Clutch will NOT disengage..clutch or tranny? Options

[NOMIEZVR4]

Well guys here is my problem. I installed my ACT 2100 about 2000 miles ago. Things have been going fine except for the past couple of days. My shifter was acting kinda notchy and then a few days ago it just quit altogether. Now the car refuses to go into gear.

Basically my clutch wont disengage..if i start the car in gear, it jumps forward. If I start it in neutral, and try to put it in gear, it wont go.

When I first installed my clutch I had the same problem. I fixed it then by adjusting then later on replacing my clutch master cylinder. Along with that, at the same time during the clutch swap I installed a washer behind the pivot ball, used the OEM TOB, had the flywheel restepped to .609, got some pennzoil syncromesh aka gm syncromesh and also got a 1/4'' LONGER slave cylinder rod. That combo along with some bleeding finally did the trick with a little adjustment of the clutch master cylinder.

Now this time im totally stumped..at first I thought it was the TOB, because when I held the clutch down, it made a howling noise..I thought the part that spins on the tob seized so that was rubbing against the pressure plate and making the noise. So, I dropped the tranny and checked the tob, it was fine.. ..I was confused. So anyways, just to be sure, I installed ANOTHER washer behind the pivot ball and reinstalled the tranny. Same thing, NO GEARS.

So now I finally dropped my tranny again, thinking that maybe its the clutch disc that wore out prematurely....not the case..at least I dont think so. Looking at it right now, it looks ok, springs are in place, but maybe its a little thin... I dont know, I will take a picture and post it just to make sure..the pressure plate looks fine also, no broken teeth or nothing. Some heat marks, but nothing unusual.

So now im really stuck guys, the only things left are to take off the flywheel have the step height rechecked and then have the tranny shop look at my clutch disc and tranny...is there anything else that I can do? I really need your help, thanks a lot.

btw, dont know if this is relevant but I have a bm lsd tranny insert..so if it is the tranny which has failed, then I have to remove it out of my old one..

[MidwestDSM]

Same thing happened to me once, it was the clutch slave cylinder...had a leak.

[bzrancer]

hi all.... i drive a lancer but my friend has a 99 eclipse gs. he has
a problem wit the tranny. it had a nasty leak in it. it was leaking
outta the slave cylinder and we rebuilt that and, all was good for a
while till we got on academy and lost all clutch pressure.
some dude from pep-boys helped us fix it and yet another temp-type
job! we have concluded that the prob isnt the slave cylinder, but
something else. it seems to be a pump of some sort. but when the car
isnt moving there is no pump-leaking sound. also..... when he is
losing pressure, the car will grind 2nd gear. the only one but still
grinds........ any help as to how to rectify the prob or do we need
to go to a mechanic??


lataz,

bill

if it is the slave cylinder i can get a new one off e-bay but what about if that dosent solve it???

[MidwestDSM]

check the line for the master cylinder to the slave....get under the car and press and depress the clutch and see if fluid leaks out anywhere...also make sure there IS fluid lol.

[wortdog]

If the transmission will go into gear with the engine off, the transmission is probably ok.

Is your clutch hydraulic fluid level changing at all? If so, then you have a leak somewhere. Leaky master cylinders can be identified by a trail of fluid running down the firewall under them, while leaky slave cylinders will tend to fill up their rubber boots with fluid.

You might also check for crankwalk . . . its not just a 7-bolt thing. The howling could be from the flywheel contacting the block.

Get someone to press the clutch while you're looking at the slave cylinder rod, that will tell you pretty quickly if you have hydraulic problems or mechanical problems.

It takes a really messed up pressure plate/clutch disc combo to not disengage, I had one clutch disc almost completely detach from the center hub. The disc would actually bounce around some(creating horrible noises) whenever I pressed the clutch in, but the car was still drivable.

I also had a TOB lock up from me spraying it with brake cleaner(STUPID STUPID), it tore up the pressure plate fingers quite a bit and tore the shaft it slides on completely apart from the bellhousing. The clutch still disengaged most of the way, and the car would still(barely) go into gear with the engine running.

