) and I usually do not have any issues with it on the way to work. Not sure if the weather really has a role in it, but I find it more difficult to drive home in the afternoon when it is warmer outside. When I shift my clutch is all the way to the floor and to me it seems like I really need it to be pressed down past the floor to get it into gear. I recently started having trouble with reverse. Sometimes it slips into reverse easily and other times I try to put it in reverse and it grinds. My clutch has had work done on it about 3 years ago and of course I am not 100% sure what they did but I do remember it was an expensive job, I plan to contact the mechanic and get more information on the job tomorrow. I would think with an expensive job they would have changed the transmission fluid. I do have a small leak under my car but it is very small and my oil does leak as well but very slowly (2 drops I noted when I put cardboard under it all night) and I do keep that checked regularly and add a little oil as needed. But I hope the small oil leak isn't making it more difficult to tell if its a leak from the transmission. I am just trying to figure out the problem and see how expensive it may be to fix.
I have read that it could be the clutch release and also just the clutch needing to be adjusted, would those be an expensive job? Could there be other problems I am overlooking? All opinions are helpful! Also, I need my car for another week or two until I can get it into the shop, will I be further damaging my car if I drive it for an additional week? I normally take my car to a family member who is a mechanic but the drive is quite far and if it is a simple fix I could take it to someone near me and would be able to get it fixed sooner hopefully. Thanks for any help and advice!
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gsferraro
Veteran
May 31, 2015, 4:52 PM
Post #2 of 10
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Re: '98 tracker difficulty with shifting into gears and grinding noise on occ. when attempting reverse
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Hello,
If you can get this into gear with engine off with no problem and have a hard time with the engine running you have a clutch problem. If you have a hard time getting the trans into gear engine running or off, then you have a trans problem. Getting back to the clutch, do you have free play in the pedal at the top? Gary
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ljparsel
Novice
May 31, 2015, 5:21 PM
Post #3 of 10
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Re: '98 tracker difficulty with shifting into gears and grinding noise on occ. when attempting reverse
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Thank you for replying Gary! I just tested my car when it was off and it easily goes into all gear without any problems. When I depress the clutch I have to put the clutch to the floor to get it in and out of gear, I feel like if I have problems getting it into gear I will find myself getting it into gear when I am really pushing down on the clutch.
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gsferraro
Veteran
May 31, 2015, 5:44 PM
Post #4 of 10
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Re: '98 tracker difficulty with shifting into gears and grinding noise on occ. when attempting reverse
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When the pedal is at the top (your foot off the clutch) do you have free play or does it feel tight. Push slightly down on the clutch and see how it feels? Gary Are you in new york by chance, i have a trans shop in ny and would check the car for you
(This post was edited by gsferraro on May 31, 2015, 5:45 PM)
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ljparsel
Novice
May 31, 2015, 6:56 PM
Post #5 of 10
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Re: '98 tracker difficulty with shifting into gears and grinding noise on occ. when attempting reverse
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It feels normal, about an inch before I feel any resistance. My husbands car is a manual but hydraulic and his feels more like it is actually being compressed when I press down on his clutch. Mine does have resistance but not as much as his. Not sure if that is just the difference between hydraulic and linkage though. Lauren
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ljparsel
Novice
May 31, 2015, 6:58 PM
Post #6 of 10
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Re: '98 tracker difficulty with shifting into gears and grinding noise on occ. when attempting reverse
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Also, thank you for the offer to look at my car, that is very kind of you. Unfortunately, I live in Kansas. :/
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gsferraro
Veteran
Jun 1, 2015, 3:41 AM
Post #7 of 10
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Re: '98 tracker difficulty with shifting into gears and grinding noise on occ. when attempting reverse
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Lauren,
If you have linkage, i would try to adjust the clutch first, if you look where the clutch pedal is under the dash, there should be a threaded rod there for clutch adjustment, im not sure if you should shorten or lenghten the rod, but try it one way see if it gets better or worse, if its worse then go the other way but you always want to have some free play in the clutch pedal. Gary
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 1, 2015, 6:31 AM
Post #8 of 10
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Re: '98 tracker difficulty with shifting into gears and grinding noise on occ. when attempting reverse
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Gary + Lauren, all on the same page here this smacks of way too much clutch freeplay. Lauren, it can be difficult to feel just how much there really is vs assorted resistance in a cable but imperative to know.
It was somewhere in this maze of troubles with this era of this vehicle that was noted a plastic/rubber eyelet I think used to cushion the feel of clutch could fall out or wear away making it impossible to get the adjustment right if one is at all - no sure without looking as Gary just said it would be there. If not the thing totally counted on exact proper cable in place if not adjustable,
T
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 1, 2015, 5:51 PM
Post #9 of 10
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Re: '98 tracker difficulty with shifting into gears and grinding noise on occ. when attempting reverse
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The threaded rod only adjusts the clutch pedal height. The free play adjustment is under the vehicle.
Here is the procedure:
1. Inspect the clutch pedal height adjustment.
2. Depress the clutch pedal lightly until the tension on the clutch cable can be felt.
3. Measure the clutch pedal free travel. The clutch pedal free travel should be 15 to 25 mm (0.6 to 1.1 inch).
4. Measure the clutch release lever free travel adjustment. The clutch release lever free travel should be 0.5 to 1.5 mm (0.02 to 0.06 inch).
If clutch pedal free travel is below specification, raise the vehicle, loosen clutch cable adjustment nut B (4) at the clutch cable bracket (2) until the clutch pedal free travel is within specification. Tighten the clutch cable adjustment nut A (3). If the clutch pedal free travel is above specification, raise the vehicle, loosen both of the clutch adjustment nuts A (3) and B (4) at the clutch cable bracket (2) and tighten the clutch cable adjustment nut A (3) until the clutch pedal free travel is within specification. Tighten the adjustment nut B (4).
^ Tighten the clutch cable adjustment nuts A (3) and B (4) to 18 Nm (13 ft. lbs.).
NOTICE: Refer to Fastener Notice in Service Precautions.
5. Raise and support the vehicle.
If the clutch release lever free travel is below specification, loosen the clutch release lever adjustment nut (6) until the clutch release lever free travel is within specification. If the clutch release lever free travel is above specification, tighten the clutch release lever adjustment nut (6) until the clutch release lever free travel is within specification.
6. Lower the vehicle.
IMPORTANT: Make sure the marks on the clutch release lever and the clutch release shaft are aligned with each other. If the marks are not aligned, remove the clutch release lever from the clutch release shaft, align marks and repeat free travel adjustment procedures.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Jun 1, 2015, 5:55 PM)
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ljparsel
Novice
Jun 11, 2015, 3:07 PM
Post #10 of 10
(1793 views)
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Re: '98 tracker difficulty with shifting into gears and grinding noise on occ. when attempting reverse
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Thank you all for replying to me! You were beyond helpful! I took my car to the mechanic tonight and I hope its just in need of an adjustment. Seriously, thank you all for taking the time to reply to me. I am forever grateful!
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