Car wont shift into gear when cold

[Trstno1]

Hey guys -

So, usually my D stays in the garage all winter due to the harsh weather here in AK. However, I recently needed the garage space to work on my daily driver. so I pulled the D outside and threw on a car cover. I had left it outside in the driveway for about 7 hours in -5/F. weather. When I went to go bring it back in, it started, but be darned if I couldn't get it into reverse. I have a manual transmission. I double clutched it and it still wouldn't go into reverse. It just wanted to grind gears. I barely got it to go into 1st gear to go forward. Understandably, the gear oil must have been nearly frozen, but the clutch fluid shouldn't have been....

Eventually I decided to put it in neutral just to manually push it back far enough in the driveway so that I could put it in 1st gear and drive it back into the garage. I left it overnight to let it warm up, and now all clutch works with all gears no problem. Is this a known Delorean issue? If I didnt know any better it almost seemed like the valves in the clutch master shrunk in the cold and was allowing fluid past it when actuating the clutch. I would think maybe I had a clutch master going out, maybe it just needs replaced, but the one in the car is new and only has a couple hundred miles on it.

Any suggestions? Does anyone else have a problem leaving there manual Delorean out in the cold for too long?

Thanks in advance.

[Michael]

Did you try pumping the clutch before shifting?

I'm not versed at all on DeLorean manual gearboxes but isn't there a new and improved metal clutch line that many people use because the oe line either swells and/or leaks?

[Trstno1]

Did you try pumping the clutch before shifting?

I'm not versed at all on DeLorean manual gearboxes but isn't there a new and improved metal clutch line that many people use because the oe line either swells and/or leaks?

Yup, I double clutched, and have the improved clutch line installed. It definitely took me by surprise.

[David T]

What happened was even with the clutch disengaged (clutch pedal to the floor) you still had a lot of drag from the pilot bearing spinning the input shaft. It was so cold that the bearing was stiff and did not allow the input shaft to stop from being turned by the flywheel. The "fix" would be to lube the pilot bearing with grease that would not get so stiff even in extreme cold. What might have also worked was to put the car into gear with the engine off and start the car with the clutch pedal to the floor and your foot on the brake so the car won't move. That would force the pilot bearing to turn and warm up so you could shift.

[Bitsyncmaster]

My guess is your clutch fluid has some water in it. When was the last time you changed the fluid.

[Ron]

It could be the slave, if it isn't new too... But, I'm with David on starting it in gear while the clutch pedal is down.

[M@rty]

My guess is your clutch fluid has some water in it. When was the last time you changed the fluid.

I,m with you mate... brake fluid and clutch fluid is supposed to be flushed every 2 years on any car although nobody does that.


Through time fluids will age and deteriorate and moisture will also end up in there.

Manual gearbox oil should also probably be changed out every 5 years too although not many people seem to do that either.

With advances in oils and fluids its a good time to refresh anyway...

[David T]

If there was water in the clutch fluid it would have frozen preventing you from disengaging the clutch at all at that temperature. This also has nothing to do with the oil in the transmission since the OP says it works fine when it is warmer. That being said, I would flush the brake and clutch fluid anyway, especially if it hasn't been done in the past 2 years. Same for the transmission oil if it hasn't been done in a long time. I would also make sure the anti-freeze is still fresh and good enough to protect at those extreme temperatures. That's DAMM COLD! Cold enough to freeze a battery that isn't fully charged.

[Trstno1]

What happened was even with the clutch disengaged (clutch pedal to the floor) you still had a lot of drag from the pilot bearing spinning the input shaft. It was so cold that the bearing was stiff and did not allow the input shaft to stop from being turned by the flywheel. The "fix" would be to lube the pilot bearing with grease that would not get so stiff even in extreme cold. What might have also worked was to put the car into gear with the engine off and start the car with the clutch pedal to the floor and your foot on the brake so the car won't move. That would force the pilot bearing to turn and warm up so you could shift.

Interesting thought…

[Trstno1]

My guess is your clutch fluid has some water in it. When was the last time you changed the fluid.

Fluid was new about a year ago…