Hey guys, I just recently solved my "coolant seal failure" issue, but now I have another problem. I figure it's a "special day" in February (Super Bowl), and I need my Giants to win (+360 spread on the moneyline, how can I refuse?!), so I decide to take the FD out for once. Of course something goes wrong; I'm using a 6-puck clutch, and I let it off a little rough at a light right before the house I'm going to to watch the game; the stick gets stuck in nuetral, and I have to coast to my friend's house. I was a nervous wreck throughout the game leaving my FD on the street, and now it is there overnight, possibly 2 if I can't figure out the problem in time; what do you think it is? Here are the symptoms:

Had a rough start from a light immediately before pulling into the road my friend's house in on, which is when it locked up.

Clutch moves around fine when car is off, but if I try to start with car in gear, it goes to move forward, as if clutch is permenantly engaged.

Stick will not move from "nuetral" when car is started.

I called up an FD buddy (that actually installed my clutch) right after it happened, and he mentioned something about a cage coming loose upon rough engagement, and how it's an easy fix; is this correct? Does this happen frequently, and how easy is it to fix? I've never had to jack up my FD before, I've always used ramps or a lift, but now I can't get my car running to drive up onto them; where are the jack points? I'd like to get this done as soon as tomorrow morning, so any information ASAP would be greatly appreciated! (And if you can't tell, I've had a "good" night, being that the Giants won the Super Bowl; so don't make fun of my noob typing/questions )

 

Sounds like the clutch needs bleeding or the clutch fork somehow separated from the pressure plate. It is hopefully nothing more than the two.

 

Not to argue your response, as I don't know the answer to my question; but wouldn't clutch fork separation make it so I couldn't shift even when the car is turned off? Wouldn't that make the car stuck in gear or something?

 

At least the Giants won

 

Need to fix this tomorrow; early if possible, Tuesday if not...

 

Nope. My vote also goes to the fork.

 

Does the shifter move around the gears fine when the car is OFF?

 

+1 to the clutch fork. It is a fairly easy and affordable fix, but you do have to drop the transmission.

If the fork looks OK, then I would start checking out the hydraulics, but I am pretty sure you broke the fork because it stopped working so suddenly.

 

Great!

Yes, when the car is off, it moves around just fine.

LOL, you should see my "repair facility". It consists of a 10mm and a screwdriver

Thanks for the info, guys... how much does the fork itself go for?

 

I put one in a customers car about 6 months or so ago. It was ~$80 from Ray at Malloy.

 

It could possibly be the cage. Though a clutch fork is a possibility...

 

Is there any type of iron or steel clutch fork upgrade that I can buy that will be more resilient than the stock one? I might as well upgrade while I'm in there... what does ErnieT use?

 

The one that Mazda sells now is an upgrade from the original one. They had an issue with the original ones.

A few other things you might check that haven't been mentioned(which I'm sure you already have):
-Make sure you have plenty of fluid in the brake/clutch resevoir
-If you are low on fluid or your clutch pedal went weak, check for a ruptured line that connects to the slave cylinder. I've had a couple of cars that I have put stiffer pressure plates in rupture the old line... having the customer give me a call in the middle of the night saying they broke another clutch fork. Turned out it was the line. Never hurts to check. Good luck.

 

maddslow i had this exact problem and it went the same way... i bought a fork like everyone said but when pulled the trans i came to find out one of the rivets on the 6 puck melted itself onto the flywheel.. i had to pry it off....and i just replaced the clutch while i was there

 

So are you saying you can't shift gears with the car off? If that is the case, it's not the fork. Regardless of the clutch being engaged or not, you should be able to shift gears and get it into neutral with the car off. If you can't, then the problem is with the shifter/gear assembly.

 

And i had the same problem as well. I replaced both my throwout bearing and pilot bearing and the problem was solved. I dont know which one exactly cured it but i changed both of them anyway since the trans was dropped.

 

Oops, I'm sorry, I wrote a little misleading last night (I was pretty drunk, I'm impressed I didn't have any spelling errors )... the SHIFTER moves around fine when the car is off, and the clutch has plenty of tension to it; if I try to start the car with the shifter in gear, the car tries to drive as I crank it.

 

Like the other 10 people in this thread said the clutch fork is broken

 

MADDSLOW DO NOT OVER LOOK WHAT I POSTED!

 

Do you realise you CAN drive it without the clutch working? at least then you can get it home. if you dont know how I will tell you.

 

How does the pedal feel? If its not the clutch fork or clutch hydraulics issue, then you may have sized the disk to the flywheel from slipping it too much. This is why I hate 6 puck clutches for the street. You don't need one anywhere near your power levels. Last car I had that happen to I started it in gear a few times and the jerks were enough to break the clutch loose.

 

ihor this is the same issue i had.

 

The pedal feels very firm.

I'll try that method tomorrow, starting it in gear a few times to try and break the disk loose (if thats the problem). It was pretty much my first time driving it in awhile, so i did slip the clutch quite a bit. Hoping that's the only issue... Oh, and another piece of information... when I first couldn't get the car into gear, I kind of forced it into 2nd after a struggle, and it stayed there while I coasted to the house, which is when I could no longer get it back in. Does this help at all?

I asked my friends if I could use their EMPTY 2-bay garage to drop and inspect my tranny, and they're fine with it, so I'll have it off the street by tomorrow night.

 

Probably fused the clutch onto the flywheel from slipping it too much. 6 puck clutches, even when sprung are pretty difficult to drive smoothly on the street. I would get rid of that 6 puck. Your flywheel is probably chewed up to so you should at least have it cut or the clutch may chatter.

 

gotta ask, what was your coolant seal failure?