Ahh crap, what now ?

Damo · 06-09-2005, 08:51 PM

Just got home from a 10km drive in first gear. :gren:

I was just driving along normally, went to grab second and the clutch pedal was all stiff and I couldn't engage a gear

:. I eventually got the car to a safe position on the side of the road, forced it into first and headed toward Sundeeps place as I was about 1km from there anyways, I didn't think he'd be home (which he wasn't) but I didn't have my phone with me so it was worth a shot.

After sitting there for a while, I chacked the cable inside the bay and it looked all fine and was still connected to the pedal correctly. I didn't have a torch so I couldn't get under the car and have a look in the dust cover thingy to see what's up with it. Decided to head home in first gear. Took the back way and got home eventually, damn the car is loud sitting on 30k's. lol.

I thought i'd post up my little adventure here to see if anyone else has had a similiar problem. I'm guessing something where the cable connects to the throw out fork has messed up, as the car drove fine in first gear and didn't slip or anything. I just hope to god it's something simple and I don't have to pull the gearbox off. I'd go and have a look now but it's cold and dark out and the car is parked on the grass.

Any help appreciated.

:

Damo

EB6 · 06-09-2005, 09:16 PM

so can you depress the clutch at all. the best thing to do would be see if the clutch fork is moving, if it is then its gonna be something like the clutch, but yeah check the movement of the fork first then c what happens.

EDXR6T · 06-09-2005, 09:30 PM

DAM! hope u didnt do n e more damidge sittin in 1st the hole way but sounds like u got a hell of a pickle ther i,d offer some help but i,m pritty much hoples wen it comes to manules. hope u get it sorted soon

Damo · 06-09-2005, 09:35 PM

yeah I can depress the clutch, but it only engages a tiny bit and is really stiff. I'll check it out after work tommorrow, I was just hoping someone on here might know what happened. Would it be possible for the presure plate to 'cave in' kinda thing ?

I hope not, I changed the clutch on my EA a couple of weeks after I converted it, was a pain in the *** job to do.

AUII_Forte · 07-09-2005, 09:02 AM

Sounds like a cable to me, but it could quite possible be the clutch. They get really stiff like that when they collapse.

Supa R00 · 07-09-2005, 12:43 PM

you know you can gently slide it into other gears, you just have to get it in the right rev range, back off and slide it into neutral and then second... ive got my car up to 3rd gear doing this...

CruizinEB · 07-09-2005, 01:17 PM

i have never herd this happerning before:0

gozza · 07-09-2005, 02:04 PM

clutch fluid?

Damo · 07-09-2005, 02:48 PM

it's a cable clutch, and the gearbox has fluid.

I just checked over the whole cable and it's not damaged at all, the connection to the throw out fork is fine. I got mum to depress the pedal whilst i was underneith and the throw out fork does move in and out like normal. So I guess the presure plate has collapsed. :( It just sucks that it happened all of a sudden.

I can't think of anything else that it could be ?

Danny · 07-09-2005, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Supa R00

you know you can gently slide it into other gears, you just have to get it in the right rev range, back off and slide it into neutral and then second... ive got my car up to 3rd gear doing this...

I can do it in most cars through all the gears Up and down, when accelerating you just wait until the Engine revs are the right match for the gears after you've disengaged the previous gear, hold the stick lightly against the next gear gate, and when you feel it begin to fall in, then you fully engage the gear.

Family friend from the Maserati race club taught me how to do it. It luckily came in very handy on the day that my clutch cable seized and pulled through the firewall on my old car. Great technique for emergencies, but I wouldnt do it all the time though....

Having said that Damo, I agree it could be the pressure plate, However I aint too technically savvy. Good luck, hope you get the beast back on the road soon!

svo347 · 07-09-2005, 04:44 PM

Are you sure the firewall isnt damaged or the clutch pivot pin hasnt bent?

sphell · 07-09-2005, 06:28 PM

doubt it would be the pressure plate collapsing. Never heard of that and how the hell could it anyway! If it did you would think that the pedal would be easier to push in cause it wouldn't be pushing against anything. I'd disconnect the cable at the pedal and see if it's still hard to press in. If it is then it has to be a pivot point on the pedal box or something. If it swings freely I'd actually remove the cable from the car and check that it slides freely. It really does sound like the cable has chewed into itself.

Do you get any unwanted noises when you engage the clutch?

Damo · 07-09-2005, 06:41 PM

Nah there's no weird noises or anything. With the presure plate, I think it might be those spikey bits in the middle that collapse.

I'll pull the cable off tommorrow, or later on this evening if i can be bothered. What you say makes sence doug.

svo347 - The firewall has allready been repaired and reinforced.

svo347 · 07-09-2005, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damo

svo347 - The firewall has allready been repaired and reinforced.

