1QWIK7

iTrader: (33)

ok guys, i need your help and i searched for 45 minutes and came up with 4 threads that had not that much info and im on 56k so i cant be looking on this site forever, i need an answer now please..

anyway, this is gonna be long..so we all know that the weekend that just past was the sema show in nj..yesterday (sunday) i went early in the morning with the fd which i didnt want to do but i had to..we left at about 7:30am, i filled up gas and left on our way to a long journey on the garden state parkway..

ok... now..this is the first time i ever went on a long trip with the fd, usually my complete distance would be like 5 miles to and from work and ocassionally to my friends house which is like 10 miles...

on the way there, everything was fine, it was great, i got good gas mileage (went 144 miles on a 1/4 tank) which is pretty decent..i even boosted parts of the time, usually exiting the toll booth

but the problem was coming back home..

leaving the convention center, i could feel that the tranny was very rough, usually hard getting into 1st gear and reverse..all over gears were fine..water temp was fine along with everything else..now, going home on the parkway was nothing but straight road, little short 15 degrees sweep here and there but mostly straight for 2 and a half hours, i made no rest stop, just one straight trip..the last toll i went through was where i had a serious problem, i had a really hard time getting it into 1st gear.. so i had to play with first and second to get it in there..it took me like a full minute at the booth before it finally went in and i left..

ok, here is the real problem, after that last toll booth before entering my usually short stretch of highway i normall pass through to go home is a long 90 degree sweep.. mind you that this is the first 90 degree sweep or any kind of long sweep after that long 2 and a half hours of straight road..i pay the toll and BAMMMMM, i felt no power steering, it felt like if the the car is off.. so that 90 degree sweep was the hardest turn i ever made, it took all my energy out.. i got completely scared and nervous..
i thought to myself, maybe something got stuck from all that straight riding without any turns for almost 3 hours (idk??).i continued on and after about 15 mins, i get to my city and the first stop light. i made my signal to go left, at the light, i played around with the steering wheel and it was locked, like if the car was off..light turned green and i had to muscle my way again to make that turn..after about 5 min i get home. my street is a one way street thats pretty wide, about 30-35 feet.. i try to back into my driveway and BAMMM!! car wont go into reverse..i tried everything i can out of panic cause there were cars waiting there and all my neighbors watching and everything.. i was playing with the gears like a madman hoping it would go but NONE of the gears would go in.. i mean NONE..the only gear that would go in was 5th, so i played with that, then tried reverse again, nothing.. tried 5th to 4th, to 3rd, to 2nd, then reverse, nothing.. i tried all possible combinations and get it into 5th again..then after a good 5 minutes (cars are still beeping),i get into reverse with a good grind and backed into my driveway..

frustrated and sad, i let the car cool down with the fan mod for about 10-15 minutes while i sat on my porch thinking of what went wrong and how much will it cost if something is wrong..after a good 1 hour of cooling, i get back in the car to close all the windows and what not and i tried to play with the gears once again just for the hell of it.. all of them went in fine, like there wasnt any problem..as with that ps problem, i checked the fluid and it was normal.. all the belts were fine..im thinking the pump seized?

now here is my assumption, since yesterday was hot like a bitch, im thinking the heat has something to do with this? cause 3 hours of driving in 90 degree weather has to do some kind of damage..

im a bit scared to turn the car on today to see if the gears will go in smooth or if that power steering problem is still there..

please give me any feedback you can.. thanks for reading..

Fatman0203

Last time you changed your tranny fluid? If not do it, see if that helps. Maybe your motor mounts , PPF, or something in the drivetrain support is worn out causing it to be very hard to shift. Good luck!

apexkw

could be your pilot bearing or a clutch assmebly problem. i just had to replace the pilot bearing, clutch fork and throw out bearing. no idea on the power steering though. when my pilot bearing went bad i could shift fine while the car was off but as soon as i turned it on the thing was horrible... especially from a stop. clutch fork was easy to see broken because a big chunk fell out when i opened the inspection plate.

DaveW

Since the clutch problem occurred while the car was sitting, I'd guess the fluid leaked out of the hydraulic clutch-release system while it was parked. The clutch release mechanism does not need to work to shift while the motor is off.

The tough steering sounds like you now don't have power steering. That also could be a leak that occurred on the way home.

1QWIK7

iTrader: (33)

thanks for the replies guys

but i have an act stage 2 clutch if that helps, recently put in, about a year ago..

shifting through the gears, 2-3-4-5 while driving are all fine, just 1st and reverse that time..

and when the car is off, everything is fine.

im thinking maybe the fluid im using?

as for the ps, i checked the fluid and its at normal level

1QWIK7

iTrader: (33)

*bump*

im still searching but i still need help

thanks

Fatman0203

Change it to a synthetic tranny fluid like Red line, and let us know if the problems persist.

1QWIK7

iTrader: (33)

ok, im gonna bring it to my guy for the tranny fluid change only cause its a biatch and a half to do it myself but what about the ps problem?

im still clueless on that one..

thanks

EKTwin93

Put in some of the Lucas transmission lube stuff, and then fill it with royal purple synthetic gear oil. That stuff is incredible. My friends Supra could never get into reverse, or downshift while driving (just that horrible grinding noise) But now, with the aforementioned fluids, its smooth like butter, no problems.

You said you were not losing any power steering fluid?

skunks

did you ever bleed your PS fluid, perhaps something is blocking the line. 10+ year old car collect all kinds of weird and bad stuff.

