Newbie chic with tranny issues?

[GSXgirl78]

I got a 95 GSX no mods but an injen intake. Drives fine on first start up but after it warms up it won't shift into gear. Just revs and goes no where. Don't know if its tranny, clutch, or really old gear oil. I've only had it for about a month and dont drive it too often as i am trying to do all the maintenance first. Any ideas???

 

[pauleyman]

IF it was an adjustment problem than she would have the opposite problem as to what she is having now

I disagree. To the OP go push in the slave by hand. If it doesn't want to move back the clutch adjustment off a few turns. I've seen clutches tha tare engaged when cold but preload when the (and the hydraulics) get warmer because the hydraulics are preloaded. It's difficult to do on a 1g but easy on a 2g and very easy to do if it's got an extended rod. Don't get me started on why those are a hack and do not work. If the slave pushes back in by hand then I'd agree with the rest, clutch is toast.

 

[bryanwheat]

I disagree. To the OP go push in the slave by hand. If it doesn't want to move back the clutch adjustment off a few turns. I've seen clutches tha tare engaged when cold but preload when the (and the hydraulics) get warmer because the hydraulics are preloaded. It's difficult to do on a 1g but easy on a 2g and very easy to do if it's got an extended rod. Don't get me started on why those are a hack and do not work. If the slave pushes back in by hand then I'd agree with the rest, clutch is toast.

This is only the case when the master is adjusted too tight which will put the release higher up, not off the floor. IF the release is right off the floor than that shows that the adjustment is in fast too loose. It will also slowly bleed itself down if she were experiencing the 2g pump up problem. It is very common for this to happen on 2g's, but it is only caused by the master rod being adjusted too tight so that the piston doesn't move back far enough to release the fluid from the slave back into the reservoir.

 

[pauleyman]

Bryan, I agree on a properly working clutch system. I've just seen what I described first hand. It was too tight but was still on the floor on a 2g. I agree that normally what I described would also be accompanied by a high pedal so your point is well taken. OP you'll have to report back to us.

 

[jrohner]

This is only the case when the master is adjusted too tight which will put the release higher up, not off the floor. IF the release is right off the floor than that shows that the adjustment is in fast too loose. It will also slowly bleed itself down if she were experiencing the 2g pump up problem. It is very common for this to happen on 2g's, but it is only caused by the master rod being adjusted too tight so that the piston doesn't move back far enough to release the fluid from the slave back into the reservoir.

No, it will still engage right off the floor if the slave cylinder is shot. Some people adjust the clutch pedal up when the issue is the slave cylinder.

Check and see if you can push the slave cylinder in when not pushing the clutch pedal down. If you can push it in fairly easily, then yes your clutch is bad. If you can't push it in, your clutch pedal is adjusted up too much.

 

[bryanwheat]

Check and see if you can push the slave cylinder in when not pushing the clutch pedal down. If you can push it in fairly easily, then yes your clutch is bad. If you can't push it in, your clutch pedal is adjusted up too much.

That would be assuming that the pressure plate is what is bad. IF the disc is just badly worn than you will still have the same exact pressure in the pedal. That doesn't change unless the pp is damaged.

No, it will still engage right off the floor if the slave cylinder is shot. Some people adjust the clutch pedal up when the issue is the slave cylinder.

If the slave is bad it will just leak all the fluid out and it won't disengage at all. The slave is a very simple mechanism. It is a cylinder, a piston with a seal and a spring. When the seal goes bad it leaks all the fluid in to the boot. Once the fluid has all leaked out there is nothing else to left in the system to push the piston in the slave so it will just not disengage at all.

Also take into account that 99 percent of the time when a clutch is starting to go out it will grap at first than slip worse and worse as the engine warms up.

 

[augustburnshred]

Have you checked your slave clyinder? If you pull back the rubber sleeve nd fluid comes out then its bad and needs replaced.

the clutch needs to be replaced? or the slave cylinder? im having a similar issue on my 92 1g

 

[tkelly27]

It's good to check your clutch adjustment, master, and slave cylinders. It's not hard to do (much easier than changing the clutch!), and if it is out of adjustment or one of those components is bad it has the potential to act this way. When you get this all figured out, you can put the clutch engagement where you like it too.

The clutch has been slipping so much when the car warms up, even if the adjustment does help it, the poor thing is not long for this world. I don't feel that the adjustment will help it, but if you don't know how to check it, it certainly can screw up a brand new clutch before you even get a chance to enjoy it.

