As of late, sometimes when downshifting from 2nd to 1st at a light or stop sign etc. at only a few MPH, even with the clutch pedal completely to the floor, when shifting into first I can feel it "catch" a little bit (As if the clutch wasnt in all the way and it was engaging into first, even though it was). Its never done this before and its kind of worrying me. Its catching as if the clutch wasnt all the way down, and you feel a little buck going into first. Should I be worried?

 

Odds are your clutch slave cylinder is beginning to fail. How many miles on it?

SS/SC?

 

um.. who the hell downshifts into 1st?... my car u cant even really get into first when ur moving unless u slow down to like 10 mph. sorry but thats something i dont even do when i drive standard. so.. if thats how ur supposed tom drive then idk how to help, but all i know is ive never seen anybody downshift to 1st gear...

 

Easier to get it into 1st when slowing down at 2-3 mph than when stopped, I suspect that's what he was getting at.

OP - If the clutch is dragging, the car will tend to move a bit when you are stopped, clutch depresed and shift from neutral to first. If it resists your hand and tries to roll forward a bit the clutch is dragging.

Look for fluid along the bottom of the clutch housing to see if the slave is starting to weep. There is a small bleeder hole at the bottom for a telltale.

 

Yea that's what I was talking about like 2-3mph. Thanks I'll take a look

 

Rev-matching the downshift always helps (no matter the gear, anyway... ). There's a Youtube of clip of Venom's where he gets into first constantly while going through a tight autocross; so yes, first has its purpose - even in sporty driving - provided the rev-match is done carefully.

Personally, I'd much rather rev-match downshift to first, than slip second constantly while stuck in crawling traffic.

 

i do this quite often in traffic. im not a fan of puttin it in second an riding at 1000 rpms, so i go to first. took a lil while to master though. lol