Toadman

Check your clutch slave cylinder.

1QWIK7

iTrader: (33)

****UPDATE!!!****

ok today, i decided to get to work on this problem at hand, i took off the car cover, opened the car, popped the hood and prayed to god to let this be an easy task..

i opened the hood, connected my neg cable to battery (i disconnect it for security reasons, i live in jersey )

i get back inside, turn the car on and WHAPPISSSHHH!!

the power steering belt comes off..seems like about a 1/8 of an inch of lining was ripped off and flew off cause the pulley without the splines to the left of the ps pulley was loose like a biatch, i guess the belt got all out of whack and ripped or something..i was totally relieved that it was a stupid belt and nothing major, i went to the auto parts store and spent 18 bucks on a belt.. i replaced it, adjusted that pulley and tightened it back up and VOILA!! i have power steering again..

then i thought, what about this tranny problem..i let the car idle til i hit about 110f on the temp gauge, i get inside the car, press the clutch and start going through the gears... ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! like butter, even reverse, first and everything went it nice..

so now, my conclusion is that that long drive i did on sunday was the torture for the car..maybe the excessive heat from that 3 hour drive couldnt stand for the gears? so now, im not gonna trust whats in there now and going to have it flushed and filled with synthetic..

thanks guys for all the help

yetisoldier

Three hours of 90 degree driving should be fine for the car. I drove from Virginia to Minnesota in August and the only problem I had was when I didn't let the car cool down long enough when I got off the freeway for some gas. Also the whole time I had a minor coolant seal leak too (I had just bought the car and was driving it home). I know you already posted its all good now but I just wanted to say this.

mad_7tist

check the clutch hose. how were the brakes ok?

fd3s_rx7

iTrader: (13)

yep,
I drove all the way from Utah to California...
My problem was the coolant leaking afterwards, and oil pan leak.

That was about it...

Stan94GT

90mph driving for 3 hours is easy on the car. You're getting a ton of cooling and the motor's not being stressed. Definitely check the tranny fluid level and condition. Good luck!

Fatman0203

Ya maybe the tranny was not getting alot of heat from those 5 mile or 10 mile mini trips , and when it got the long term trip the bad or lack of fluid caused the problem.

AntiVenom7

how dirty/burnt is the fluid in your brake/clutch reservoir? If your fluid got hot enough it could boil and cause problem like when you are braking too hard and you get the spongy brake feeling. if it isn't performing right it may not be compressing the clutch fork like it should. this is just a though that i am throwing out, don't know if there is any validity. Either way it doesn't hurt to change your brake fluid.

legal-z

i had a similar problem where i could not get the car in reverse. how is your 5th gear synchro? my brother missed a shift from 2nd to 3rd in my car when mine was bad and after causing a horrible grinding, the car would not go into reverse. 5th and reverse are on the same shaft and i think things can get moved around inside the tranny causing you to not be able to select reverse. i've since had the synchro fixed and have never had another problem. i don't think you have a clutch problem or you would have other symptoms along with what you're experiencing.

1QWIK7

iTrader: (33)

funny that you say that, my brakes towards the end of the ride home was feeling kinda spongy.. like lets say im doing 70mph, the first time i hit the brakes, it would feel a little soft, i release and press it again and it would stop normal..

im gonna have that checked too, i just didnt know it had something to do with the gears having a hard time going in..

thanks

AntiVenom7

well i was just thinking that if it wasn't pushing the fork far enough it might be like the clutch was slightly engaged not allowing you to shift correctly.

also i had the same problem as legal-z, i have had it happen 3 times,
1st time) i got in the car the next day and it went right in
2nd time) i had a hard time getting into 5th and no reverse for about a week.
3rd time) it took about two days to settle out.
but if you haven't missed any shifts this probably isn't your problem.


Since then I have gotten a short shifter, new motor mounts, & a diff brace, never miss the 2-3rd shift anymore. gotta get under there and replace my synchro.

paw140

I don't know why everyone keeps talking about changing your tranny fluid. It's not your tranny fluid! For one reason or another your clutch release system isn't working. It could be a bad master or slave cylinder, leaking hydraulic line (happened to me), a bent/broken clutch fork, a bad pilot bearing, etc. Based on the heat issue, I'd be willing to bet it's a bad master or slave cylinder that begins to leak when it gets hot. They can leak internally and you'd never know.

Good luck.

paw140

This is an interesting theory, but still would not explain the clutch problem. If your brakes get spongy after a hard drive, one or more of your brakes might be sticking, causing the fluid to boil. One way to check for this is to drive the car around for a while, park it, and feel each wheel to see how hot they are. If one of your calipers is sticking, the wheel will be so hot you won't be able to touch it. It's happened to me on a few other cars I've owned.

AntiVenom7

doesn't the clutch share the same reservoir with the clutch? like i said earlier i am just throwing it out there. my thinking is that a clutch that doesn't fully disengage might cause problems in shifting and bad fluid/or air in the lines would mean that the clutch wasn't disengaging all the way. ran into that problem with my fiero's hydraulic clutch system, switched the fluid, bled the line, and voila, no problem shifting. just thinking it might be the similar.

paw140

Yeah, the brake and clutch share the same reservoir. I was just refering to the boiling fluid theory, because I don't see how boiling brake fluid, which would boil near the brake calipers first, would cause the fluid in the clutch-release system to boil as well. Dirty fluid? Possibly, but I doubt it, based on the fact that problem seems to be heat related.