Amarao

I recently bought this RX-7 and it has a new clutch, however, while taking off and, more rarely, while driving it wont let me shift gears... they become difficult and sometimes can't shift at all. Today, coming home for lunch, I had to stop and completely turn the car off and put the car in 2nd (shifting is perfectly fine while the car is off), restart and start heading home in 2nd the entire time.

While shifting and sometimes while driving when the car is acting up, i will hear some grinding noises/scraping noises. It sounds almost like the Hydraulic Clutch Hose is fitted wrong or leaks and no fluid is getting to the clutch. Atleast that was one of the problems I've had before with my DSM.

Any advice would be appreciated, especially if it's something not overly complex that i can do at home.

nopistons

Start with the basics, and be sure that the clutch hydraulic system is operating correctly. Have someone depress the clutch pedal while you watch the movement at the slave cylinder. If there's no movement at the end of the slave when the pedal is depressed, replace the entire system - Master, hose and slave. It'll cost less than $100 for the parts.

Icemark

sounds like the slave cyl is failing, and/or the throw out bearing was not replaced.

zandrame

Sounds very similar to the problem I posted about a few days ago:

https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...4&postcount=49

Not sure if it's exactly the same problem, but aznpoopy suggested:

"the hard/impossible shifting + pumping pedal ->
it sounds like your clutch hydraulics are going

the bad noise when pressing on the clutch pedal and releasing clutch ->
classic throw out bearing noise
you can even feel the vibrations through the pedal and shifter, no?
metal on metal grinding"

I don't know how simple it would be to repair it at home -- for the bearings, I believe you need to remove the transmission first.

-=1OneShotNO2=-

i dunno whats up with my car either.. when im in neutral i hear a grinding noise and when im driving at low rpms or when i let my foot off of the gas i hear the same noise.. and if i leave the car running for a while something smells like its overheating.. u cant smell it in the car but you can smell it at the rear wheel wells.. smells like the clutch im not sure though.. any help??

Sorry to hijack your thread :-)

JMY952

My car is strange as well. It's hard to shift to 2nd unless im traveling under 20mph and it shifts fine. Although, if over, it will grind. Also it's impossible to shift to first gear unless i'm exactly at 0 mph.

nopistons

^ = Synchronizers.

Amarao

I checked the Master/Slave cylinders... they do move when the clutch is depressed....

And checking my Repair Manual, it keeps telling me that my clutch plates are bad... i just find this strange since it's supposed to have a new clutch less than 4 months old...

ofcourse the opertive phrase is "Supposed to have"

having the feeling that it might be the clutch itself, whats the chances that it still might be a leaky hydraulic clutch line? and if so, would it still be better to replace the clutch since it might have been damaged from not having any fluid?

nopistons

If there is a leak anywhere in the hydraulic system, it will be very easy to find, since the whole system covers about 18". Just look/feel around the master, slave, and hose. If it's all dry, there's no leak. Of course it's possible for there to be an internal leak in the master or slave. That would result in the slave not extending to its maximum, which could produce the shifting problem you're having. And as you say, it's also possible that the clutch was not replaced as recently as you had been told. But before you have the clutch replaced, have a knowledgeable person inspect the hydraulic system.

aznpoopy

you may want to try bleeding the system

the previous owner may have done a clutch job and replaced the slave cylinder but neglected to bleed the hydraulics.