rmriggin

I just rebuilt my clutch master and slave because my clutch was not dissengaging. Well now that they are rebuilt I can physically feel, and I have checked to see that the slave cylinder is pushing out the clutch fork... But it will still not go into gear WHEN THE CAR IS RUNNING! When the car is off I can move freely into any gear regardless of the clutch being pushed in or not. What gives?! Moreover my car now smokes more than it did before (nice big blueish-white puffs), and I can hear apex seal chatter or failure (not for sure but it sounds like apex seals). Can anyone give me some pointers? I really wanted my car to be running for the St Helens drive (hell, I wanted to drive it to abf but this clutch issue happened the night before abf). Besides the clutch issue I still want to figure out a better connection for my throttle linkage.

Link to pics:


http://usera.imagecave.com/rmriggin/

MarkPerez

lots of times it's a matter of getting all the air out of the clutch system and it's allways a good idea to bench bleed the clutch master and slave before installing the parts in the car. same for the brake master. another part that fails often is the clutch rubber hose from the slave to the hardline on the firewall, they get old and crack and swell from being used for years, same for the brake lines too. it's worth the money to replace all rubber hoses with stainless steel braided hoses. racing beat and mazdatrix both sell replacment stainless braided hoses, something to consider.

you might try running a thicker oil 20-50 when blue smoke comes out of the back that means your burning oil and you also maybe should add some MMO to both the oil and the fuel system(s)

Atkins Dan

I also have the stainless steel braided hoses in stock...

Dan

rmriggin

I premix and run 20-50 castrol. I have stainless hoses installed, and I bench bled, then bled in car to insure that air was out of the system. The first gen section said it could be the pivot ball because this happend suddenly and also since the slave cylinder is still pushing out the fork. I have some more things to check out so hopefully I may have it working today, if not then hopefully before the st helens drive. thanks.

mazdapu

Are you able to start your car in gear with the clutch pedal depressed?

It's possible that your pilot bearing may have failed and has locked up your input shaft causing it to turn whenever your engine is running. It's not real common but if your hydraulics are working properly not much else it could be, except maybe your pressure plate. Hope this helped, good luck.

KompressorLOgic

iTrader: (6)

yeah it sounds like something internal is messed up, ive had very similar thing when his pressure plate broke into 4 pieces, wont disengage, and made strange rattling noises, so its prolly the plate disk or the piolet,or throwout..so its time for the last resort pulling the trany!!!

rmriggin

If I start my car in gear with the pedal depressed it will just pull forward because the clutch doesn't dissengage. I removed the slave cylinder again to see how much I could move the fork by hand and I am able to move it by hand easily forwards and backwards. So it does look like I will be pulling the transmission as soon as I get the chance. Hopefully I will have the 13b I was supposed to have a while ago by then. Time and money... The only things holding me back now!

gambone

iTrader: (3)

My car sits a lot and often the disc will stick to the fly wheel or plate, by starting it in gear or putting it in gear with the engine peddel in and rocking it it will brake lose. and then I juat warm the clutch to dry it out

Elysian

i agree with mark, thats the first thing i thought when i read the first post, sounds like pilot bearing or pressure plate... i'm not sure if the pilot bearing can lock enough to actually move the car like that, but hey, i guess u'll find out when u pull the transmission

rmriggin

I just tried the rocking trick with no changed results. That trans is going to have to come off plain and simple... damn it!

stilettoman

iTrader: (1)

Back when I had my GSL-SE, I noticed a few times, over several weeks, that my clutch did not fully disengage, making the occasional rough shift. Then one day, sitting at a traffic light, I felt as if someone had tapped me gently from behind, but I looked and no other cars were near me. A few seconds later, it happened again. As I continued my drive home, I pondered this, and the light suddenly dawned - the pilot bearing was disintegrating! When it runs dry, those little needles will begin to rust and disintegrate. I pulled my tranny and the needles in the pilot bearing were trashed. I would bet money that is your problem.

If you don't have the right puller, getting the remains of the pilot bearing out of the crankshaft can be a real hassle. Good luck to you!

If you think you may have apex seal problems, do a compression check before you run it again, or you could trash a rotor housing.

rmriggin

thanks for the help, when money accumulates again I will try and get it driveable again.

rmriggin

well I think I am just going to get the other plans I had for my motor done all in one shot. I am just going to pull the motor and trans together, fix my clutch issues (throwout bearing or pressure plate I will see when I open it up) and go ahead and reseal my front cover and oil pan. Now if I just had time, a place, money, and the tools (cherry picker and stand and possibly an engine stand adaptor too). I will make sure to compression check before I pull the motor though just to see if I have extra things to do while the motor and trans are out.