BIG ****ING PROBLEM: CAR DRIVES BY ITSELF, HELP!!!

[DrifterXRPS13]

so i just got my car back from the shop, they put a new water pump on it, fine and dandy, car's running nice again...that was tuesday, and today as i'm driving it's fine but as the day goes on it's gettin harder and harder to put the car into 1st gear. it takes some time to put it in there but it goes in.

day progresses, 1 gear is no longer able to go in and same with 2nd....3 hours ago, i lose 3rd, so now i'm driving around in just 4th and 5th gear, i was about half an hour away from home at my cousins house...or else i wouldn't be driving it...so i'm leaving from my cousins and 1st, 2nd,3rd, and 4th are not going in, only 5th and reverse, everytime i try to put it into gear it just makes a thud...when i try to put it in 1st, the car rolls forward, if i hold the gear and try to put it in first and just hold it there, the car starts moving, it's not in gear but it just starts to go, same with reverse, it won't go in but it starts rolling backward...

so now i'm on the highway an i'm in 5th doing 40 miles an hour while everyones flying by at 80 or so...get off the freeway and come to a red, it dies when i brake, now i figured out that i can put the car into any gear when the engines off, so i put it into first then start it up, the car just takes off, no brake, no gas, just clutch in, 1st gear and ignition, it just starts rolling, so i go and go through the gears until im in 5th, only problem is i can't downshift, so i'm just driving in 5th again the whole way home....i get to another redlight and the car dies again..so i turn it off, put it in 1st, start it up, this time with my foot on the brake, and it won't turn over, so i let off the brake a little and it starts and just jumps forward,again foot not on the gas pedal....so i finally make it home and i have to move some cars to park mine in the garage, when i get back in my car i have to drive around a coldasac and usually i can take that in 1st gear...i start the car in 2nd and it just goes all by itself, no gas it's probalby going 20 miles an hour around the coldasac, i lose some traction going around, so the rear end is kinda going out but not much, i come to my driveway, pull in real hard, start applying the brakes, the lights start to dim and the cars dieing again, and as soon as the car got in the garage i just killed it, and slammed the brakes on, put it in neutral and put the handbrake up, got out and slammed the door yelling all sorts of obsenities!!!!

i don't know what the crap is wrong with it now, it's like it's possessed, i'm at the end of my ropes with this car, if it's fooked, i'm gettin rid of it... please help? sorry for it being so long but i wanted you to know all the info.

thanks

[DrifterXRPS13]

sorry bout the swearing in the thread title, just read the sticky, i tried to change it but it wouldn't let me sorry, if a mods reading could you please change that, sorry again

[jacob360]

clutch

[benemorius]

Vague but true. More specifically, probably clutch fluid. Sounds like it's leaked out rather rapidly over the course of the day.

Check the fluid in the clutch master cylinder. If the car happens to be an s13 as your name implies, it's the closest thing to the driver side hood mounting bracket. Looks like a tiny version of a master brake cylinder and reservoir. It takes standard dot3 brake fluid.

Report back your findings, then while you're waiting for a response use google to find and read an article on how to match revs so you know how to drive your car when your clutch won't disengage. Trust me - you'll appreciate the knowlege.

[benemorius]

Oh. One more important note. Don't go around trying to force your car into gear if it won't go. It puts undue wear on the synchros in your transmission. Sometimes you may have to force it into first from a dead stop while driving with a perma-clutch, but that's all. If it won't go into gear, don't force it.

[s13sr20chris]

yeah, you have a prob in the hydraulic control of your clutch. i agree, dont force that transmission.

[CaoBoY]

same thing happened in my friends honda, put it in first and it would go by itself, and it was really hard to get into gear...problem= clutch was blown up. put in a new clutch filled the transmission with fluid and it drove fine after that

[Prelude Guy]

same thing happened in my friends honda, put it in first and it would go by itself, and it was really hard to get into gear...problem= clutch was blown up. put in a new clutch filled the transmission with fluid and it drove fine after that

Yup, same EXACT thing happened to my Prelude. 156K miles on the OEM clutch. After it was replaced, the car drives fine.

[Fenvy]

haha what a funny thread

[s13sucksalot]

I had the same prob on my 240. the solurion: tighten a brake line fitting in the rear. The hydraulic clutch and the brakes work off the same resevior so when the brake fluid starts getting low, the clutch will start to function less and less. check your brake fluid level and all your fittings. this should cure what ales you.

[DrifterXRPS13]

well, the i checked both bottles,and the brake mc was full, and the clutch mc was about 85 percent full, so i topped it off and got in the car and it was still being a ***** to put into gear, the weird thing is that when my clutch is disengaged, it makes this whining sound, when i engage the clutch the whine stops...but now since this problems happened, the whining sound is always there, even when the clutch is down...ya think it might be the clutch is fooked, or i think s13sr20chris was saying it might be the hydraulic control, what exactly do you think might be the problem?

