Thankfully I found this thread!

I have been dealing with notchy shifting going from 1st to 2nd and just overall a very unsmooth clutch. I took a look at the clutch fluid reservoir after changing my transmission oil on the 08 6MT and it was at MINIMUM and it was so dark and gunky! I'm taking it in tomorrow to a local shop to get it replaced and the clutch system bled. Will post an update soon.

 

UPDATE!:

So this morning I dropped the car off at Woodbridge Transmission and I noticed the clutch fluid reservoir was again at minimum and the fluid itself was dirty and gunky. Low and behold, after the job was done, the mechanic himself said that he was actually surprised at the first few drops of bleeding the clutch that the fluid was absolutely dirty and almost sludge like.

After driving the car I truly feel a difference in the shifts. It is much more smoother, no more jerking after releasing the clutch. I still have a bit of grinding from 1st to 2nd on occasion but the rest of it is quite smooth.

I recommend those reading this thread to consider changing out their clutch fluid as well if they're experiencing similar symptoms.

 

This is mine after 1 yr and ~7800 miles. Did a clutch line flash last july using valvoline dot 3/4 fluid. There's a thin layer of that dark sludge at the bottom.

Here's a close up pic taken in the day time. Dark honey colored. Flushed it out with prestone dot 4 this time. We'll see what it looks like in 3 months. Nice and clear now. Did a combo of gravity bleed + traditional to finish it off. Went through about 3/4 of a 12 oz bottle.

What's odd is probably 90% of those 7800 miles were mostly highway. I'd expect there to be more debris with greater city driving.

 

one thing i learned is the dark matter comes from the mc. atleast it seemed that way to me when i took the hose off the reservoir line the nipple of the mc had that same gunk. and the gunk was all in the hose as well.

 

Brake reservoir looks worse. If it's been 2 years or more I'd change it out.

 

Maybe you had air in the line¿? I can't say I've ever noticed any difference in shifting after flushing, usually every 2-3 years. If you're noticing a color change/debris after only 2 months, I wonder if something else is not deteriorating and contaminating the fluid.

Can you post a good pic?

 

That's 2 months old?? You did the flush yourself?

In the past I used valvoline dot 4. It would get discolored like that after a year or so. I now use prestone dot 4 which still looks good after 2 years. Doubt the discoloring is anything to be concerned about unless its black. I don't see debris in your pic.