I find I have to put my foot to the floor, in order to get a smooth shift (not giving the syncros too much grief). I mean, I have to put my foot right on the floor, a few mm or a 1/4 of an inch too high is no good. Oddly, then it seems like the clutch is never fully re-engaged until my foot is right back at the very top again. I find it makes shifting a chore to make things smooth. I can get on the gas a little early, but that's tricky and I always feel like I'm slipping the clutch which I don't want to do. Sometimes when I re-engage the clutch, the car has a micro-scopic stumble or hesitation even when I let the clutch out slowly and smoothly, and then it seems slower to respond and accelerate. Then, other times the engine revs smoother, it is somewhat random. I can get a smoother shift if I double-clutch. That annoys me. It's not terrible overall, but it's always a let down.
I feel that other cars like the 1987-88 Mazda 323's I've owned, with cable-actuated clutches worked better. Another benchmark is a 1988 Dodge Colt E. My father had that car for 12 to 13 years. It was a literal bare-bones shit-box. 1468 cc's with 68 meager HP...but it only weighed 1960 LBS. Still, I absolutely loved the clutch and tranny. It shifted like quicksilver. I could zip through the gears like nothing. Almost never snicked and the syncros were always more than willing and able to shift. Cable-actuated clutch in that car. The 89 Ford Probe GT Turbo I owned had a hydraulic clutch which was waayy better than this 01 Corolla's clutch. It seemed normal and very smooth. Yes, different application. Older gen Turbo sports car vs grocery getter econo car, but still, this Corolla clutch seems worse than it should be.
What is up with this hydraulic clutch? Is there something I'm missing? Are there adjustments? Recall(s) on parts? The one thing I tried, was when my mechanic had the car to do my brakes, I asked him to flush/bleed the hydraulic clutch and replace with new fluid. I almost think it made a difference for a day or so, then it's back to the way it was before. Maybe the system has a small leak that's getting air? Some other issue.
Any advice about improving the action of the clutch/shifting would be appreciated.
P.S. When should I replace the manual tranny fluid? Redline synthetic ok?
try replacing the clutch slave cylinder and bleeding out the old fluid.
x2.
also consider checking the clutch itself. a worn disc might give you the issues you are experiencing.
as for gear oil. some people say you dont need to, some say every X years some people say "theres oil in there?!?!" the first and last groups described don't own cars for very long.
as my car is an autotragic my honest recommendation would be every 2-3 years or 50,000 miles. but i may be wrong. its been known to happen in the past (just ask my girlfriend)
and yes. redline synthetic GL-4 rated gear oil is good i think 'rollas need 80W-90 but for the love of all that is tasty and awesome... double check!
oh and if i am wrong please correct me... i hate being wrong about my own car... makes me look like an idjit
__________________
before you ask a 'how do i...' question answer this for me. do you own a repair manual for it? have you searched the forum for a similar issue?
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Last edited by Downhillzze110; 06-27-2009 at 08:17 PM.
Reason: left some important things out
Yeah, the Ford Probe GT Turbo was a nice engine/turbo. 2184 cc SOHC 12 valve Mazda engine. An oversquare truck engine with a turbo = nice acceleration without having to rev it to redline. The torque peak was at 3000 rpm and the HP peak was at 4500 RPM with a 6000 RPM redline. From 2000 to just over 5000 RPM, with your foot down, it was pure turbo acceleration. A very fun and nice handling car. The MX-6 and 626 turbo's were also nice. So much torque and power. Not much turbo lag. The engines could take quite a torture, with forged rods etc, people were cranking up the boost with bigger turbos, larger fuel-pumps, bigger injectors and remapped ECU's.. Torque steer became a problem
...anyhow...back to the olde Corolla. When I wind her out, she has some pull, but does run out of breath like the heavy modestly powered car she is. Still better than the Mazda 323's I had. I also find the response on the highway in 5th is decent. No sports car pull, but it goes. My car is light being a bare bones CE. I suspect my K & N drop-in air filter has improved performance slightly. The old air filter was dirty.
