wont go in gear

[Danks]

i just did a trans swap and the car wont go in gear ....i know its something todo with the clutch ### it goes in when off and it wont go in while its on itll just like creep forward when i pull on the lever ..... before i bleed the system and adjust it i know that the shift fork has some play on the ball i think this is the problem.... what do you guys think?? and please tell me i can fix this without having to take the tranny off again .... the play was like up and down on the ball not side to side but whenever i was moving the fork back and forth it seemed to be working but i dunno

 

[TSIfreek]

This is a very common problem in the DSM world. Yea It sounds like the clutch is not disengauging so puting it in gear wont happen. What I found that fixed the problem and many shops and builders recomend this is put a flat .030" washer under the clutch fork pivit ball to give you more adjustment. I had to take my trany out 2 times before I looked into this.
I would also change out the fork and pivit ball since they wear and cause problems.

 

[funguy]

i just went through the same thing. tranny has to come back out and shim the pivot ball out. that fixed the problem.

 

[GRNDSM]

Before you remove the tranny to install shim/spacer, first check your hydraulic system. If there are not leaks, make sure that is well bled and properly adjusted. 99% of the time you do not need to shim anything...

Here is a trick: bleed your clutch with rod adjusted all the way "in". After it is bled, ajust it "out" and you will find bunch more room for adjustment!

 

[TSIfreek]

Thanks leon I will try that next time.

 

[Danks]

yea its gonna need to be shimmed i tried everything ...... but now my question is how much do i shim it i dont wanna shim it to much or to little and have to pull it again ### if it oesnt work this time im probally just gonna sell the car i dont have time to be doing this a 3rd time

 

[TSIfreek]

Yea been there too. A regular flat washer is fine. You have adustment on the master rod if its .010 to big so dont worry about that. Putting the trany back up on the hard cold concrete floor is one of the worst job or the worst job I have ever done on a car. Your not a real tunner until you pull the trany out 3 or 4 times.

 

[Danks]

tell me about it.... i did it with no help by hand

is the width of 3 periods to wide of a washer ...

 

[TSIfreek]

Yea I would say 3 (.030) is a normal spark plug gap width. Its not going to make that much diffrence since you will add adjustment the thicker you go. Guys have put 2 flat washers under the ball so dont be worried about being to big. There is some more info on this on TREs web site as well as RREs. You checked the flywheel step height right?? .610-.612 is what it needs to be. Double check this is what you have since this can add to problems as well.

 

[Danks]

i never touched the clutch/ flywheel i just changed trannies... i got it off now and am gonna eat then shim it and put it back on ... if it dont work im just selling the car

 

[Danks]

all fixed.... sorry i cant give out any rep points ### i dont have any

 

[GRNDSM]

So what fixed it?