[natedogg]

Well guys here is my problem. I installed my ACT 2100 about 2000 miles ago. Things have been going fine except for the past couple of days. My shifter was acting kinda notchy and then a few days ago it just quit altogether. Now the car refuses to go into gear.

Basically my clutch wont disengage..if i start the car in gear, it jumps forward. If I start it in neutral, and try to put it in gear, it wont go.

When I first installed my clutch I had the same problem. I fixed it then by adjusting then later on replacing my clutch master cylinder. Along with that, at the same time during the clutch swap I installed a washer behind the pivot ball, used the OEM TOB, had the flywheel restepped to .609, got some pennzoil syncromesh aka gm syncromesh and also got a 1/4'' LONGER slave cylinder rod. That combo along with some bleeding finally did the trick with a little adjustment of the clutch master cylinder.

Now this time im totally stumped..at first I thought it was the TOB, because when I held the clutch down, it made a howling noise..I thought the part that spins on the tob seized so that was rubbing against the pressure plate and making the noise. So, I dropped the tranny and checked the tob, it was fine.. ..I was confused. So anyways, just to be sure, I installed ANOTHER washer behind the pivot ball and reinstalled the tranny. Same thing, NO GEARS.

So now I finally dropped my tranny again, thinking that maybe its the clutch disc that wore out prematurely....not the case..at least I dont think so. Looking at it right now, it looks ok, springs are in place, but maybe its a little thin... I dont know, I will take a picture and post it just to make sure..the pressure plate looks fine also, no broken teeth or nothing. Some heat marks, but nothing unusual.

So now im really stuck guys, the only things left are to take off the flywheel have the step height rechecked and then have the tranny shop look at my clutch disc and tranny...is there anything else that I can do? I really need your help, thanks a lot.

btw, dont know if this is relevant but I have a bm lsd tranny insert..so if it is the tranny which has failed, then I have to remove it out of my old one..

Well, it sounds to me like you pretty much eliminated everything except the slave cylinder. I'd replace that. If it still doesn't shift into gear after that, I'd put my money on an internal transmission problem. Broken shift fork/rail, broken gear(s), etc.

[NOMIEZVR4]

[QUOTE]Is your clutch hydraulic fluid level changing at all?

No the clutch fluid is topped. During my new clutch swap I changed the clutch master cylinder. Slave cylinder boot is also dry. I removed the little rubber boot that goes on the bellhousing and actually saw the tob push the pressure plate while my brother pressed the clutch. The hydraulic system is functioning well as far as I can see. I also bled the system a few times after the new clutch master cylinder install.

[QUOTE]You might also check for crankwalk . . . its not just a 7-bolt thing. The howling could be from the flywheel contacting the block.

Dont scare me like that..

natedogg- Ok, here is my final stab at this problem.Im starting to strongly believe that its the flywheel thats causing me all of these problems..right before we did my clutch we did my cousins 92 awd..2600 install, he didn't have to adjust his clutch master cylinder or bleed his system or anything..but when I did my clutch..had to bleed the system, add a washer, longer sc rod, etc...I know for a fact that his flywheel was stepped differently than mine..it definetly was NOT .609 maybe .610 or higher.

I know it all boils down to all cars are different, but that thought is just buggin the hell outta me now.. and plus im kinda desperate now...I mean if the tranny shifts while the car is off and all, then it can't be the tranny. Also when the car was in the air, with the tires off, it shifted fine, but when I put it on the ground, it wouldn't shift. The flywheel is the only thing thats left..hope its it..that way ill have an excuse to upgrade to an ACT flywheel.. Ill see what happens..pray for me..Do you think it may be the flywheel? Isn't .609 right at the LIMIT? Usually people have it stepped anywhere from .610-.612. Ive taken off the tranny quite a few times with no avail. Thanks everyone.ill let ya know what happens.