The clutch on my 97 Saturn does not always engage in second and third gear from a stop. Many times I have to force it into gear. Third through fifth seem to be fine. Can somebody tell me what the problem might be?
by 
revmarbarr
ANSWERS: 2
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You killed the synchros in your lower gears. You been racing? Jackrabbit starts? Just plain dumping the clutch?
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I have problems in 1st and 2nd with mine. Actually, with the car stopped I have trouble in all gears. Your clutch is probably releasing enough that while moving, the higher gears synchronise well anyway. The problem is most likely due to trouble in the hydraulic system (air, or just not enough movement), or possibly that the flywheel is so severely worn that the piston can no longer push the pressure plate far enough to fully disengage the clutch (this doesn't make sense to me, but someone else suggested it...usually as a clutch wears it is more likely to disengage and less likely to fully engage). I have yet to discover the true problem, but I strongly suspect the hydraulic system, which is factory sealed (boo!). Sometimes my clutch fully disengages and sometimes it doesn't, and grabs just enough to make it difficult to select gears. Jiggling the pedal up and down a bit sometimes corrects this. You could also have a sticking pressure plate (and I might have this problem, too).
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