s4vagguy

iTrader: (1)

Well I stored my FD for the winter time here in NJ but heres what happened. Its been about two weeks since I started my FD and the winter has gotten pretty cold. I started it up today to drive it around to make sure she still runs ok and not to get dead spots on the tires. On my way home (only drove it 1.2 miles each way) I couldnt get the car into gear. I pulled over shut the car off and I could cycle through all the gears no problem. (has jdm 5 speed royal purple gear oil inside) I started her back up and it wouldnt go into any gear with the clutch in. Finally I started the car with first already engaged and i just drove it home with clutchless shifting. It grabbed normally before showing no signs of slipping or anything. (ACT 6 puck Rigid Pad). probably only has about 10k on it. is this normal life span?

I assume its the clutch or something got loose because it drove fine before. Is it possible the linkage is mis aligned? not sure how would that make sense if the gears go in fine without the clutch in. any help would be appreciated.

RENESISFD

iTrader: (13)

Bent clutch fork, failing clutch master or slave cylinder could be the problem

K-Tune

iTrader: (26)

Is the brake fluid reservoir full?

Evadrepus

iTrader: (3)

My guess is the pilot bearing seized causing the input shaft to turn even with the clutch disengaged.

s4vagguy

iTrader: (1)

So it seems like im going to have to remove the trans to find out. Welp, thats going to be fun.

XLR8

iTrader: (52)

Before you do that have an assistant press the clutch in as you monitor the clutch disk through the tranny window. This will ensure the hydraulics are working and you can go from there. Slave cylinders die frequently and dont like to sit.

Pilot bearing seizing is a realistic possibility, but they will typically make some noise before completely locking up.

Eliminate the basics before hopping into pulling the transmission.

s4vagguy

iTrader: (1)

I might be leaning towards the slave cylinders, but maybe im being optimistic. It happened while I was driving and I didnt hear any noise. I went to down shift and it didnt want to go into 3rd than i checked every other gear. Any idea where I can find a slave cylinder if it is the slave cylinder? and about how much itll cost about?

RCCAZ 1

iTrader: (10)

Wow.... amazing. Same exact thing happened to me less than a week ago. Here's my story:

So, I was driving my car about a week ago here in Phoenix. Car drove fine, but once I pulled into my driveway, the transmission would no longer shift into 1st, 2nd or reverse. 3rd through 5th worked, but made a grinding metal on metal sound when engaged. Now, it no longer shifts into any gear (running), but with the car turned off the tranny shifts fine. Drained my fluid and no signs of debris. Suspects are my pilot bearing, slave and master cylinder, or the clutch assembly. The pressure plate visibly looks fine with no damage to the "fingers" on the pressure plate diaphram. Can't see the friction plate, so I'm not sure if all springs are still in place. I've attempted to inspect my slave operation through the bellhousing inspection window, but I have no idea of what is "typical" operation travelwise. Up to this point, the tranny always shifted fine with no grinding whatsoever.

So, how far should a "healthy" slave cylinder push the clutch fork forward when depressing the clutch pedal?

Master cylinder reservoir is full and looks fine. No leaking from my master cylinder or slave. Mine is an ACT street/strip clutch.

The person with the "right" answer will be helping TWO people here . Unfortunately, I'm thinking my tranny will need to come out before I find my solution.

boosted414

iTrader: (30)

My money is on the clutch welded itself to the flywheel. Just had a 6 puck do this to me after fairly normal driving. If all of your fluid is there and not leaking, drop the trans.

cewrx7r1

iTrader: (2)

Extremely unlikely!

Most likely is hydraulic fluid loss or air in the system or failure of seals.

RCCAZ 1

iTrader: (10)

So, could an improper seal of the rubber cap on the underside of the brake master reservoir cap introduce enough air to cause such a problem?

boosted414

iTrader: (30)

nope

Tripple 7's

Turns out RCCAZ1's FD is a bad pilot bearing

We unbolted the pressure plate and moved it back. Putting the trans in 4th gear and moving the tires you can see the pilot bearing grab and turn the flywheel then break free a few turns to grab again. One of the rollers must be loose and bouncing around.

Time for the trans to come out for a $14 part, weak

RCCAZ 1

iTrader: (10)

Yup, oh well.

Thanks to Tripple 7's and Tom93R1 for coming out to the house tonight to help me diagnose the problem. Much appreciated guys! Now it's time to start pulling the trans! Fun, fun!!

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

How many miles are on your engine? We install new OEM pilot bearings and dust seals on every build..... there's no reason they should fail like that. Sorry to hear it

RCCAZ 1

iTrader: (10)

Thanks Rich. Yea, not sure what happened quite honestly. It was a new bearing when we rebuilt the engine less than 10K miles ago. Oh well, I've been pretty fortunate with everything else. Guess it's my turn. Just glad it's a low cost item.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Once everything is apart, carefully check the input shaft splines on the trans.

RCCAZ 1

iTrader: (10)

Will do. I'll take an image and post it up! Thx

Evadrepus

iTrader: (3)

My GGR went up 10 points.

RCCAZ 1

iTrader: (10)

Yea, one of my friends commented the same thing. He said that the bearing must have failed at the "exact moment" I pulled into the driveway. Any other time at speed and I probably would have never known that it failed.

RCCAZ 1

iTrader: (10)

Final update on my situation. Here are some pics of the failed pilot bearing. Thanks to Eric (Tripple 7s) and Tom (Tom93R1) for helping with the tranny drop, bearing pull and reinstall. Much appreciated guys. Here are pics of the failed bearing (and rollers) along with a shot of Tripple 7s being goofy (as always)!