Hello im kinda new here and i would like to get an answer for this.
Whenever i try to put my 94 camaro 3.4l v6 5 speed in reverse it just grinds and grinds. and when i go up to speed to put it in 5th it does a small grind but it is noticable. Id like to think its just dirty fluid so i dont have to change the master or slave cylinder. Let me know what you think it could be
THANKS

 

The job of the clutch is to disengage the engine from the transmission. When you put your car in reverse I assume the car is not moving and the clutch is pushed in, this means nothing should be moving. If you have grinding something is not working as designed. Since you can tell the car is not moving you know the grinding is not coming from there. That leaves the clutch is not completely disengaging the engine.

Common causes:
Clutch master cylinder
Clutch Slave cylinder
Air in the line
Bad pressure plate (most common cause)
In the case of a 3.4 there is an odd situation of the slave cylinder breaking away from the bell house.

Just a FYI, Slave and master cylinders tend to fail complete not a little bit. It is pretty rare that one will fail and only push the clutch some. Normal the pedal just falls to the floor dead as can be or if you hold it in you will feel it bleed down. Air in the line should only be there the system was worked on recently.

It is very common when the clutch starts to fail to have a customer to list other gears grinding, “It’s just reverse and second” is the most common. The forward gears are synchronized and they can handle the clutch not fully disengaging better then reverse which has no synchronizer. The forward gears that grind first are the ones with the most worn synchronizer. If you keep driving the car without fixing the clutch they will all grind at some point. Unless you have a spare trans laying around you should not drive it until the clutch is fully disengaging the engine.

 

thank you for the reply. I know that when i got the car the guy said he put a new clutch in it so it makes me think there is air or something in the line. but about a month ago i was driving and i got to a stoplight and i went to put it in gear and it just didnt go, the stick wouldnt go into gear so i had to turn it off and start it in gear to move the car. This is my daily driver so i would like to get it fixed asap or sell it and get another one but a 3rd gen.
Thanks again for the reply and the help and the advice. i really appreciate it

 

Air in the line does not get worse,,,, You have described a clutch failure perfectly.If he put a ebay clutch in then there is a high failure rate in the first month. There are hundreds of post on other forums warning not to buy them. When I was searching for a clutch for mine I found story after story even many mechanic refused to put them in because they know it will not end well. Not sure what you paid for it but an un-driveable car is worth a lot less.

3rd gens are great but they are so old now they are only as good as the owners have maintained them. You can find a 3rd gen that looks great but is a mess mechanically. Newer 4th gen 3800 are getting pretty cheap and can be found in decent condition but there are many in NOT decent condition. If you are buying any older car you should really spend $50 and take it to a mechanic. He will let you know how well it has need taken care of and if repairs have been done professionally. Last thing you want is some guys car that has driven it until the cost of repairs make not worth fixing anymore for him.