stuck 4spd manual

[rudolfgreen]

just put the "new" 240 on the road, and while driving today in light traffic, had the usual tough guy run in;
you know, straight piped camaro v8 pulling alongside for a minute, then gunning the throttle beside to show off his fuel economy?

anyways, this scholar decides to swerve in cutting me off while making a right turn through my lane..
so hit the brakes/clutch to downshift and avoid his idiocy.. but when i went to move the shifter, it is all jammed up in 3rd.

fortunately, only a few miles from home (after driving for about 60) with no change in condition.
clutch works (marginally at best, know that has to be replaced for sure) but cannot even move through the gears parked in the drive..

manual shift bushings? clutch related?
much appreciation in advance..

[sokoloff]

There are some rubber bushings where the shifter connects to the linkage under the car. Worn or missing bushings can cause the problem you are having. It is also possible for the linkages to loosen where they connect to the transmission if those bushings go bad. There are recessed allen bolts where the linkages connect to the transmission. Both jobs are very easy to do and cheap.

Len

[t walgamuth]

you also might have moved the motor forward on its mounts and caused the shift arms to jamb in place. loos bushings might also be involved in this scenario too.

tom w

[rudolfgreen]

checking her out further this morning, a better observation..
the clutch pedal is stuck about halfway in.
depressing the pedal all the way to the floor doens't totally disengage,
otherwise, drives great in 3rd! good times.
this a faulted clutch throwout bearing?
definitely needs shift bushings, but the engine mounts seemed okay with a bit of leverage on them.. many thanks.

[gene2]

I do not think this is the problem, but be sure you have fluid in the master cyl. , sometimes it is hard to see that the rear of is down.

[rudolfgreen]

you're totally right.. looked at it quickly yesterday, and misread the staining inside the well as the actual level. very low.
after refilling with dot 4 and reading the bleed threads,
is it true that in this circumstance you can just wait for the system to equalize and the pedal to come back?
still stuck in 3rd.. thanks.

[Ken300D]

If this happened just after you slammed on the brakes - you may be losing fluid from the master cylinder into the booster chamber.

Ken300D

[rudolfgreen]

excellent diagnostics all around.. many thanks.
powerbled the clutch, worked the shift linkage from underneath,
and away she goes.. 'tis amazing how things work when operated proper
definitely am replacing the weeping master and slave,
not even that big a deal in the end.. once your back in the garage.

[Ken300D]

While you may have a slowly leaking clutch master cylinder or slave cylinder, the clutch system should continue to bleed itself and operate properly if the fluid level is maintained above the clutch port in the reservoir.

What I meant was for you to be aware that the BRAKE master cylinder may be leaking too, resulting in the fluid level dropping below the clutch port.

It may be that when you had to use the brakes really hard, you lost a lot of fluid - resulting in the clutch not working properly because it lost "prime".

I ended up replacing the brake master cylinder and the two clutch cylinders - they were all 25 years old anyway.

Ken300D

[rudolfgreen]

great diagnostics comrades, the clutch slave has now totally failed.
after this learning curve, definitely in my best interest to replace the other hydraulics, but the brake master isn't exactly cheap.
is it possible to replace just the clutch master/slave for now, and deal with the brake master later?
they are on the same reservoir but different bleed systems; to avoid dealing with another clutch bleed down the road?
any and all noob advice much appreciated, many thanks.

[Stevo]

Originally Posted by rudolfgreen

great diagnostics comrades, the clutch slave has now totally failed.
after this learning curve, definitely in my best interest to replace the other hydraulics, but the brake master isn't exactly cheap.
is it possible to replace just the clutch master/slave for now, and deal with the brake master later?
they are on the same reservoir but different bleed systems; to avoid dealing with another clutch bleed down the road?
any and all noob advice much appreciated, many thanks.

The clutch slave is an easy job, but the master is a little tougher. I take the drivers seat to get my ageing body under there. Check to see if the steel line is wet with brake fluid, up under the carpet in back of the pedals.

[yellowbenz]

My clutch master cylinder failed in a similar fashion. Did the brake light come on at all during driving? That was my first sign of trouble (fluid low in the reservoir). Replacing that thing was more challenging than I first expected because of it's location under the dash. Recline that front seat back and prepare to work standing on your head. My neck was sore for a week.

Kevin
1979 240D manual
1984 190D manual

[barry123400]

I am not going to dwell on this because I just do not know yet. Anyways when removing a booster at a wrecking yard reciently due to lack of certain tools I could not get one nut on the booster. I landed up removing the fuse panel and pushing it aisde. Then the nut in the bad location not only was perfectly visable but easy to wrench. Pehaps this approach might get the master clutch cylinder or at least ease the access to it. But again unless someone else comments I just do not know.

[Stevo]

Taking the seat out is not a big deal and gives you room to turn upside down under there. Also what you can do is leave the push rod attached, thats the "nut from hell" I have never had any problem using the old push rod and it save lots of time and frustration.

[rudolfgreen]

right on, quality advice, many thanks.
building the garden spray pressure bleeder, and picked up a $30 slave from ovrstk on the bay.
man this place makes diesel living even greater.