I just installed an ACT clutch. I can shift through the gears when the car is off, but not when its on. I bled the clutch line. There's not a whole lot of pedal pressure (especially for a HD pressure plate). I suspect its the throw-out bearing isn't seated properly (deep enough??) .

I have taken a few pics through the inspection plate. Perhaps someone here can tell me what's going on.

clutch engaged


clutch released:



Is the brass looking retainer thinger supposed to be out like that, or should it be seated all the way in?

 

it's supposed to be out. the HD PP is stiff, alot stiffer then stock. The shifting problem is prolly the ring. Use a screwdriver to make sure it's pulled out and at the same time "rotate" the pp all the way around. Most likely it's the same problem as I had: The ring was out on one side but not the other, even though it looked flush it wasn't. on the bottom pic (fork released) the ring should be in (flush with pp).

 

I don't know what's wrong with your car but I want to give you a thumbs up on such a nice picture you took

 

GoRacer:

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll give it a shot after breakfast

 

MadTownRX-7,

Keep bleeding. You need to build pressure back up in the line. Power bleeders work wonders for this.

 

I bled some more. still no real change.
I'm going to remove the other inspection plate and push the fork with my hand to confirm its not a pressure problem.

 

oh man...i hope you didnt do what I did

do what you said above (pushing the collar in with the fork)
if that doesnt work then heres the sucky part


On the back of that collar (on the other side of the PP) there a retaining ring (i think its called the C ring) if thats not on it wont *click* back together....

Thats a last resort though since you will have to drop the tranny and take off the PP...



good luck bro

 

maybe I am confusing terms here...

When the clutch pedal is up or down, the brass ring is supposed to be flush will pressure plate?

I'm having a hell of a time moving it one way or the other

 

It's a brand new PP, there should be a new on on there then correct?

ohh and I couldnt move the fork with my hand for ****. Just dont have the leverage I think.

 

Are you sure that the clutch disc is installed facing the right way?

 

the throwout bearing is stuck? you can't even get it to move a little? /\ the pressure plate seated flush to the flywheel right? it may be the picture but damn if the fork doesnt look backwards

 

I was able to release throw out bearing and reseat it. I can hear the "click". Still clutch is still not pulling out far enough.


no I am not sure the clutch disk is facing the right way, and I am starting to lean towards that. The clutch collar is never flush (touching) with the PP unless I manually move the clutch fork towards the motor (opposite the way the clutch pedal pushes)

(looking that the disk when it was out I didnt even notice a difference)

 

well the pressure plate when you went to bolt it down did it get flush with the flywheel?

 

appears flush... and when I press clutch I get a tiny bit of gap.

I should also mention I had the Flywheel machined. They did leave a step, but I have no clue if its to spec.

 

I dont think the fork is backwards... the little dimple on the clutch fork is facing the rear of the car. ( so it mates with the pushrod thinger)

 

I'm at the point of checking the clutch disk and see if its backwards... looking at it through the inspection plate there doesnt seem to be a difference in thickness of disk.

(being told thicker side should be towards PP)

The yellow dots on the clutch disk should face the PP. Which I never looked for. So I guess everything has to come back down.



Damn it

 

If the brass ring (wedge collar) is against the pressure plate, that would allow the throw-out bearing to pop out which would be bad. So, no, it's not suppose to be against the pressure plate. If the collar is against the pressure plate, that would mean there's no pressure on the clutch fork (i.e. no slave cylinder attached or some other hydraulic problem).

Keep in mind that the clutch shares the resouvior with the brake system. I bring this up as there is vacuum assistance for the brakes so this causes different behavior pressing on the brake pedal when the off is off verse on. This is also most likely causing the same problem here.

I had the same problem when I changed my clutch, clutch line and flywheel. Had to hook up a power bleeder to get pressure back into the system.

 

It's possible you pulled the ring out too far and the clip ring behind it isn't clamping it, which means pulling the trans. It's too hard to pop the ring out by pulling the fork. You would have to be a master gigalo to have that kind of finger muscle. The easiest way is to use the screw driver trick. The thing to remember though, is when you pull the wedge collar out on one side that the other side may not be all the way out. So you rotate the flywheel and use the screwdriver every 1/4 turn and make shure all sides are out and flush. The ring does not pop back in when the clutch pedal is depressed, only when you flip the fork to disengage it to replace the clutch. So in yer 2nd pic, the wedge collar should have been pushed in flush with the pressure plate (disengaged).

If you can't push the wedge collar ring back into the pressure plate then the retaining clip ring thing (like a C clip) on the inside part of the wedge collar ring is off or inside the pressure plate instead of behind it which means droppping the trans to fix it.

 

holy crap i have the same problem

with the car off, i can shift fine, even when driving, i can shift fine when moving.. after a long drive (i guess when something heats up) i cant shift from a standstill

im taking my car to the shop anyway to have it checked but i dont want to pay more labor than i have to for them to diagnose everything.. can anyone pinpoint my problem as well?

 

Pilot bearing anyone? With my car off I could shift fine, start the car and cant shift at all. Try starting the car with it in first and the clutch in and see what happens.. just make sure nothings in front of you!

 

nope, clutch disk was backwards....
Yellow dots were facing the flywheel. Yellow dots are supposed to face PP.

The disc material is equal thickness either side, but that "thingy" (?!?)that the input shaft passes through at mates with the clutch disc itself is offset. If it is on backwards, it presses into the rear crank snout (don't know what to call it on a rotary ). There is actually some wear on the thing, but it looks fine.
1
I'll post some pics later....thanks guys

 

Flywheel side


Pressure plate side (notice yellow dots and fatter gear collar thingy)



in conclusion.. I'm an idiot, but I can drop a tranny and exhaust in less 2 hours, while watching a football game now.

 

same thing with me except when i start the car in gear, its no problem..

only when i drive a long time, maybe something gets stuck due to heat or something and i cant shift from a standstill (into any gear)...if im already moving and i see a light ahead of a stop sign, i have to wait til im at like 5mph so i can put it into first cause if do a complete stop, i cant get it into first..

im puzzled.

 

No problemo. I thought that was your problem.

Rich

 

very good post, problem, theroy, solution. i have learned from your mistake, i really am gona remember this especially that i have to change my clutch soon, thankyou.

p.s. very good pics to!