Is it the clutch or trans?

[GottaHaveLS1]

I've noticed that this has happened twice. I was simply following the curve of the road and downshifted from 5th to 4th.(doing about 40mph maybe) and when i put it into 4th, it grinded for a second. I was positive that the clutch was all the way to the floor. What could cause this? 58k miles

[keliente]

Could be a little bit of both.

With a 99 you have the not-so-good master/slave cylinder (98-00 cars). Mine would do some grinding & was very difficult to shift at the track (or any other wide open situation). When I swapped clutches I also spent the extra cash for an 01-02 master & slave cylinder and haven't had a problem since.

[DaddySS]

A couple of the things:
A bad clutch (or pilot or throwout bearing) will generally result in grinding/difficult shifting in all gears, not just a particular gear.
The Master cylinder hose has a restriction in it to slow the fuid flow and reduce shock to the drive line from fast clutch releases, this can be fixed via the "drill mod".
Down shifting on this or any car will sometimes result in a little grinding and should not be a major concern, if it is major or consistent grinding it needs to be checked.
When it is time to replace the clutch, you will want to use the upgraded slave cylinder from the 01+ models.
If you have a mityvac, bleed the clutch - it's simple and easy.

Hope this helps.

[GottaHaveLS1]

what is a mityvac? and could u tell me how to bleed the clutch?