Im just curious if it is at all possible to get the fork to slide back into the throw out bearing with the transmission still mounted. Somehow mine has popped out and i really do not want to drop the tranny since it just went back in the car about 4 days ago. Thanks-Brad

 

It shouldn't be possible to get the throwout bearing off at all if the clutch fork and throwout bearing were assembled correctly. You may have broken your clutch fork so I'd do some serious snooping through the transmission access panel to see if anything else is wrong first.

 

Yes, it's possible (as long as nothing is broken or missing/destroyed). You need a flashlight, some screwdrivers or other tools for poking around in there and a LOT of patience.

Was it working fine, then it popped out? Or did you put it back together 4 days ago and then didn't really use the car? I agree with mgoddard1, if it was working fine, then it popped... that could be a sign of something broken.

 

i put everything back together and realized that it came out as i was bleeding the clutch. The car has not even been started since the transmission was put back in. Any tips on how to get the fork back in the bearing?

 

Well if you fully understand how it all works, it just requires a lot of patience, flashlight, screwdrivers, etc... you need to get it pushed back in AND LOCKED. If you're not 100% sure what I mean, check out my little video I made a while back:

http://www.zeroglabs.com/rx7/pullclutch.htm

If you have the car on a lift, to be honest it may just be faster to pull the trans and fix the snap ring up so it has a good grip (see my vid). On a lift, I can completely swap the trans in under an hour with a helper to manhandle the tranny. If you've got it jacked up in your garage, I say give it a try by poking tools in through the two inspection covers...