Hey guys i recently became the proud owner of a beautiful 1985 S3 and have had a bit of trouble,

Got it checked out as i currently dont have a workshop and they said the clutch is on the way out (which i was aware)

But on the way home after picking it up i started losing gears and eventually had to get it towed.

Lost first gear then slowly the rest until the engine was straining with the clutch fully depressed as if it was stuck on! there is no pressure when depressing the cluth but the pedal still returns? i checked the clutch fluid and its still fully topped so i assume it wasnt a hydraulic leak. could this simply be a worn clutch or something more sinister?

any help would be great, look forward to showing you some pics real soon

Matt.

 

It's quite possible that either the clutch master or slave is leaking internally and bypassing the seal cups. When this happens, the pedal usually does not return. 1st repair I would make is replacing and bleeding the clutch master, slave and hose. It's best to do all 3 as I've found when replacing only one of them, one of the others soon fail. Parts will run about 100 bucks. Be very careful when tightening down the slave bolts on the tranny as they tend to strip easily. Then you will need to pull the tranny to retap them for a larger bolt.

Welcome to the forum and the Darkside. In my sig line is a link to the online FSMs, carb manual and other rotary related reading material. Enjoy. Btw, forum rules dictate newbs must post pics of thier new ride.

 

thanks for that i will certainly check that out, and will post a pic ASAP.

 

checked the clutch master and slave and there is no external signs of leaks so ill have to check them out, checked out the play in the clutch pedal and it goes right to the floor with no pressure and returns? the gear box can be shifted through the whole range with the pedal depressed or not. though there is a fair bit of noise coming from it.

The engine struggles to be turned over as it sounds like the clutch is engaged, also the starter might have had its teeth stripped during an attempt to turn it over due to it happening in traffic? ouch.

checked all the rx7 manuals and haynes manuals and they also suggested clutch master or slave failure, also could have something to do with the release fork or similar downstream mechanism?

 

IF it struggles to turn over, check your battery cables and be sure that the battery is fully charged.

For the clutch issue, maybe its time for a new clutch.

 

yeah the clutch is the issue and she needs a new one, just want to get some pressure to it so i can disengage it. might as well overhaul the the master and slave just in case. haynes says you can buy an overhaul kit but im yet to actually find one prior to pulling things apart.