Hey,

Haven't had any real problems with the tranny in the year or so that I've owned the car but just all of a sudden it became very hard to shift gears...the revs won't drop when clutched and sometimes you can feel the car creep forward when in first and clutch disengaged so I guess that means there is a problem with the hydraulic clutch system? It has always grinded like a son of a bitch when going into reverse after driving for awhile and heavy city driving will cause the hard shifting problem, but not to this extent. (Any suggestions as to why it does this are appreciated too)

The fluid level in the resovoir is good, I'm going to check it tomorrow to see if it is the hydraulic system for sure, I have a Haynes manual that helps alot.

This has got me worried about my clutch/transmission so my plan was to get the tranny beefed up a little bit, nothing to major because its just a 305 TPI, but what are some simple internal upgrades that would really extend the life of this tranny? I know steel shift forks, keys and **** pads are important upgrades on the T-56, and can be had for a couple hundred bucks.

I'd also want a new clutch..the car has 215,000 km on it so it seems like a good idea now. Would I have to go OEM or are there good clutches out there from aftermarket companies that don't cost too much? If the hydraulics are to blame i'll need a new system there too.

My final question is how hard is it to replace your clutch/hydraulics? I'm not much for mechanics, just oil changes and stuff but I want to learn more about cars and with the help of a more knowledgeable friend perhaps it could be done? I have the repair manual which walks you thru it step by step....of course i'd get a professional to do the transmission work.

Thanks for the help!!