So I'm still trying to figure out why the clutch I just installed (seems) not to be fully disengaging. I pulled out the slave cylinder and took a look at the fork. How much play should there be on the end of the fork? Because I have a decent amount in every direction, but it is still attached to the throwout bearing.

 

I believe there was ~.5" or so in mine.

Ryan

 

Describe the play in the clutch fork a little more. I will ask the following questions as thought the clutch fork is a hand on a clock. Is the majority of play like the movement from seven to eight or six 'o' clock? Is the majority of play like in and out of the clock face? Can the the clutch fork move in any combination of directions and rotations? Is any one direction of play greater than the others, or are they all pretty much equal?

There should be a little play when you pull on the clutch fork, but none once the forked end hits the throw out bearing. There should be almost no play like a hand on a clock.

It sounds like the clutch fork has not been slid all the way in. There is a clasp on the actual fork that slides over a rounded stud sticking out of the bellhousing. The clasp holds the fork on the stud so that the fork pivots correctly. Try to slide the clutch fork towards the input shaft without pulling or pushing on it (you want to stay in the same two-dimensional plane). I am really not sure if this will work. If I recall correctly, I had to slide the clutch fork all the way on before you bolt on the bellhousing. If you cannot slide the clutch fork all the way in, you MAY have to pull the tranny, or at least slide it back.

OR,

You just have some air in the hydraulic assembly that presses on the clutch fork. Have a buddy open and watch the clutch fluid reservoir under the hood. Take the plunger that pushes on the clutch fork in hand and depress the plunger. I would suggest a rag over the end of the plunger, or some gloves as it should take a good bit of pressure and several compression strokes to purge the system. Repeat until your buddy sees no more bubbles. Replace everything
including the plastic "condom" that goes over the end of the plunger and give it a shot.

I hope this is helpful. I had all kinds of clutch trouble when I first finished my swap. Good luck, man.

Matt

 

Wow Notford95, thanks a lot for that post!! My fork has play in every direction, so I think its either not on the TO bearing all the way, or its not "clasped." correctly. Could you describe this "clasping" a little more in depth, and how I can go about putting the fork on correctly? Can I do it without sliding back the trans?

 

Ok, you have your standard lever. Think seesaw. On one end of the seesaw, you have your throwout bearing. . On the other end of our imaginary seesaw is our hydraulic plunger. In order to rotate and move the ends up and down, we need a fulcrum or a point of rotation. The stud I was referring to (sticking out of the bellhousing towards the back of the car just past where you can see through the little access hole) is that fulcrum.

The stud is like a metal ball stuck on top of a metal shaft. There is a corresponding depression the same size as the metal ball on the underside of the of the clutch fork. There has to be something to keep the clutch fork stuck to the fulcrum or the clutch fork will come off when the clutch clamps down again. The clasp referred to earlier is that means of retention. Now this is going to be crude, but it is all I got.

Input Shaft Side
l l
(o) <-This is looking through the clutch fork.
V
Hydraulic plunger side

This is a horrid approximation of what I am blabbering on about. The little "o" is the metal ball. The parentheses and the lower case l's make up the "clasping" part. The l's and parentheses actually have width so they go over the ball and cover most of it. There is a bolt through the "V" to hold the clasp in place on the clutch fork.

It sounds like you have the ball between the l's on my little drawing. You should be able to tell if the fork is in the right place. Look in the access hole and try to line up the plunger from the hydraulic stuff. If it does not line up so that the plunger is straight and the studs that the plunger slides over on the outside of the access hole, then you know the fork is awry. If the problem is the one we are thinking of, you need to push the clutch fork towards the input shaft. I do not think that you can do that without pulling the transmission, but I hope you can for your sake.

I apologize if any of this is exceedingly simple and/or patronizing; it was not intended. I wish you the best of luck with this endeavour. If I were you, I would try bleeding the clutch slave first. I wish you all the luck in the world and I hope you do not have to pull your transmission. If you have anymore questions, I will do my best.

Matt

 

Thanks again Notford95, that was very helpful. I'm going to try that today when I get home. I appreciate the help.

 

Not a problem.

 

Is that stud on the bellhousing there on all models? I don't remember that when I had the bellhousing off. If you say its there, though, I'll take your word for it and pull the trans so I can get the fork set up properly. So when you get the trans seperate from the bellhousing, you can just pop the fork onto that fulcrum? Should that be done before or after connecting to the TO bearing? I also took some pics of what you can see of the fork right now. It definitely looks (at least to me) like there's more of it showing and its more forward than it should be.

http://www.angelfire.com/punk2/falle...mages/fork.jpg

http://www.angelfire.com/punk2/falle...ages/fork2.jpg

 

From those pictures, I would say that the fork is right where it needs to be. Have you tried bleeding the clutch slave? The stud I was referring to is under the clutch fork. I do not believe you can remove the clutch fork from the bellhousing unless you unbolt the clasp. The clasp is there so that you can pull back the fork and get the bellhousing off easily without separating the fork and the bellhousing. I would try bleeding your hydraulic stuff before you pull the tranny.

Matt

 

I am stupid for not thinking of this before. Let me send you the T-56 manual I have in *.pdf form. Check the e-mail address in your profile.

Matt

 

Ok, I am retarded. The fork is stuck to the transmission case and not the bellhousing. It slides on the same way I described earlier. Here is a pic of the bellhousing:

Bellhousing in an RX-7