1994 Drivetrain locked up
 

Got one for you guys...

This poor guy was out driving his sons (who is deployed) RX-7 to keep it fresh and the following happened. I stopped to try to get the car out of the middle of the road.

94 FD was making a left had turn (under 20 mph) and the rear wheels locked up and stalled the motor. Can not start the car. You can rock the car and feel that the drivetrain is connected as the only movement is the play in the driveshaft.
There was fresh motor oil dripping on the passenger front control arm. Presumably coming from the seam of the transfer case and engine.
The clutch pedal feels to have full line pressure. No hydraulic fluid anywhere. The trans will not change gears.
What's the primary cause of failure?
Thank you in advance.

Easy stuff first. Is there fluid in your clutch reservoir? Is the slave cylinder working? (Assume the MC is if you have brake pressure). Can you see anything awry with the clutch or clutch fork through the inspection plates? You can rule out the differential by disconnecting the driveshaft and see if the rear wheels turn (assuming the rear brakes aren't locked up). If still nothing, you can remove the bottom plate off your transmission to see how the gears look (make sure you drain your fluid first). Finally, you may have to remove your transmission to check the pilot bearing, better look at your clutch and fork, or other gears in the extension housing.

Good luck

Transmission won't change gears? Try turning it off and then changing gears. If you put it in neutral with the car off, does the drivetrain unlock? The ability to shift gears with the engine off and the inability to shift gears with the engine running is most likely a clutch issue. More often than not a dropped spring from the disc.

Matt

You say you can't start the car, does the engine not rotate when you engage the starter?

I mean let's be honest, the likelihood the diff or transmission totally locked up is highly unlikely. However, two things that are throwing me off the scent are the fact that there is fluid leaking from the passenger side and the engine stalling. Unless this is a RHD FD the clutch pneumatics should be on the left side of the car; correct?

And the most important thing...if you were driving and the clutch slave cylinder died it simply wouldn't let you take the car out of gear. It would NOT stall the vehicle. The engine would be directly coupled to the drive train as if you were driving along normally in a gear of your choosing.

When you say you cant start the car, it sounds like the entire drivetrain is locked up, and you cant get the clutch to release the engine from the tranny. That sounds like your clutch is not functioning, even though it feels right.

What is the status of the car? Was it towed? Were you able to disengage the tranny from the engine?

my guess - oil leak's a red herring - one of the springs in the clutch centre has come out of the disc jamming the clutch.

I had something similar on a previous car, but the spring popped out whilst I was in neutral. Could not select any gears.

Marf, I was thinking the motor oil leaking was the same. I was putting it down as probably due to tge recent motor build.
I appreciate all the advise guys.
I'll keep ya posted.