In weeks before it became completely immobile sometimes while driving on the freeway in 5th gear all of a sudden engine would start revving and any pressure on the gas pedal would just make it rev more like it wasn’t in gear. It did this a few times for only 10-15 sec at the most. Until one night while driving on the freeway it started doing this and wouldn’t stop. I wanted to make it to the next exit so it would be easier to look at and I barely got there by being in 5th (lower gears would only go like 5mph) gear only able to go like 30mph with the engine revving like crazy. Once I pulled over off the exit and turned off my car, tried starting it again and clutch will start the car just fine, but it doesn’t go into any gear. I can move the gear knob into all of the gears (albeit reverse is a little hard) without any noise, no grinding at all, but it stays in neutral the whole time. I can put it in first and let go of the clutch and car stays on and remains unaffected.
1 Answer
All of these symptoms would fit with a worn out clutch friction plate.
The first signs are often noticeable when the car is under load driving up a hill or trying to quickly accelerate. The clutch will slip, causing the engine revs to increase without the expected increase in vehicle speed. If left long enough as you have, eventually you have no drive at all.
I am fairly certain that you need a new clutch installed. A full installation will usually require a new friction plate, pressure plate and release bearing. If the flywheel is also damaged, due to letting the clutch get so bad, the flywheel may need resurfacing or replacing too.