11 replies to this topic

[masterpenguin]

So I have a browntop swap in my car. It has been performing beautifully for the past 9 months. A few weeks ago it wouldn't go into gear while it was running but would while it was shut off so I just assumed the cable needed to be adjusted, I did this and presto it was fine. Then it happened again this time no matter how I adjusted it it would not work until I started the car in 1st gear and just jammed it out of first and into 2nd, then it was fine. Now yesterday I pulled onto the highway from a stop sign so I got on it pretty hard and now it intermittently is hard to get into gears and makes an odd noise when I try to go into first or when I try to put it into a lower gear at speed. Sounds like sandpaper just lightly "swooshing" then it will pop into gear. My guess is my throw out bearing is going bad, but I just wanna make sure first.
Thanks as always
-Rob

[ballade]

it's your clutch disk.
might be a spring has fallen or a piece of the pad material is coming off.

[209CRX]

In an effort to avoid crowding the forum I thought I'd use this topic since it deals with a similar problem to mine. I too have a ZC swap in my 86 Si and here's the situation:

1. The car was running post-swap okay but the speed sensor on the transmission was broken and would not come out and I really wanted to have a working speedometer so I decided to swap out the transmission because I had a spare anyhow.

2. I have also been thinking about boost and getting things moving in that direction so I decided that I would take the opportunity to put in a stage 2 clutch kit in the car while I had the transmission removed, so I installed an F1 stage 2 clutch (ebay.)

3. I installed the new transmission in the car, it looks like it's in great shape and replaced the seals just to be on the safe side.

4. I attempted to drive the car and was expecting a very heavy clutch and tons of grip. Instead, it felt as if the clutch were slipping. I made adjustments to the clutch cable but that did not make much of a difference. The car acted like the clutch was slipping if I gave it anything more than 30% throttle.

5. I decided I would restore the clutch kit back to a stock equivalent so I bought a clutch kit from Autozone and put that in (I've used these before and they work just fine.)

6. Much to my surprise this made very little difference. It still feels like the clutch is slipping throughout 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears. I can't vouch for 4th and 4th because the car won't go fast enough to test them.

Does anybody have any suggestions?

I thought about trying a new clutch cable but I just replaced this one about a year ago and the lever that operates the throwout bearing appears to have full travel.

Any comments will help. Thanks.

[masterpenguin]

Well in my case ballade was dead on and my spring came loose and my clutch disk destroyed itself.
Now when you say it feels like its slipping do your RPM's jump as though it is slipping? I doubt the clutch cable is to blame because otherwise you wouldnt be able to get it into gear.

[209CRX]

Yeah, the RPMs shoot up and the car doesn't accelerate feels EXACTLY as if the clutch were slipping. It shifts into gears just fine and I have the clutch pedal adjusted where I normally have it at. The clutch kit is brand new to include the throw-out bearing and I torqued the pressure plate down to 16 or 19 ft/lbs I think is what the manual called for and I inspected the flywheel before installing everything and it was just fine. At this point the only variable that has changed since it was all working fine is the transmission itself, unless I'm missing something really obvious which I'm hoping is the case.

[masterpenguin]

Well I dont think the transmission would cause that. Did you torque them down in the star pattern like the manual says? Just throwing ideas out there. Don't know why a brand new clutch would slip like that.

[209CRX]

Yes I did. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the throwout bearing is getting stuck and is keeping the clutch slightly engaged all the time, but I also replaced the throwout bearing and even added a little bit of grease as per the instructions. I'm really frustrated with it right now, I'm looking for other things to do with the car to avoid this right now lol. I'm replacing the carpet right now. Removing the transmission again after I just put it back in to check something that may not be the problem is a bit too much lol.

[crxmobber]

hows the flywheel condition? machined to spec?

[Stuckey85si]

Yea I am suspecting the flywheel. Was it blued at all? I would have gotten it resurfaced. Only takes about 45 minutes and 30 bucks at a good machine shop.

keep us updated.

Joseph

[Stuckey85si]

Oh, also take a look at the lever on the transmission that the cable hooks too. I would unhook the cable and make sure the lever rest in the same position that it does when the lever is hooked to cable and engaged (pedal not depressed) just to make sure you dont have any binding anywhere cause the clutch to be partially engaged.

Good luck!

Joseph

[rexsk8er]

a few possible suspects, maybe your clutch lever is bent. Or its possible you have an oil leak @ the rear main seal and oil gets on the flywheel as soon as engine is revved. also Ive actually had the whole pedal assembly come apart where it is spot welded together. basically the cable stay that holds the sleeve in place would bend when pedal pressure is applied. and it made it impossible to adjust properly



I had the rear main seal problem really bad i actually blew out a stage 3 within a month because I thought i had the rear main fixed when i did the clutch but it was still leaking. people told me that that shouldn't cause the issue but IMHO ANY oil in the bell housing means the clutch will slip. Oh and that was the only issue I could find, I used a number of different transmissions and clutches. the whole wile fighting with that rear main seal ( i put 3 new ones in, and each time successively more cleaning and gasket sealer) in fact i wrecked the car before I could get it fixed. next plan was an oversized seal but oh well.

[209CRX]

Lol, thanks a lot for the feedback guys! And sorry, I haven't replied in a while I was on vacation to the east coast visiting some friends.
Since I've got back I did some more poking around and here were my findings:

1. I checked the pedal assembly for any issues but there were none. The clutch pedal is operating as it should and I did play with the adjustment screw on it which I loosened to the max (as little tension on the clutch cable as possible.)

2. There are no oil leaks anywhere, transmission or otherwise. I have changed the clutch once already since this problem started and there wasn't any oil in the bell housing then. I removed the inspection plate and verified anyhow.

3. I did not machine the flywheel since all this started up. I visually inspected it and it looks just fine, no grooves, it's pretty smooth and appears flat. Also, I had machined it less than 10,000 miles prior and I haven't been doing any crazy driving since. However, if I end up having to remove the transmission again I will definitely machine the flywheel.

4. I replaced the clutch cable since it's easy to do and only $30. I used a CRX replacement... should I be using the Integra cable? They look the same to me except the Integra is about 3" shorter. I was using the CRX cable before and it was working just fine at one point in time.

5. While I was removing the clutch cable I noticed the arm on the tranny the cable is attached to does rest at the same angle when the clutch pedal is depressed as when the cable was removed. I also checked for operation of this arm before I installed the tranny and it seemed to be working fine, the throw-out bearing was seating all the way to the rear and I added grease to the sliding parts as per the manual.

So after all that, I'm still having the same issue and I'm probably going to have to remove the transmission again for further inspection. I plan on resurfacing the flywheel and taking a closer look at the throw-out bearing. The one on the car right now came from the Stage 2 clutch kit and I'm not sure if it's exactly the same dimensions as the one that comes in the OEM replacement kits. I'm hoping that they're different and the OEM throw-out install will fix this because if it doesn't I'm just going to get another transmission altogether and I just got this one not too long ago.

Let me know if you guys can think of anything else, and thanks a lot for your inputs. I really appreciate the help!