If it slips when you get boost even when cold it is hard to imagine it being anything other than a bad clutch.

There's lots of internet resources to do most anything you want to a DSM.
Visual Frequently Answered Questions - Home Page
that's a good site.

 

[FLASH1970]

She has a 2g. 2g cars have a valve in the clutch master cylinder. If the clutch is adjusted to engage too far off of the floor, this valve is closed and cannot bleed the fluid. Here's a link to a diagram explaining what I mean.

Eclipse Clutch Adjustment

In the top view on the link I posted, you can see a little red arrow pointing down. That's showing the the relief port is open. What's drawn in white is the relief valve. Just to the right of the arrow, you can see a compressed little green spring. When you press in the clutch, the piston moves away from the 'stopper' and that green spring forces the relief valve shut. If that valve is shut all the time, the fluid in the line heats up and expands after 10-15 minutes from engine heat, it presses on the slave cylinder because the pressure has nowhere to go which is what makes the clutch slip. Adjust your clutch so it engages as close to the floor as possible without grinding and see if that fixes your problem.

I had this problem on my car. I wanted to eliminate it so I spent 15 bucks at Advance Auto for a rebuild kit and rebuilt my clutch master cylinder and modified it. I drilled out the "stopper" hole on the bottom of the clutch master cylinder and tapped it for a bigger bolt. I also widened the channel on the piston to make room for the bigger bolt. The bigger bolt allows it to touch the relief valve sooner, so I can have my clutch engage further off of the floor. It's been that way for about 60k miles and no problems.

Some other threads.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/361296-how-fix-master-cylinder-pump-up-2g.html

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/170178-2g-pedal-pump-up.html

The second thread I linked has a picture of what rod you need to adjust in post 3 and it's got an arrow with "Rod Adjustment" pointing to it.

 

[bryanwheat]

She has a 2g. 2g cars have a valve in the clutch master cylinder. If the clutch is adjusted to engage too far off of the floor, this valve is closed and cannot bleed the fluid. Here's a link to a diagram explaining what I mean.

Eclipse Clutch Adjustment

In the top view on the link I posted, you can see a little red arrow pointing down. That's showing the the relief port is open. What's drawn in white is the relief valve. Just to the right of the arrow, you can see a compressed little green spring. When you press in the clutch, the piston moves away from the 'stopper' and that green spring forces the relief valve shut. If that valve is shut all the time, the fluid in the line heats up and expands after 10-15 minutes from engine heat, it presses on the slave cylinder because the pressure has nowhere to go which is what makes the clutch slip. Adjust your clutch so it engages as close to the floor as possible without grinding and see if that fixes your problem.

I had this problem on my car. I wanted to eliminate it so I spent 15 bucks at Advance Auto for a rebuild kit and rebuilt my clutch master cylinder and modified it. I drilled out the "stopper" hole on the bottom of the clutch master cylinder and tapped it for a bigger bolt. I also widened the channel on the piston to make room for the bigger bolt. The bigger bolt allows it to touch the relief valve sooner, so I can have my clutch engage further off of the floor. It's been that way for about 60k miles and no problems.

Some other threads.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/361296-how-fix-master-cylinder-pump-up-2g.html

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/170178-2g-pedal-pump-up.html

The second thread I linked has a picture of what rod you need to adjust in post 3 and it's got an arrow with "Rod Adjustment" pointing to it.

This was covered earlier in the thread.

 

[FLASH1970]

This was covered earlier in the thread.

Yeah, but most were saying bad clutch and so I wanted to provide some links and explanation to possibly help the OP or any other member that searches for this in the future to better understand what it is and why it happens.

 

[GSXgirl78]

I disagree. To the OP go push in the slave by hand. If it doesn't want to move back the clutch adjustment off a few turns. I've seen clutches tha tare engaged when cold but preload when the (and the hydraulics) get warmer because the hydraulics are preloaded. It's difficult to do on a 1g but easy on a 2g and very easy to do if it's got an extended rod. Don't get me started on why those are a hack and do not work. If the slave pushes back in by hand then I'd agree with the rest, clutch is toast.

Its got both a new slave and master that was installed by a good mechanic. Positive its the cluch. Changing this weekend. Will report back Sunday evening.

 

[H@xtGSX]

Don't forget to check the flywheel step distance once you have the transmission off. If the clutch is worn out that bad, you may have a bit of extra wear on the friction surface of the flywheel also. It sucks to have done all the work to put a new clutch in only to find out it still doesn't engage right because the step height is off.

