Unable to select gears.
 

I was wondering if anyone ever encountered not being able to select gears. I started my '88 vert in neutral and it wouldn't go into first or any other gear including reverse. I kept stepping on the clutch and when i engage it I heard a quiet noise. Finally after a minute of stepping on the clutchand off the clutch I was able to put it into all the gears but they were not shifting smoothly as usual. I know my transmission fluid hasn't been changed since I've owned it, 2 months, but the resovoir is full. Trouble shooting according to the repair manual include

1. Faulty transmission
2. Faulty clutch disc
3. Fork and bearing not assembling properly
4. Faulty pressure plate
5. Pressure plate-to-flywheel bolts loose

If you have experienced this please let me know what u did, and also how much, in a worst case scenario, is a new transmission?
Thanks for the help, I'm new to the board.

well, i feel bad reading this post and not saying anything....why dont you make a weekend of it and pop out the tranny. See if the shift fork or anything is noticably wrong. if so....try to fix it...if not have your tranny inspected

Sounds like it could even possibly be your clutch master cylinder or slave cylinder. Will it go into gear with the car off?

Try putting it in gear with the car off. Also check under the hood with a friend pumping the clutch pedal to see if the clutch is releasing. My guess is bad hydraulics. If the car is rnning, and the clutch doesn't disengage, you can't put it into gear. Since you were able to put it in (Immature laugh... "put it in") after pumping the clutch (building up pressure), my guess is as stated.
More than likely it is clutch master cylinder that needs replacing, as opposed to the slave cylinder. They are known to go bad from time to time.
Try roll starting it and clutchless shifting. A little tough at red lights, but possible. That's what I did on the way home when my slave cylinder went kaput. :) (Don't try this without lots of previous practice.)
Sean Cathcart

Thanks for the replies guys, I'll let you know what happens and what the cause was as soon as I've rectified it.

Make sure your clutch pedal is adjusted properly. If it engages too close to the floor, it might not fully engage, making it hard to shift. A leaking master or slave cylinder could cause a loss of pressure, which would make it hard to shift.

Could this problem happen occasionally. Every once in a while I have a lot of trouble getting it into gear and other times it is no problem. Would certain weather conditions make this problem more noticable (cold weather)? Thanks,

i kind of had that problem with my car not too long ago. it started out with the clutch pedal getting stuck in. then i got it popped back out. then the shifting felt so different. first thought was the throwout bearing. i then had to let the car sit for 2 weeks while i went back to college. the 1st day back from college after no car for 2 weeks, my car did the same thing yours did. it would start up in neutral, but would not go into gear at all. it ended up being a little bolt type thingy that snapped in half, that dealt with the throwout bearing i believe. but u have to drop the tranny to get to it. well good luck with the problem

Okay guys I am currently having the same problem. Yesterday, I drove the car to work and everything was fine up until then but then on the way back, could not engage any gear at a stop sign. Pumped the clutch pedal several times and manage to free it. Later it drove like nothing had happened. If this is an intermittent problem like mine is, it turns out it is the PILOT BEARING. The tell tale sign is the slight growl and small amount of vibration when the clutch pedal is depressed. This is more pronounced when you first put it in gear. If you don't swap the pilot bearing soon, it will damage your input shaft but you could drive it for a little while longer, till you come up with the money for a clutch job.

i just had this problem. fixed it by dropping the tranny and replacing the clutch and pressure plate. good thing i had a spare from an engine swap.

Same thing happened to me...I just turned my car off and started it with 1st gear engaged...little rough and then when i came to a red light i would turn my car off again. ( I was stuck 1hour from home and i had to get home) then i got to the high way and i just slammed it into second the bashed it into 3rd etc...there was a "little" grinding but i made it home and when i was taking my exit off the highway I noticed when i put my clutch pedal in my rpms dropped and i was able to shift normally again. I guess its just one of those rx7 mysteries....Anyways ive been driving it for about 3 months now after that happened and never had that problem come back...

-Daryl

Hmm.. now that you mention it, mine started shifting normally right after I muscled my way through the gears. But I had the tranny dropped anyway. What hapenned was a couple of splines at the pilot bearing were broken but held in place. Sometimes the the broken parts would get out of position which would put the shaft in a bind and not allow you to shift. Dude, if your tranny is in good condition, you ought to check this out otherwise you may f**K it up.