You too hey....

LTDHO · 07-09-2005, 06:50 PM

Damo - first of all as a manual driver you should know how to drive a car without a clutch......

:

Do you have a heavy duty clutch?
Check the firewall and the clutch fork for cracks.

Maybe the new cable has broken in?? not sure on this?

Ya need to get it in the air and have someone watch the fork while another pushes the clutch

Damo · 07-09-2005, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LTDHO

Damo - first of all as a manual driver you should know how to drive a car without a clutch......

:

Do you have a heavy duty clutch?
Check the firewall and the clutch fork for cracks.

Maybe the new cable has broken in?? not sure on this?

Ya need to get it in the air and have someone watch the fork while another pushes the clutch

lol, yeah i tried to change gears but I couldn't.

:

I'm not sure if the clutch is heavy duty or not, i've only had the car less than a month. I have a reciept for the gearbox being rebuilt late 2001 but they didn't replace the clutch at the time, i'm not sure if has been replaced since.

The firewall is fine and I got mum to push the clutch in whilst I was under the car, the fork still moves back and forth as normal.

Thanks for the advice guys, hopefully it isn't my clutch after all.

gmkila · 07-09-2005, 07:38 PM

on my old panno i had the same problem, the spiget bearing ceased and wore its way through the pressure plate fins cluth plate was fine just got a new spiget bearing and pressure plate hope this helps

Damo · 07-09-2005, 07:38 PM

I just went and had a good look at the clutch pedal, and it's fine. Disconnected the cable and the pedal went strait to the floor, there's no play in it or anything either. Looks like it has been repaired at some stage too. The split pin for the clutch pivot pin thingy is missing but that wouldn't make a difference unless it came off anyway. So surely it must be the presure plate or the throwout fork ? But how would that make the pedal all stiff and stuff ?

aghhh, I hate clutches. :(

gmkila · 07-09-2005, 07:48 PM

the pedal is stiff cos the spigot bearing has worn through the pressure plate u will have to pull out the gear box to fix.

TuMor · 07-09-2005, 07:54 PM

Pfft driving home in 1st, its easy driving without a clutch, just kills the starter motor if you have to stop too often. :evil_laug :evil_laug Ive had to drive home during peak hour traffic without a clutch.

The fork claw on the clutch end of the cable sheered off and also the cable wore so that it was strangling itself when i pushed down on the pedal..made it very stiff

Damo · 07-09-2005, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmkila

the pedal is stiff cos the spigot bearing has worn through the pressure plate u will have to pull out the gear box to fix.

Thanks man. I think you mean thrust bearing though ? the spigot bearing sits in the crankshaft. I'll replace both of them anyway as clutch kits usually come with a thrust bearing these days.

lol Tumor, i guess i should practice my clutchless driving.

:

:

You know what really sucks, I now have to fix my EA so I can get it out of the garage to fix the EB.

:

svo347 · 07-09-2005, 09:17 PM

throwout bearing.

svo347 · 07-09-2005, 09:19 PM

possible the throwout bearing has been over greased & its picked up alot of dust etc making it hard to slide up & down the bearing retainer/sleeve

Damo · 07-09-2005, 09:25 PM

But the car won't go into gear, the clutch just doesn't do anything even though it operates the throwout fork. The car was fine beforehand, changed gears perfect, clutch felt good etc, then all off a sudden it became really stiff and useless!

Anyways i'll let ya's know what it turns out to be once i pull the gearbox off next week.

Thanks for all the help.

DOMN8N · 07-09-2005, 09:39 PM

dam im not much use here sorry i can ask my cuz because he is a manchanic

BoZZa17 · 07-09-2005, 10:18 PM

100% pressure plate fingers!

i had same problem in the ea... and yes the drive home in 1st is fun
but i was able to get into second a few times!!

TuMor · 07-09-2005, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dommuz

dam im not much use here sorry i can ask my cuz because he is a manchanic

4:

4:

Plenty more where that came from...

Im the prince of nigeria! would you like a bigger penis!

sphell · 07-09-2005, 10:27 PM

^LOL

what gmkila said makes sense....if the bearing siezed then it would eventually wear down the pressure plate fingers. Although it's weird that there was no noise or anything. The thrust bearing went in my work car and it was very noticeable....you only had to apply the slightest pressure on the clutch pedal and you could hear a constant metal scraping sound. Good luck with it damo if you need a hand gimme a call.

Sundeep · 08-09-2005, 01:33 PM

That sucks Damo. I can't believe all of this stuff is dying in the **** so fast. It's crazy, I guess car's just get to that point where everything starts to go to and you replace it. After that it'll be fine.

If you need a hand with anything let me know.

Sundeep