manual 5 transmission shift binding

My daughter has a SC2 and we had to replace the shift linkage when it broke. The repair shop told me this was pretty common on Saturns. Of course you can't buy just the part you need, you've got to buy the 'assembly' blah, blah, blah...... Seems we paid between $300 and $400 and the replacement seems to be a bit obstanant too. I've tried to convince her to be gentle and patient but you know how that goes with a 20 yr old.

Good luck, Chris

Before going crazy - lubricate everything, check the oil. If you've got more than 100,000 on it, just change the stuff.

Next - check the clutch master cylinder, see if it's low on fluid. I had this once - the car was a ROYAL pain to get into gear and shift, it was like the shifter linkage was stuck. Added fluid, it worked great ever since....

...on my 97 the dealer replaced the clutch master cylinder because it was hard to get into the lower gears. I was under the assumption the clutch master cyl is non-serviceable. I first suspected the clutch but because of the mileage, but couldn't get it to slip and the dealer confirmed and said it still had life, although if felt stiffer/weird than norm.

On occasion if I tried to do some fast shifting and got heavy-handed, it would cause the actual motion to become stiff - which would loosen up over time. The fighting to get into lower gears, usually 2nd was the worse, was corrected with the cyl replacement. Of course I always thought there was room for a boat load of improvement for the way the shifts felt anyway, however the box seemed really tough and I didn't break any parts over some

You probably didn't need a new cylinder, just some ATF to fill it up.

No, don't use ATF in the clutch master cylinder.

The clutch master cylinder uses DOT-3 brake fluid. Read the rubber cap on the master cylinder!

Putting ATF will ruin the clutch hydraulics, and you will be in the market for a replacement, thanks to Nick Hull's advice!