My fiancee's '97 Acura Integra is having funny clutch problems. We tried calling Car Talk (you call 888-CAR-TALK and leave a message; they call you back if they're interested), but they haven't called us back. So, I'll throw it out here for the empeg masses to ponder.

Over the past few months, her Integra has developed trouble getting into first gear. You'll be at a stop light in neutral. Green light. Clutch in. Stick won't go into first. You pull it into second and maybe it will get back into first afterward. Maybe you double clutch and you can finally get it in. This happens maybe 5-10% of the time. The only workaround has been to get it into first while you're pulling up to the light (put smooth pressure on the stick while coasting to a stop and it will usually slip in at some point). If it's in first and you've got the clutch in, everything starts just fine.

Then, a few weeks ago, things got much worse. The car just wouldn't get out of gear at all. We concluded that the car was unfit to drive and had it towed to a nearby station, fearing the worst. They found that the clutch master cylinder had leaked out all the hydraulic fluid. Unsurprisingly, pressing the clutch pedal wasn't having much effect on the clutch, itself. For $300, they replaced the master cylinder and the car was good to go. The aforementioned first-gear problem was not effected by this repair.

Now, a few weeks later, the clutch "feel" has noticably deteriorated. For lack of a better term, the clutch has something of a rubbery feel. We suspect something may be still amiss with the hydraulics and plan to bring it in for another look. Any thoughts on what might be causing the first-gear issues and/or whether there might be further hydraulic problems?

Well 300 for a clutch master cylinder to me is ridiculous because I just bought a new one for 100 bucks OEM, and it take about 20 min to install including bleeding the line. The rubbery feel could be due to air in the line so either bleed the system yourself (I can give you a run down) or take it back and have them rebleed it. If this doesnt solve it, then you may be looking at a worn out clutch.

Taken from honda-acura.net and various other places:

Q: " A couple months or so ago I started having occasional trouble putting the car into first from a stop. Got worse for a while, then evened out to about every forth or fifth time. If I down shift properly when coming to a stop it rarely happens."

A: "First and reverse dont have syncros. Reverse is a dog cut too which is why it makes lots of noise. You can do the trick with 2nd and first gear that others mentioned, or you can blip the throttle and then goto first. [...] I'd say what your experincing is pretty normall."

Other seems to fix that problem by changing their clutch, but opinions seems to be contradictory on this point...

I'd go with the same suggestion as acurasquirrel_ for the "rubbery" feeling of the clutch: Could be air in fluid system.

As far as the first gear problem goes, it sounds like it could be a gearbox issue. Worn or bent selector forks or worn synchromesh gears could produce the problems you describe. It might also be a fault with the stick mechanism itself being worn. Does it ever jump out of first when you accelerate? Selector fork problems sometimes result in a particular gear not fully engaging, which means it often pops back into neutral when under load. Also, a very low gearbox oil level might cause such a problem, although this is less likely.

A bad clutch release bearing will make it difficult to engage gears but usually applies to any gear, not a specific one.

The clutch feel sounds like the hydraulic system has either air or water in it. It may not have been bled properly when it was repaired, or the master cylinder reservoir cap might be loose allowing moisture in. Have a look at the hydraulic fluid and check it's transparent and not cloudy, which would indicate contamination. In either case, replacing the fluid and bleeding the clutch hydraulics may well cure that particular problem.

pca

Does it ever jump out of first when you accelerate?

Nope, never had that problem.

The clutch feel sounds like the hydraulic system has either air or water in it.

Sounds reasonable. We'll take it back and get them to bleed the line, etc. I'll also check on what we actually spent on the previous parts & labor on the repair.

Other seems to fix that problem by changing their clutch, but opinions seems to be contradictory on this point...

Changing out the clutch or transmission would, presumably, be a much more expensive repair. I'll try the throttle blipping and other tricks to see how well they work.

I was going to suggest a synchro problem, but if they don't have synchros (!), then I guess it's a non-issue.

Just first and reverse lack synchros, all the other gears have them.....I know Ive replaced em.

So, if there are no synchros on first gear, and first continues to have problems, even after we sort out the hydraulic issue, could that mean that something inside the transmission is worn out? I imagine it costs a bit to have a mechanic tear it apart to find the bug.

I meant first and second by ``they''.

It's possible that you still have a clutch issue. If you had a leaky master cylinder( I think you got taken on its replacement BTW) and you continued to operate the vehicle. It's possible that you have been changing gears without having full disengagement of the clutch, or with the clutch slipping. If this where the case it is possible that you have over heated the pressure plate. This, in turn, could have damaged the clutch release springs. This may be part of the spongy feel that you are experiencing. While you were having your original problems did you happen to smell anything?

No smells, but good idea about the springs. We'll see how it behaves after we sort out the hydraulics.

can you select 1st gear without trouble with the engine off?

has the fluid level for the clutch changed?