98 Chevy Cavalier clutch issues?

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jcottier
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Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2013 6:11 pm

98 Chevy Cavalier clutch issues?

Unread post by jcottier » Tue Jul 16, 2013 6:22 pm

I have a 1998 Chevy Cavalier 5 speed manual transmission... Recently I have had the clutch replaced, the "mechanic" shop that had replaced it did not put the slave cylinder back correctly and the clutch pedal stuck to the floor on the way home... They refused to cover the labor they had done and we're going to charge me another $350 to redo their work... I had another mechanic redo their work, or lack there of... That was months ago... Recently the car was showing low coolant, so I noticed the coolant was full, and the belt was worn, so I replaced the serpentine belt and water pump... The first time I drove it after that it stopped shifting into second gear, then it began trying to jump out of all of the other gears and as soon as I had slowed to turn onto my street I had no power... I can really drive it hard and get it back up to speed, but I really have to rev it up to get it moving, and the low coolant light is on again... Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you in advance.

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carriedi
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Re: 98 Chevy Cavalier clutch issues?

Unread post by carriedi » Tue Jul 16, 2013 11:22 pm

low coolant light is turned on by a sender usually in the recovery tank. sometimes they get stuck or sink. if coolant is not low replace sensor (sometimes made into the tank)

the clutch may no longer be a clutch problem. Jumping out of gear sounds more like a trans problem. All your clutch does is engage and release the input shaft. If your clutch is worn it may slip. If your clutch is stuck you can't shift (under normal circumstances) because the input speed of the shaft won't let you align the shift collar to get out of gear and into the next gear. Jumping out of gear is a sign of transmission gear problem.
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jcottier
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Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2013 6:11 pm

Re: 98 Chevy Cavalier clutch issues?

Unread post by jcottier » Wed Jul 17, 2013 11:38 am

It isn't fully jumping out of gear... If I leave my hand on the gear shift I can feel it jump say every 5 seconds... I don't have any problem with performance til it slows down, then I have to basically floor it to get it up to 5 mph... I wouldn't have done that but I was in the home stretch, and the road is steep enough to where I could not have pushed it... I moved it from one side of the yard to the other, and it rode fine in 1st, I let it idle for a while trying to look for anything I could possibly see, I figured it was worth a shot... Then I went to drive it back across the yard to park it back, and I had to really give it gas to get it to move once it had warmed up... Once again the coolant light had come on once it started that again... I had put it up as collateral for a loan to get the clutch fixed, so I can't take it to the scrap yard just yet, and I've had it forever I don't want to just trash it.

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carriedi
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Re: 98 Chevy Cavalier clutch issues?

Unread post by carriedi » Wed Jul 17, 2013 6:28 pm

what are you trying to say when you say you have to give it a lot of gas to get it to move? Is the clutch slipping and the engine rpm goes way up with very little vehicle movement? have you taken it back to the second place that worked on it to see what they think?
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jcottier
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Re: 98 Chevy Cavalier clutch issues?

Unread post by jcottier » Wed Jul 17, 2013 6:33 pm

It is like sluggish... I've never had a vehicle behave like it before, there is no noticeable slippage, or catching... It just acts like it's running through mud... Very high rpms, but the wheels are barely moving, and as it slowly picks up speed you can shift it like normal, until you slow down again and you lose momentum... When you first start the car before it warms up it will get up and go with no problem... And as long as it is a 1 way trip with no stops, or turns the weirdness felt in the gear shift would be the only way you could tell there was a problem

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carriedi
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Re: 98 Chevy Cavalier clutch issues?

Unread post by carriedi » Wed Jul 17, 2013 10:50 pm

engine rpm's high but vehicle barely moving sounds like slipping to me. Wish I was there to drive the car and see what you mean. take it to a shop so they can see what you are describing.
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jcottier
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Re: 98 Chevy Cavalier clutch issues?

Unread post by jcottier » Thu Jul 18, 2013 6:14 am

Most likely... I was thinking of an automatic tranny where when it slips it will catch and shift hard... It is very difficult to describe

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