 

[GST2012GSX]

I will recomend to resurface the flywheel if you need to replace the clutch, just make sure what ever take from the friction surface to be taken from the second step. Save your money and buy a good quality clutch!

 

[GSXgirl78]

Changed the clutch. Car drives great....until it warms up...it still revs at boost but not as bad as it did...and the car will move at least now that the clutch has been changed. I do have quite a large exhaust leak on the down pipe so thinking that may also now be the factor...

 

[rlacasse1]

If your RPMs are climbing without the vehicle picking up speed then you definitely have an issue somewhere in the clutch/flywheel area. When you replaced the clutch was the flywheel stepped properly?

 

[Tiki2777]

Its got both a new slave and master that was installed by a good mechanic. Positive its the cluch. Changing this weekend. Will report back Sunday evening.

I had a "good" mechanic change my trans because I was in school and did not have the time to do it. He didn't even touch on any clutch adjustment because it was "hydraulic", and I almost didn't realize I had a dragging clutch, which I have read up can slip in the higher RPMs as well
So just to be sure I would check and make sure you are getting the maximum amout of travel , to pump out the most fluid as possible

 

[boost97gst]

grab a fidanza flywheel, good pp and clutch combo and check the valves in the master. If you cant push the slave all the way back with your hand you have problems. I would think your flywheel is the problem now if your still slipping or its not stepped right. Just do upgrades all at once im telling you from first hand experience. Go overboard on parts, get HD stuff even if you plan on medium to light duty and you wont be taking the tranny off again for awhile. GL to you

 

[WES_393]

Did you swap the entire clutch or just put a new disk in? How did the flywheel surface look? My thoughts are either a weak pressure plate or too tall of a step height from flywheel wear.

 

[FLASH1970]

Changed the clutch. Car drives great....until it warms up...it still revs at boost but not as bad as it did...and the car will move at least now that the clutch has been changed. I do have quite a large exhaust leak on the down pipe so thinking that may also now be the factor...

An exhaust leak (before the turbo) will only slow spool, it won't cause the RPM to climb without the car accelerating. What did the old clutch disk look like? Take a pic and post it up. Did you adjust the clutch pedal? It still sounds like you have the "pedal pump up" problem that was mentioned before.

 

[GSXgirl78]

Replaced the whole clutch. Will take pictures of the clutch when I get home. Will check with the person who replaced to make sure that all of the above was completed.

 

[H@xtGSX]

My thoughts are either a weak pressure plate or too tall of a step height from flywheel wear.

My thoughts exactly. Either this, or it isn't adjusted. The flywheel step is critical. A few hundredths of an inch is all it takes to make it slip. This is why it is a mandatory check when replacing anything in the clutch assembly. New clutch or not, if the step height is off, the plate wont be able to push it into the flywheel hard enough to hold. If you replaced the pressure plate, then the following shouldn't apply (not saying it isn't possible to have a new pressure plate that is faulty, I haven't seen it happen though). Does the pedal feel fairly stiff or is it really easy to push in? A good pressure plate should provide a solid feeling resistance, not squishy. You should be able to tell exactly when the throw out bearing starts pushing on the plate. Where the clutch starts to grab in the pedal travel is a possible clue too. It should be pretty high up in the pedal travel, very near where you feel the throw out come into contact with the plate. Lastly, if the pedal isn't adjust like shown in the video posted earlier in this thread, it can keep the throw out bearing from completely releasing the pressure plate fingers. This would keep the pressure plate from being able to exert the full force it should on the disk, allowing it to slip. It will also quickly wear out the throw out bearing, groove and weaken the plate fingers, and over heat the clutch disk from the excessive slipping.

 

[Colt4G63 also]

Follow the above post with the video about adjusting the clutch freeplay!

This has likely been your problem all along. It sounds like you don't have any freeplay in your pedal, and the fluid cannot return to the reservoir. When the slave gets all pumped up, your car stops getting the power to the wheels. Shorten the rod under the dash that pushes your clutch master, until you achieve the desired freeplay.

Do it! DO IT NOW!

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Hits boost RPMs shoot up and no power to the wheels....

This is exactly how my skyline reacted when the clutch went on it, sounds like the same problem so just change the clutch and you will be fine

 

[H@xtGSX]

...she already did.

 

[tom_and_case]

Did my clutch back in march and had the same issue. It drove great but slipped at times. We adjusted the pedal and I haven't had an issue since. Good luck!