For the past week I've been having trouble putting the car into gear when I go to start the car. Once I get it into gear and drive around a bit it gets progressively better. I notice reverse being the worse, perhaps because I pull into my garage and reverse out in the morning.

 

.. is the clutch fluid close to minimum?

 

I'm going to have to check that. I just checked the manual and I see there's a filler plug port to check the level. I think I'll just take it in and have in drained and replaced with that Redline stuff.
Hopefully that's it.

Although I just read the fluid cannot just disappear - it is a closed system, and it does not burn off.

So it would be odd if I have to add fluid???

 

Just open the hood, and close to the firewall on your right (if you're looking into the engine from the front side) there will be a little reservoir with some fluid in it. That's your master slave cylinder. There are two lines on the master cylinder: one reads "MAXIMUM" and the other "MINIMUM." If the flud level is at, close to, or below "MINIMUM," you should immediately refill it. I wouldn't bother with Redline just yet, just buy some cheapo stuff to make sure it's not leaking anywhere.

If you refill it and it's still tough, and you notice the fluid has gone down significantly since refilling, chances are you have a leak somewhere. Replacing the master cylinder, slave cylinder and clutch line might be necessary... either way, it's not a tough fix.

Good luck!

 

Im having the same problem in my TII. I checked the fluid level on the master cylinder and everything checked out fine. I also changed the gear oil. That helped for a day but then it went back to doing it. Could I have a defective pressure plate? Please help.