brian a

It is an old 4000 and there has been at least 100,000 miles since the last clutch replacement. There is about 3 inches of travel in the clutch pedal before you feel it begin to take up. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd can be very hard to get into gear - sometimes. Sometimes they work perfectly!?! Lately 4th and 5th have been getting clunky too. I've assumed for the longest time that the problem was with the clutch and I made an appointment to have it replace, then someone brought it to my attention that it may be the transmission? Can anyone tell me what the symptoms are when you need a new transmition or clutch?

DaveN

I had this happen on an old Fox, was the clutch dragging.

brian a

I don't think I could afford a new transmition, I sincerely hope you are right! Thank you!

mel g

I don't believe you can be sure it's the clutch from your symptoms. I think the symptom of a slipping clutch is that the engine over-revs without the car moving. If the clutch wont disengage (most likely then it's the hydraulics outside the clutch itself that are at fault, ) then you'll hear grinding gears.
I think the most likely problem in your case is that the linkages between your shift lever and the trans are out or line or worn.
A trans defect itself would likely only show in 1 or maybe 2 gears, or be noisy while running.
If it's the linkage, my suspicion, you can do it yourself, no major parts to remove. How easy will access be? don't know, may be very difficult.

brian a

Well, when the clutch is at its worst - when I am in city traffic and it is REALLY hard to get into 1st and 2nd - I find it helps a lot to pump the clutch. A mechanically inclined friend informed me that this means there is air in the hydraulic lines. So does that mean that I need to have them bled and, well, re-done or whatever?

mel g

I still feel it's likely a wear out or misalignment of the linkage between the shift lever and the trans. I expect clutch defects to cause
1: grinding, if it doesn't disengage( i.e., a defect in the hydraulic system) or
2: a slipping clutch means higher engine speed and little car motion( difficult to replace-a big job)
I had this problem w an old 5000, and the linkage had some adjustments you could do yourself.