90 Tranny into 91 Shell PLEASE HELP!!

[crxp-o-s4now]

This is what I have in my car.

-91 shell with a 90 motor/tranny
-Everything from the base of my shifter to the tranny itself is 1990. Only thing NOT 1990 is the actual gear selector. (linkage)
-I DO have the 90 bracket that the cables go through that mounts to the tranny.
-I have bled my clutch multiple times with no "stiff pedal" being the result. (Which means when i push on my clutch, it feels way too spongy.)

The problems I have;
-My Clutch feels like crap.
-Everytime I try to push in the clutch and select a gear it grinds without hesitation.
-Also, I cannot find 1st and 2nd gear at all. (Meaning when i push the lever to the left, it feels like i've hit a brick wall.
-Also, 5th and Reverse are VERY hard to get into. (Keep in mind all the times i've tried to reach 1st,2nd,5th and reverse are with the car off.)
-When I push my clutch in, the area where my slave cylinder is seems to make a squeak noise that is repetitive everytime the clutch is pressed.
-YES, I have searched and searched and have found some topics that are slightly close to my problem. NO, I haven't found an answer to my problems.

Can someone please tell me what is going on with my car? Once again, 90 tranny and motor into 91 shell. ANY help is appreciated!

 

[gurmanator]

did you check the clutch master cylinder?is it a new clutch?is the clutch pedal adjusted right?make sure the linkage is compatable. what kind of fluid do you have in the tranny.sounds to me that the clutch is not releasing all the way.I hope this helps.

 

[crxp-o-s4now]

did you check the clutch master cylinder?is it a new clutch?is the clutch pedal adjusted right?make sure the linkage is compatable. what kind of fluid do you have in the tranny.sounds to me that the clutch is not releasing all the way.I hope this helps.

-Yes, clutch master cylinder is fine. (full, no leaks, no cracks, no nothing)
-No, it's an older clutch that worked fine before the swap.
-I know somewhat how to adjust it but dont know which way to turn it. Also, could this solve ALL of my problems?
-What do you mean is the linkage compatable? The linkage with the 2 bolts?
-Heavier weight fluid than specified but my "auto tech teacher" said it would work.
-How do i get the clutch to release all the way?

Thanks for the help..Keep it coming!

 

[luvmygst]

You need to get a '90 shell!(j/k) Check and see if the clutch slave cylinder is moving far enough.

 

[crxp-o-s4now]

You need to get a '90 shell!(j/k) Check and see if the clutch slave cylinder is moving far enough.

Yea, i've actually thought of that myself. When my car was at school, we used a pry bar to see if the rod could move any farther on the slave cylinder and it couldn't if that helps any? I just don't even want to imagine ripping apart the tranny.

 

[luvmygst]

Unhook the cables and see if you can put it into gear by hand. This will tell you if it is the trans. or not.

 

[crxp-o-s4now]

Yes, I can put the car into gear without the cables attached. Any ideas why it wont let me move it into gear (even if the car is off)??

 

[luvmygst]

I would say that you have a cable problem. Look and make sure its all connected correctly. I think that the shifter itself is the same as the '90, but i'm not positive.

 

[crxp-o-s4now]

I would say that you have a cable problem. Look and make sure its all connected correctly. I think that the shifter itself is the same as the '90, but i'm not positive.

Yea I'd say so too. I know that everythine from the shift base, all the way to the tranny is different. (cables are shorter, bases are different, etc.) I just can't figure out why it won't work properly. I might however need a 91 bracket that bolts the cables to the tranny. I would need someone to say yes or no though.

 

[crxp-o-s4now]

"OLDMANNNN," Where areeee youuuu?????

 

[crxp-o-s4now]

BUMP! Sorry for bumping but...