Yeah, the Ford Probe GT Turbo was a nice engine/turbo. 2184 cc SOHC 12 valve Mazda engine. An oversquare truck engine with a turbo = nice acceleration without having to rev it to redline. The torque peak was at 3000 rpm and the HP peak was at 4500 RPM with a 6000 RPM redline. From 2000 to just over 5000 RPM, with your foot down, it was pure turbo acceleration. A very fun and nice handling car. The MX-6 and 626 turbo's were also nice. So much torque and power. Not much turbo lag. The engines could take quite a torture, with forged rods etc, people were cranking up the boost with bigger turbos, larger fuel-pumps, bigger injectors and remapped ECU's.. Torque steer became a problem
...anyhow...back to the olde Corolla. When I wind her out, she has some pull, but does run out of breath like the heavy modestly powered car she is. Still better than the Mazda 323's I had. I also find the response on the highway in 5th is decent. No sports car pull, but it goes. My car is light being a bare bones CE. I suspect my K & N drop-in air filter has improved performance slightly. The old air filter was dirty.
yep. for what they are they're pretty good on the highway. in my LE i'll be doing 75-80 and i can floor it and the car just takes off. sometimes thats with the a/c on. if only this car had more power....
Try replacing the driver
I'm only half-kidding though.
This car has a comuter econo-car clutch. I think the high engagement is totally normal and you should push all clutches all the way in as far as I know. This clutch moves a long way and all the action is up-top. I aggree it sucks but experience helps a lot. My first complaint about my car when brand new was the clutch action and the tires.
After putting 100,000+ miles on my car I can shift it now way better than before, but it's no where near as nice as the 1976 BMW 2002 that I learned on. That car's clutch didn't move that far and the engagement was linear.
PS My friend has a 5-speed camry and he said he took off the pedal helper spring and it made the clutch feel heavier and more linear. I'm not sure exactly what he was refering to but it might be worth some research.
I have driven this car for years, and the clutch is not consistent. Every other car I've driven, you learn the clutch and how it behaves on that particular car, and you adjust to it. With this car, you have to constantly change the way you drive in order to get nice action. Double-clutching seems to help keep the momentum up in the clutch/tranny, otherwise, after shifting and re-engaging the clutch, no matter how smoothly, the car often feels sluggish. I don't know why exactly.
I'm new to this forum and Corollas, but feel exactly as you do about the clutch in my 2001. We just picked up this car a week ago, and I noticed on the test drive that disengagement wouldn't occur until the pedal was mashed right into the mat. Engagement on the other hand seemed vague and inconsistent. Slave and master both show no signs of external leakage.
I've since adjusted the release stop and actuating rod to remove free play, and bled the system to remove any stray air bubbles as well. The disengagement point has come up off the floor now, which is much improved, but the overall feel is still poor. If you haven't yet made similar adjustments it might be worth a try.
I will try those adjustments with the release stop and actuating rod to remove free play. I already had the hydralics bled once. Thanks for the feedback. Just today I was thinking to myself about how the car always has a stumbling hesitation once the clutch is engaged again. It's like the throttle is funky. I can almost never get a good re-engagement when going into 2nd gear.
I'm new to this forum and Corollas, but feel exactly as you do about the clutch in my 2001. We just picked up this car a week ago, and I noticed on the test drive that disengagement wouldn't occur until the pedal was mashed right into the mat. Engagement on the other hand seemed vague and inconsistent. Slave and master both show no signs of external leakage.
I've since adjusted the release stop and actuating rod to remove free play, and bled the system to remove any stray air bubbles as well. The disengagement point has come up off the floor now, which is much improved, but the overall feel is still poor. If you haven't yet made similar adjustments it might be worth a try.
Is there very difficult to do? Where are these located? Engine bay? Inside under the dash?
Is there very difficult to do? Where are these located? Engine bay? Inside under the dash?
thanks,
The release stop and actuating rod are both under the dash.
As you release the clutch, the spring pulls the pedal up until it hits an adjustable stop. I moved that stop to allow the pedal to be pulled upwards a bit farther.
Once the pedal is up farther, now the actuating rod will have excess free play. That rod is the one connected via clevis to the pedal, and extending forward to the master cylinder. Loosen the lock nut, and extend the rod a bit to take up most of the free play.
Now you'll have more effective pedal movement, and the clutch will disengage without having to mash the pedal to the mat. Unfortunately, the vague feel and inconsistent re-engagement 'features' remain, but I did find it much easier to drive afterwards. My wife is happy, and that's what really matters.
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(just ask my girlfriend)
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