|
If the release fork isn’t greased up or if it’s grease is contaminated with dirt then it can get notchy feeling. The dust cap on this car doesn’t cover the entire release fork so the grease is wide open to dust, dirt and water. If the slave or master cylinder are going bad then you can get air in the line and it can also feel notchy as air pockets pass through the line. The air in the line will also shift the engagement point closer to the floor. But these problems should be felt at all RPMs and all gears.
The TOB typically makes noise when it goes bad. If it’s totally frozen up then it could cause grinding that could be perceived as notchiness. If you aren’t hearing anything unusual then I doubt it’s the TOB.
The thump you hear when you release the clutch in neutral is normal. This is just the gear box being put into motion abruptly. Typically when people are in neutral they don’t smoothly release the clutch, instead they drop it. No harm, it just creates an audible thump. Even when the box is in neutral it still spins the input shaft when the clutch is out. When you push the clutch in the input shaft spins down and then when you let the clutch back out it yanks it back into motion. This is also why if you are in neutral and you have the clutch out and then quickly press the clutch in and then immediately try to put it in gear it will thump into gear as the syncros are rushed to match in output shaft to the input shaft. If you push the clutch and then wait just a second for the input shaft to spin down it will go into 1st without a clunk.
Another possibility is your pressure plate is failing. For example if a drive strap breaks then the PP will shift off center causing the disk to not line up with the PP properly. The car will vibrate like crazy if that is your problem. Kind of doubt that is your problem.
I would try cleaning and then greasing your release fork and see how that does. That is an easy job for any skill level.
|