Transmission will not go into gear.
 

Brand new Exedy Clutch Master. Blead correctly and the pedal has good pressure and springs back quickly. I had someone pump the pedal and the slave cylinder moves as it should.

But with the car idling, I can not get the transmission to go into gear. If I try and force it, it seems as if the car starts to move forward as if the car clutch is engaged.

is this a faulty pressure plate? That is the only thing I can think of...

Any other test I can/should do before dropping the transmission?

So you replaced just the clutch master cylinder and no other components? What drivetrain is in the car right now as far as an engine/clutch/transmission combination?

'84-'85 12a engine with stock transmission. I have only replaced the Clutch Master as far as clutch components go.

I did pull this engine from my Rx2 and put it in my 83 Rx7. There were no transmission engagement issues while in the Rx2. I did not remove the clutch, flywheel, or pressure plate when swapping engines. The Rx2 has a GSLSE transmission if that matters?

I did not replace the pilot bearing or throwout bearing when doing the swap. I do not remember if there were any issues with the fork or if I had trouble mating the engine and transmission.

I have never driven the car. I got it with a blown engine but was told everything else was good to go. So I do not know if the car already had transmission issues.

mine was a faulty pressure plate when I was experiencing this myself. I dropped and inspected and reinstalled my tranny 3 times trying to troubleshoot (confirming clutch installed facing the correct way, confirming pilot bearing was good but replacing it with a new one anyway, confirming pressure plate was torqued correctly, etc). I finally noticed that when the clutch was pressed in, some of the fingers on the pressure plate just wouldn't disengage. new one ordered and replaced and all good now.

So I finally got around to pulling the transmission and inspecting the parts. Pilot bearing needles looked fine, and still rotate. Throwout bearing also looks fine and Spins easily. Output shaft on transmission looks as it should. Pressure plate and clutch disc don't seem to have any issues either. The fork on the tranny doesn't look to have any damage or be irregular either. All in all, I didn't find any issues.

I have anyway, a new pilot bearing with oil seal, throwout bearing, clutch and pressure plate.

Before I install all this, is there anything else I should look at as to why the transmission would not go into gear?

If I press the clutch pedal, the slave moves as it should. So I don't think it is the clutch master or slave either.

You have normal full clutch pedal? Able to move shifter thru all gears with engine shutoff? Did the car engine came out of sit for any amount of time,outdoors? Have seen clutch discs stick to flywheel and/or pressure plate causing symptoms you mention.

How far does the slave cylinder travel when the clutch pedal is depressed?


'83 doesn't have the helper spring on the clutch; or is that just an S3 thing?

to be honest, i would still hold the slave suspect. i've had a few weird experiences with slaves. you said it moves, but the real question is if it's pushing the fork far enough. obviously, you've got a whole bunch of new parts now, so you might as well install as planned and see if the issue goes away, but if you still experience what you're describing, then i would probably replace the slave next.

I agree. But hopefully I will not have to. the slave will be the only part that's not new. So if I have to, not really a big deal. It's probably the least expensive of all as well.

Side note, anyone here have a favorite grease to use?

I have some off-brand high temp stuff. Not sure if anybody has any tricks for this? Maybe some wheel bearing type Grease?

You're throwing a bunch of new parts in it so you may as well do the slave. I always replace the master and slave at the same time, its cheap insurance.

and i would also replace the flex line. and yes, wheel bearing grease will be just fine.

so I finally got around to installing the new clutch and pressure plate along with pilot and throwout bearing. I'm just trying to see if there's a possible issue here. The flywheel is an unknown brand, as it came on another engine I got previously. It is not stock and a lightweight version. There are little dowel spacers that go in between the pressure plate and flywheel, apparently to take up the missing standoffs on the stock flywheel.

I seem to have to tighten the flywheel bolts enough to seem as if it's forcing the pressure plate on. This could be an issue, it could be not. Anybody know anything about this?

The attached picture shows the dowel like standoffs in between the pressure plate and lightened flywheel. If this is normal, what should the dowel standoff thickness be? I'm guessing these might be too thin?
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...75c385f5eb.jpg

Test fitting this pressure plate and clutch combo on a stock flywheel the spacer could be the issue. Both stock style and this one have a similar gap when just sitting in place. The standoff spacer that goes in between the pressure plate and flywheel measures .315"

The gap between the pressure plate and flywheel were pretty close on the stock flywheel. Which was about .180" on the red PP, and .130" on the stock type PP.

I guess I'll try and match that number when installing on the lightweight flywheel...

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...ffd427d8ca.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...7c6dc4aec1.jpg

You are fixing to have to do this job over again...
 

First off, the flywheel, depending on design and manufacturer, may require an Automatic Trans counterweight on the eccentric shaft to balance it all out. The RB light aluminum flywheel is built this way; e-shaft, counterweight, the flywheel bolts to counterweight. Point being, if you don't have a rear counter balance, the engine won't run for long. If it's built into your flywheel, so much the better.

Next, the bolts and spacers used to shim a pressure plate to the flywheel are very specific as they set the distance that the clutch disk has when disengaged. If you're not sure those are the right spacers, you may have a combination that will not dis-engage properly. It is normal to have the clutch pressure plate under tension as you tighten pressure plate bolts, and also why you need a clutch disk alignment tool in place while you do this. From your photo, it would appear you're giving proper orientation to the pressure plate and flywheel, as those cut-outs are spaced to allow the friction disk throw.

My concern would be putting this together with unknown parts, installing the engine and trans, and then not being able to disengage the clutch, and then you'd have to pull it out again. If it were me; 1) figure out who made the flywheel and be sure it's balanced properly, 2) buy a clutch and pressure plate kit that comes with hardware designed for it, and 3) follow the directions on installation.

I don't like to do things twice, especially when it's as labor intensive as pulling an engine or dropping a trans, but I'm old...

Taking a close look at the flywheel, it looks to be the racing beat steel lightweight version. I did not see any part numbers though, so I'm only going off of visual. Also by peeking at the counterweight, seems to be the correct one as well. This engine and flywheel combo has ran before in my Rx2. I pulled that engine with that flywheel to put into my 1st Gen RX7.

Looking at everything, I don't really see any issues. The problem most likely came when I installed this engine into the car and then beat up the pilot bearing when mating the transmission to engine.