[CaoBoY]

throw out bearing maybe? my clutch is doing kind of the same thing, just when i press in the clutch i get this whining ehhh ehhh ehhh sound and when i let out the clutch it doesnt do it anymore. guy who i bought the car from said it was the throw out bearing, but i just grabbed a new exedy clutch kit for the car anyways. 120 bucks shipped off of ebay

[CaoBoY]

i read ur post again, and i really think ur clutch blew up, pull it out asap before you blow up ur transmission

[s13sr20chris]

step one: have someone press clutch pedal and crawl under car to see if slave cyl is moving.

[benemorius]

Listen to Chris. ^ The man knows his stuff well.

It's a problem with the clutch not disengaging, not a problem with a worn clutch not fully engaging.

Something along the lines of a bad master or slave cylinder, or air in the hydraulic lines...

[crzycav86]

I agree. Definitely sounds like something hydraulic.

That's why you gotta learn clutchless shifting..

[LEMHEAD16]

I had an '80 plymouth volare that did the same thing. It kind of sucks untill you learn how to drive with out the clutch. i have gone through two clutch slave cylinders on my 89 240sx. I would start there. Bleed your clutch system of all the fluid and clean out your clutch master cylinder. Mine was full of mostly water and nasty black stuff. I made the mistake of just replacing the slave cylinder the first time and it didn't last 3 months with all the gunk in there. If that doesn't do it I'd say it's time for a clutcheronie.

[DrifterXRPS13]

alright guys got an update on this....i just replaced both rear rotors and pads cause they're connected with the hydraulic system, i had bad left rear brakes...bled the whole syste, refilled mc and now i have brakes but still no going into gear....s13chris...i did step one, of having someone look to see the slave cylinders working or not, and it's working but it dripped 2 tiny drops from it when i kept pushing the clutch in and out... so slave cylinders working, lines are free of air, brakes are working, but still no going into gear, what's step 2 chris?

[benemorius]

The brake hydraulic system and the clutch hydraulic system are completely and entirely different. They are connected in absolutely no way. The clutch has it's own reservoir, too.

Now, if the slave cylinder leaked fluid as you pushed the clutch down then you've found your problem already. As I suggested long ago at the top of the thread, your fluid is leaking out. Therefore - Step two: Find the cause of the leak and replace it. Probably the slave cylinder itself, but it could be the hose going to it.

[navysnail]

yes, brake and clutch system are different.

look at the level of fluid in the clutch resovoir, see if it is low (it probobly will be), if it is, dont just refill it, find out were that fluid went, it doesnt evaporate into thin air with a cap on it. check to make sure your master and slave cylinders are not leaking, as those are likely culprits

[DrifterXRPS13]

the clutch fluid in the reservoir is full, it's never been really low...and the slave dripped two drops yesterday when i pushed the clutch in and out, and now it's not dripping any more...i'm gonna go and get a new slave right now from autozone, should i also get a new clutch master cylinder?

[benemorius]

Replacing the master cylinder is up to you. I personally would not, but I don't like to replace anything that isn't broken unless it's inside the engine. I also feel comfortable with clutchless shifting. If you haven't yet mastered it, you may have to learn it very quickly if your master cylinder should happen to fail in the middle of a cross-country road trip. Now, having said that, you really have no reason to suspect your master cylinder of foul play. Look at the cost of the master cylinder, consider that you will have a parts-store ( ) master cylinder where once stood a Nissan master cylinder, and make up your mind based on that.

Don't forget to bleed the air out of the line once you've replaced the slave cylinder or else you will be very disheartened when you discover that it behaves no differently.

[DrifterXRPS13]

i just got back and am installing it after i eat something...can you fill me in on the bleeding process...also, i 've heard talk of a clutch damper, you can remove it and it gives better clutch feel, is this true, and if so how can i go about removing it?

i looked at the master and it looks fine, just a little dirty but other than that i think it's working fine, so unless it goes out like my brake master cylinder did, i'm not gonna replace it.

[corn322]

the dampner system is on the pass. side of the car. follow the clutch line:MC -> pipe -> dampner box -> stupid nowhere loopjust take the box and the | -> slave cylinderloop out, bend the pipe around so the hose for the slave cylinder can reach it.

[DrifterXRPS13]

SUCESS!!!!....sorry for the caps but i got the slave on and it's alive!!!...put it on, bled the system, and rolled it on down the driveway, put it in gear and she went...the awesome thing is, the clutch is so much nicer now, it doesn't catch on the floor on anymore!...oh also, when i was bleeding the system all that came out was grayish black liquid, ewww, i had to fill the mc up like 4 times to get it clean

i would also like to take this time for everyone on this thread that's helped me out in my time of peril...so thanks guys, your the best, nico rules....that was so gay, peace