This is mostly to vent frustration, as I think the search engine has given me a solution, though I will only know when I apply the solution or Dino comes in and says all my thinking is wrong. Also, the fact that several threads that came up with search have Terry mentioning he can drop and replace the tranny in 2 hours pisses me off to no end. Takes me muuuuuuuch longer. But I want to post here so that you guys can correct me if I'm wrong before I make the hour long trip after work to go fix the car in a frigid garage with wet cat smell and end up stuck far from home with a car that still can't shift and an a desire to BLOW SHIT UP

So I went against my motto of "if ain't broke don't fix it" and of course this means I'm already dealing with karma. My 99 RS has 130k on the original trans and clutch, and even ORIGINAL clutch line fluid and master/slave cylinder, and original clutch pedal settings. Never changed a thing and still worked perfectly. But I decided to replace with a trans that had a LSD and a used DXD clutch. Really wanted that LSD and the trans gears were already machined to match it...

Anyways, finally fired up project nightmare - everything was beautiful, but the replacement trans won't shift when engine is on.


Details:

-I did not replace the slave or master cylinders, nor was the hydrolic hose replaced, so that takes the whole hydrolic system variable out of the equation.

-Shifter lines connected properly, no restrictions to movement of shifter levers, shift line mounts rock solid, and those brass tabs are in holding the lines in place

-brand new trans fluid

-Restrictor mod has never been performed

-TOB visually appeared okay

-clutch appeared okay (no bent clutch springs where TOB sits)

-clutch lever did not look bent

-won't go into ANY gear easily when engine is on(rules out syncros, because how could all of them go out at the same time if there was adequate trans fluid in the case)

-slips into gears easily when engine is off

-(Single caveat - the slave cylinder does push itself out a little bit if you remove the slave from the trans and let it hang there. No fluid escaped from what I could tell, so I don't believe air entered the system)

-if I get it into reverse, and barely take my foot off the pedal, it starts to go in reverse.

References:
http://forums.2gnt.com/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=41691&mode=full
http://forums.2gnt.com/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=29965&mode=full
http://forums.2gnt.com/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=8048&mode=full
http://www.roadraceengineering.com/clutchandflywheeltech.htm
^don't know if that last one just appears

Diagnosis:
clutch not disengaging


Solution(?):
Plan a)Move rod on pedal so that pedal engages at a higher point off the floor.
Plan b)bleed clutch line in a futile effort to fix things since this shouldn't be the issue as the hydrolics were fine before, but since 'a' failed this is the last thing I can do before
Plan c)BLOW SHIT UP, or
Plan d)drop the tranny and buy another clutch because someone here mentioned that once, their clutch wouldn't stop engaging when it failed, which leads to
Event X)my car being down for even longer, at the very least 2 weeks, b/c this weekend is valentines day and the girl ain't so happy with my recent automotive endeavors

Yea this is the most detailed post I've ever made but I'm tired of working on this stupid car and ending up having to borrow a ride to get to work. Help ez get nightmare back on the road soon

I am not a master on clutches or anything, but I would suggest rebuilding the master cylinder and then bleeding it. I had almost the same problem, then I did that and then my clutch was fine.

Originally posted by ez
the slave cylinder does push itself out a little bit if you remove the slave from the trans and let it hang there. No fluid escaped from what I could tell, so I don't believe air entered the system)

Normal. No problem.

Ok, just to define area of concern (from your description), your clutch is not working (lol, duh).

So from there; why is it not working? I don't believe the hydraulics are the problem either, BUT check for any kinks etc in lines and check your resevoir fluid. As you said, it was working before, and you don't crack the system at all when you do the tranny, so there's no reason that it would just go.

You can pop the rubber boot and get a bit of a visual to see if there is anything out of sorts with the arm etc. Have someone push on the clutch and watch for travel of the slave cylinder post (how far does it move? In that sense, I had a buddy with a pedal assembly on a 1g go. To prove to him that his clutch still worked we set up a bolt and nut that allowed us to push on the clutch arm. This allowed him to start up and shift it freely) and see that the clutch arm is actually pivoting off the pivot ball. If not, there is your problem.

If everything looks like it is functioning properly, you will probably need to pull the tranny to see what's going on (um, you did bolt to the flex plate, right?). I want to blame the clutch itself, but it would be unusual that a clutch is worn that far (but then again, it could be actually broken inside of the modular unit).

FWIW, I just did a tranny swap this past Saturday and it took me 9 hours, lol! Yeah, I had to pull the old tranny apart (for the bell housing) and yeah I had to pull the "good used" tranny apart and replace some (it wasn't as "good" as it was "used", lol) and yeah, I was taking pics and writing down crap for a write up (coming as soon as i write it up) and yeah I had to go out and search for a lower control arm because a bolt decided to seize up in the bushing. But it was still longer than I had anticipated. You and I both know do-do happens.

But isn't that what makes this all fun? :wallbash

Originally posted by bullettdsm
This allowed him to start up and shift it freely) and see that the clutch arm is actually pivoting off the pivot ball. If not, there is your problem.

Clutch arm moves and pivots off the ball.

Originally posted by bullettdsm
If everything looks like it is functioning properly, you will probably need to pull the tranny to see what's going on (um, you did bolt to the flex plate, right?).

Carefully inspected tranny before installation. Everything looked okay. Yes flex plate is bolted on.

Originally posted by bullettdsm
I want to blame the clutch itself, but it would be unusual that a clutch is worn that far (but then again, it could be actually broken inside of the modular unit).

I don't understand your thinking. This is how I see things:
1)Worn clutch = elevated engagement point of clutch pedal = clutch engaging too late or not engaging.
2)Clutch not disengaging = engagement point of clutch pedal too low, or hydrolics problem.

I have a problem with clutch not disengaging(point #2). So why would a worn clutch (point #1) cause this? Are you saying the clutch is SO worn down that metal-to-metal heat fused itself down so that it will never disengage?

TIA!

Originally posted by ez
Are you saying the clutch is SO worn down that metal-to-metal heat fused itself down so that it will never disengage?

No, I should have been more specific. What I was talking about was the PP fingers not releasing the disc (because of worn/bent fingers), so that there is no disengagement.

okay cool. well the fingers looked okay, so I'm betting on that the adjustment will fix the issue and I can driver her this week! thnx for your input!

Final result: Adjusting the clutch pedal with a very slight extension of the master cylinder rod fixed my problem. Trans shifts with no problem.