Help! Cant get into first gear...

[mazen222]

i have a 199 standard v6 solara... i had the clutch replaced about a year ago (by a 1/2 noob mechanic).
Since then the friction point was very low... so i had to press the clutch pedal completly to the floor to be able to shift.
So one day i wanted to be smart and adjust the pedal hight by turning the bolt located at the clutch pedal, thinking that the friction point will change... didnt turn out to be a good idea becasue after that the clutch pedal started to be super soft sometimes and someother times harder to press... the friction point also started to change... sometimes it would be half way, othertimes on the floor.

Anyways, i got used to all that and the car runs like a beast.

Today, after driving for a while i go in my car, put in reverse, no problem there, then i go to put in first but it didnt wanna go in... then i noticed that the pedal is very loose... it didnt give any resistance... after several tries, i was able to go into 2nd gear and drive. but going into third was a nono... so i tried 4th and it worked fine. So i drove like that for a bit (using only 2nd and 4th), then i flet the pedal was normal and i was able to go into all gears as usual...

Can anyone pin point what the heck is going on?? i hope its not the transmission!


Thanks guys,
Mazen

[Budd81]

Sounds like your Clutch Master Cylinder. . I just had to replace mine about 2 months ago.
Had no leakage of any kind. Wouldnt go into 1st at all. Had to turn the car off & start it in 1st, the rest off the gears were a bitch too. If you want to save some money & not buy it from the dealership like I did (b/c the guy at my local speedshop said this was something I did not want to buy aftermarket, so I took his advice) at lil more than twice the price. I could have got the same brand off Ebay. Look it up on Ebay & find the Aisin CMT020 Clutch Master Cylinder or put in your car info & find the Aisin brand. It is the exact same thing as the dealer part which I paid $165.00 for. BTW this is just from my experience, Im not saying this is the problem since I have not seen or drove your car but it is a starting point for you.

[ThurzNite]

I'm not sure which bolt you adjusted, but did you put it back to where it originally was?
Have you checked obvious stuff, like hydraulic fluid and bled the lines, no leaks in the hydraulic lines?
Dr J

[mazen222]

ok, now everything came back to normal and i can shift like before... thats so weird... maybe it was some air buble stuck somewhere??

i'm in a big delema now... i was about to fix my bumper hood and front grill for 800$... should i do it or s there high risk the car will die soon|?

and yes i did put the bolt back at the orginial position


Thanks!

[mig0s]

^^ Why would your car die? lol how many km's you got?

[mazen222]

260 km... its due for a timing belt water pump sparkplugs plus the body repairs. Now this weird clutch thing...

Im more towards spending the 1500$ fix it up and keep it for another year, i love my solara

[timbrinosa]

Transmission i guess, you said you've had your clutch replace a year ago. If It was installed corectly, most probably your transmission is the one that needs fixing.

[SpeedySolara]

Before spending $800 on body work you dont need (want is different than need), $1500 on maintenance that probably won't fix your problem, or start replacing parts as of trial and error, take the car to a reputable shop or the dealership to get a diagnostic where you'll get a sure answer.