I can shift when car is off but not when car is on.

4-Cyl. Technical/Performance Discussions
mxprecidia
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I can shift when car is off but not when car is on.

Post by mxprecidia »

The stick moves freely when car is off. When the car is on the stick will not go into any gear. I put the stick in first, THEN I started the car, and the car tried to move. It wont start it just keeps jumping. And this is all while I have the clutch pedal down, which doesn't make sense cause the clutch should be putting the car into neutral. The clutch pedal is fine, I press it and it comes back. It moves the fork. Works fine. Except it wont put the tranny in nuetral. So picture this. The car is off. I put the stick in first. I push the clutch down and while I am turning the ignition, with every crank I hear the car is jumping forward (the clucth is down the whole time). I have new tranny, new p-plate, new bearing, new clutch, new flywheel. When I got the tranny installed a few months back the guy said my slave and master cylinders were weak and had to be replaced. I didn't have the money. Do you think this is the result of the slave cylinder? Or something else?
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Re: I can shift when car is off but not when car is on.

Post by neutral »

mxprecidia wrote:The stick moves freely when car is off. When the car is on the stick will not go into any gear. I put the stick in first, THEN I started the car, and the car tried to move. It wont start it just keeps jumping... Do you think this is the result of the slave cylinder?...
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jimishadow
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Post by jimishadow »

if it moves the fork fine you most likely need a clutch......do yo want to sell it? i mite be i nterested.
mxprecidia
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Post by mxprecidia »

jimishadow wrote:if it moves the fork fine you most likely need a clutch......do yo want to sell it? i mite be i nterested.
clutch is brand new. not selling.
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jimishadow
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Post by jimishadow »

did it ever work with new clutch?if yes is the fork moving enough to disengage?
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Post by Carmaster2005 »

Ya I had to change my my clutch soon after i got my mx. I went with south bend clutch. It sound like to me your not releasing the presure plate enough when you press the clutch therefor its not releasing the clutch disc and not putting your car in nutural. My first thought would be the cylinder. You also might want to check that you blead all the air out of the system. If the clutch feels soft and spongy when pressed you have air in your system. Good Luck
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mxprecidia
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Post by mxprecidia »

Is the mx3 known for soft clutches. Like compared to a 5.0 mustang, my clutch feels like a feather. It always has. Does anyone else feel the same way?
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Post by inis »

look at the clutch peddle there should be a adjustment to adjust the travel of the pedal.
PoisonDrop
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Post by PoisonDrop »

If you have bled all the air out of the system and it still doesn't release, then it could be one of a few problems...

- Try replacing the hose that connects between the line from the master cylinder and the line to the slave cylinder. These hoses are the weakest link and are known to flex, robbing the system of pressure. Your best bet would be some stainless steel clutch line from Corksport. Even if it's not your problem, the ss line is a good upgrade.

- Your pressure plate may need more pressure to release the clutch than the stock pressure plate did. I had the same symptoms you described, and this was my problem.

My fix: I had to extend the rod in the end of the slave cylinder to give it sort of a "head start." Adjusting the pedal just wasn't enough. I got some rod from Home Depot and cut a piece that was about 1/4" longer than the stock one. Put it in, and now I can shift fine.

Look at the clutch fork. When you press the pedal down, the clutch fork should come more than half way out. Mine use to come only half way before I extended the rod. Afterward, it moves all the way out and disengages completely. No more shifting problems. Hope this helps.
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Domnknpimp
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Post by Domnknpimp »

mxprecidia wrote:Is the mx3 known for soft clutches. Like compared to a 5.0 mustang, my clutch feels like a feather. It always has. Does anyone else feel the same way?


yup, very very soft... check ur slave cylinder. just have someone pump the clutch and u should be able to see the slave cylinder moving. if its not moving (only the pin should move, the slave cylinder itself should not) then u know thats the problem, and you can go from there
mxprecidia
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Post by mxprecidia »

The slave cylinder rod is moving when i press the clutch pedal. A mechanic, not a trustful one, said it might be from salt water getting into the housing. And the morning it broke down I did drive thru salt water. My whole street was flooded. So about that rod you got at home depot, what kind of rod is it? How much was it? Was it easy to fix? Thanks.
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Post by PoisonDrop »

The rod is in the Hardware isle with the nuts and bolts. They have square rod, threaded rod and just plain round rod, which is what I used. I bought like 3 feet of it for $4 I think. It's pretty cheap. It'll leave you some to expiriment with as well. I just found one that was the same thickness as the end of the stock rod.
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mxprecidia
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Post by mxprecidia »

PoisonDrop wrote:The rod is in the Hardware isle with the nuts and bolts. They have square rod, threaded rod and just plain round rod, which is what I used. I bought like 3 feet of it for $4 I think. It's pretty cheap. It'll leave you some to expiriment with as well. I just found one that was the same thickness as the end of the stock rod.
Hey. I might go ahead and try this. Do you think you can give me the details of the procedure? Should I start with a new slave cylinder or use the original one. The original one is what I have on there now and that may be the problem of my tranny. Sounds like a risky rig, but my choices are limited. So if you have the time to tell me about the job, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
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jimishadow
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Post by jimishadow »

lts easy...take off cyl ,,leave line hooked up..and pull off rubber and rod,find same diameter metal rod and cut it so it fits snug ,,make end rounded with grinder or file .a littlje longer than the old one,,,make sure it lets the cluych engage fully or you will cause slipping.....also did you adjust the pedal rod length???if no go under dash and look at clutch rod and make it a little longer,,good luc
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Post by PoisonDrop »

That's pretty much it. It's not a risky rig at all. You may have to experiment with the length of the rod, so your clutch won't slip, like he said, but when you find the right length for your car, it'll be fine.
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