Hi there,

I was driving my z24 Chevy Cavalier earlier today and when I went to shift from second to third, and the clutch pedal didn't quite go down all the way and when I went to shift it made a ticking, vibrating noise (didudidudidud) and I quickly moved it into nutral. After this had happened the clutch pedal became VERY loose, and where I normally push it down until, no longer allowed me to shift (it's as if the clutch was not engaged at all). To shift, I then had to put the loose clutch on the floor... and then some, I finally got it back home with a somewhat tired leg and foot!

So, my question to you all, what are some possible problems with it, and any suggested solutions (I would love to try and fix it myself if at all possible, money is tight). Thanks a lot! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

EDIT: A friend had suggested a clutch cable, is this possible, or easily changed?

 

It's probably a hydraulic clutch, so no cable. If by chance it is a cable because I don't know what year your car is, the cable can stretch, but usually there is a self adjuster that will make up for this. If it is a hydraulic clutch then you could have a leak in the line, a binding throw-out bearing, or air in the line. Check the fluid, but the levels don't work the way most think. The older the clutch gets and more wear it gets will actually increase the fluid level. If the fluid level is low and you have a lot of miles on the clutch then you may have a leak, also inspecting the line from the clutch master cylinder to the throw-out bearing for leaks will help. Remove the rubber boot where the fluid line goes in to the tranny bell housing and have a friend push the clutch in and see how well the throw-out bearing moves. If it's binding then there should be some type of sticking and if there is air in the line then there would be a heasitation. Make sure your floor mat isn't bunched up by the clutch peddle. That noise you heard was the syncro in the tranny grinding the dog teeth on the gear.