My car is going to be brought back to school by next friday and I 'll have at minimum, 3 hours a day to work on it. What should i check first? I know I read on another forum about checking the rod (where the clutch is adjusted) to see if there's fluid on that. People have said it may be a Master Cylinder leak but I have not seen ANY fluid from either cylinder when pumping the clutch. Any ideas on why it won't even MOVE into 1st or 2nd? I have all parts changed from my old 90' and it still won't shift. I forgot to mention that my car sat for around 2 months while this swap was happening, could it be something froze up or anything like that? (It sat from september-the beginning of december.) Once again any help is greatly appreciated!

edit-If at all possible, can a mod move this into the "drivetrain" forum to try and get a better response? If not, thanks anyways.

 

[90gst]

I had the same problem because I have early (4/1/89) eclipse gst and I put in a 91 tranny...I had to change everything including the braket that holds the linkage on top of the tranny...and the braket on the shifter itself...For the clutch and tranny grinding I had to do 4 things...Firts I had to adjust the rod under the dash...You say you dont know which way to turn it...well there's a locking nut...you turn it from left to right, counterclock wise and then with pliers grab the unthreated part of the rod and also turn it counter clock wise...after you push it out retighten the locking nut...That procedure didnt work for me so the I had to do the following...I boutght a new clutch master cylinder...bled it and worked a little better but still grinded everytime I tried downshifted or went to 1st on a stop...so then I bought a new slave cylinder and tht didnt do anything, I bought a 1/4" extended rod for the slave cylinder and it worked...a little better.....I know another thing that helped me alot was after my clutch went, I ordered a new pivot ball for the release fork and I put 2 thick washers under it to bring it up 3/16" from the base of the tranny, that made a world of difference...the down side to this is that you gotta remove the tranny which is a bit of a bi***. Also remove all the old fluid from your clutch lines....That made the pedal feel alot firmer that the old fluid which didnt seem to creat much pressure... I'd say Start with the following and take it from there
1. adjust clutch pedal rod
2. put brand new fluid
3. buy extended rod for slave cylinder (I recommend you buy the rod and install it while you put new fluid because when you pull the old rod out, the fluid will drain out and if you wait til after you put new fluid, you'll just waste new fluid.

 

[boostedinaz]

Everything has to be 90 in order for it to work correctly. You will need, from inside the car out, the entire shifter assembly, the cables, and the "arms" on the tranny need to be 90 as well. If one part is off it will not work correctly. Have you actually verfied that these parts are actually off a 90? If not they may be later model year parts.

 

[crxp-o-s4now]

Everything has to be 90 in order for it to work correctly. You will need, from inside the car out, the entire shifter assembly, the cables, and the "arms" on the tranny need to be 90 as well. If one part is off it will not work correctly. Have you actually verfied that these parts are actually off a 90? If not they may be later model year parts.

I'm 100% positive that every part is form the 1990.

edit- I didn't try to adjust the cables yet, and I havent bolted in the grommet and metal peice that bolt to the firewall, could that be it?

 

[kidwiththelaser]

I'm 100% positive that every part is form the 1990.

edit- I didn't try to adjust the cables yet, and I havent bolted in the grommet and metal peice that bolt to the firewall, could that be it?

I had the exact same problem, maybe your cables are stretched??

I ended up modifying the cables a bit. And now I can dry shift to all the gears, exept reverse.

I havent had this car running yet, with the modded cables.

Heres some pics I just snapped for ya:

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I cut most of the threaded part off this one, and only left about 1 cm worth of threads.

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This part I left alone.

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And then thread them back together.

 

[boostedinaz]

I'm 100% positive that every part is form the 1990.

edit- I didn't try to adjust the cables yet, and I havent bolted in the grommet and metal peice that bolt to the firewall, could that be it?

If all the parts are 90 then it is a different issue. I would make sure that you bolt it to the fire wall and try again. If it doesnt help then look for obstructions and then try and adjust the cables and see if that helps.

 

[crxp-o-s4now]

Thank you everyone! I'll give all the options a try and see what happens.