I've been lurking on this board for about a month and finally got my first 7. The more I read about rotaries the better I like them. I'm amazed at how simple and easy to work on this car is.

It's a 1st gen 85 GS. When I picked it up the clutch master cyl was broken and the car would not go into gear. I thought it was the master cylinder that was the problem or it could be much worse. Turns out it is worse. (grin)

After changing the clutch master and slave cylinder the RX still acts as if the clutch never contacts the flywheel. You can start and run the car, put it in any gear with the clutch out, and it won't hitch/move/spasm/anything.

I've asked other folks what they think the problem may be and I get an answer from a worn-out clutch to a broken mainshaft on the trans. I figure it could be anyone of those.

My question is to ask the educated faithful what experiences they've had or seen with these symptoms. I am going to have to pull the trans to find out either way so I am already in for a clutch job. Might as well do it while the trans is pulled right? I'll be in there soon. But if I can find out it's a busted trans I'll have the new one there ready to be slotted in to minimize my downtime.

thoughts?

thanks.

 

Sounds like something in the tranny or gear box. If it revs up pretty easy with it in gear and clutch pedal released I don't think it would be a worn out clutch. Sounds like your on the right track. Good Luck!

 

Car probably sat for a while. When you pushed the clutch in for the first time, it just stuck there and never released. You might try kicking the hell out of the clutch pedal (worked on a 240Z I bought once) but you may need to pull the tranny and replace the throwout bearing, which isn't all that tough to do really. Let the motor warm up really good, rev it up a little bit to loosen things up, then start kicking that pedal. That's where I'd start. Good luck with it, and welcome to the forum.

 

Oh, and make sure that you're in nuetral when performing the above procedure!

 

sounds like a bad clutch.. but....
an easy way to find out if the tranny is bad yourself would be to drain the oil from the tranny.. if the tranny is broken, you will find some big gear chunks in the oil and on the magnetic drain plug...
welcome to the rx7 club

 

Agree with above - but don't worry if it is a litle more serious. Transmissions are still pretty available for 100 - 150 bucks if you look around a little, and even after they have been sitting around for a while I have been able to fill them up with synthetic and run them for a reasonable amount of time in my racecar. Replacing a tranny takes some tall jackstands and a bit of elbow grease, but it isn't all that difficult. Harbor Freight carries the rolling transmission jacks that sure make it a lot easier, and don't cost much money.

 

a friend of mine mis-shifted and blew up the clutch on a mustang 4cyl and it had the same symptoms.. when we opened up a bellhousing cover under the car fibrous dust came out.. try opening the top inspection plate on the back of the motor and seeing if thats the case...


or if kicking it like kentetsu says just dosent work, that tranny will have to come off anyways... save the speculation and just do it (no excuses now, my 120 pound latina GF removed her tranny, so you can too!)

 

You guys are great...thanks for getting back to me so fast!

Possible problems:

busted tranny
worn clutch or destroyed clutch face
frozen throw-out bearing

Got it. All that says to me that I'll have to remove my trans to check any of it.

That was the original plan so I'm still on target. Before I start I'll get a new clutch, pressure plate, and throw-out bearing. I'll also have to remember to get the bearing puller/slide hammer for the TO bearing removal.

I'll think on this end more on this.

Does anyone else have anything they'd like to put out there? Am I right on with my requirements for replacing the clutch and checking the trans?

 

Just a Thought;
When you replaced the Slave & Master Cylinder did you Bleed the System out of Air?
When I replaced my cylinders last year I had to bleed mine twice before I could the Clutch to work properly.
If you have not done this, do it before you start the hard part.
Good Luck
sgieldon
steve

 

Thanks for the tip. I bled the clutch. I had a friend press it and it seems like the clutch fork is moving a lot.

I'll def'ly check into that!

 

yeah it would be a shame to do all that and have it be a clutch hydraulics prob

 

shame indeed, but the experience is always good....

 

I don't think you need a puller for the throwout bearing? Pilot bearing yes, but throwout should just slide off, unlesss I am missing something.

 

He's right. TO just slides off. Puller is only needed for the pilot bearing and seal. I definitely recommend replacing it while you are there!!

 

It's a completely worn clutch.
One of my friends had the EXACT same problem happen with his 323 hatch not too long ago, and it was a completely worn clutch.

 

Never experienced it in an RX-7, but I once had a diaphragm clutch that fractured all the way around the pressure plate. That seems more likely than a failed tranny shaft. Good luck.

As someone said, the trannys are pretty cheap. There are so many 1st gen cars sitting around or being scrapped because of failed engines, you should get a tranny for $150 easily. I have a few in my garage, just in case.

 

The sign of a true car guy. Stacks of transmissions just waiting for an install!

All the information I'm getting from you guys is making me feel a lot better about this. I'll replace the clutch the nxt weekend as I'm in Atlanta all this weekend.

When I get back I'll perform a search for the best clutch disc choice and see what I can come up with. Maybe a lightened flywheel while I'm at it?

Honestly, this is a great resource and a very helpful community.

 

VB gots a nice clutch for like, $150. It's in my car and I love it.

 

Guys. I found my problem and thanks to all of you who posted to help me diagnose it.

I had the 7 towed to my Dad's house on Sat and started working on it about 1 pm that afternoon. I'm working by myself. It's a borrowed garage to which I toted all my tools and equipment. Needless to say it hasn't been easy. I've never worked on a 7 before or changed a clutch. I'm mechanical as I maintain my own motorcycles and did some maintenance work to cars over the years but never anything that required this kind of dismantling.

I worked Sat, Sun, and will be back on Wens after work.

Now..the good part.

The clutch was farked all to hell. The clutch pucks had two rows of rivets holding the clutch material to the clutch disc. One circle of rivets is on the outside of the disc and the other circle is closer to the hub or center portion of the disc. All material that went from the outside circle of rivets to the edge of the clutch disc was ripped completely off. From the center of the clutch to the inside circle of rivets as ok. My guess is someone did something to blow that amt of disc material off the disc. After that the disc didn't have enough material to lock up to the flywheel. Hence the reason why the clutch would not lock to the flywheel to turn the transmission. I'm assuming that trans is ok as the shaft would turn when twisted from the front or back of the trans. When I drained the fluid I didn't see anything other than the usual flecks of metal and gear fluid.

Now I'm 90% done. I have to fill the trans with fluid, install the starter, bolt up the exhaust and shielding, and then I'm done.

Wish me luck!

btw - the 5 hardest parts of doing this are:
1 - removing the transmission from the engine
2 - installing the transmission
3 - my crossthreaded transmission mount
4 - loosening exhaust studs
5 - Jiffylube must've put my trans plug in with an airgun set to 100 ft lbs.

 

Sweet Glad it is working out for you.

About your tranny plug. Idiots! I am paranoid about stuff like that. it is easy to strip out on some cars. But they just fire up the air tools and go at it.

I never take my car to shops. Too paranoid