Need help! Shifting problems!

Okay,

So i have a 97 eclipse, 420a motor and a manual transaxle. I just had a new motor put in 3 weeks ago and noticed some increased difficulty in shifting after I got the car back. The car labored to get into 1st gear and the clutch seemed a bit hard. I bled the clutch hydraulics system thinking that there was possibly some air that may have gotten into the system and that seemed to help. There was still some difficulty in getting the car into first gear and I noticed that when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear the gears sometimes ground.

I took it back to the shop and talked with the technician and he said that my clutch master and slave cylinder were going out and he noticed that same thing when the car was in the shop. I haven't replaced those yet because 1) I haven't had the time and 2) wasn't fully convinced that was the problem.

Now I have what seems to be a fully manifested problem that i'm completely lost on. While driving the car seemed to not want to go into gear when shifting from first to second but instead of getting the grinding noise, that was less prominent but was now replaced with the motor revving like the car was in neutral. The same was to be said for 3rd and reverse. So only 1st 3rd and 5th worked. There were no burning smells and no fluids that i could see. So i started my troubleshooting.

With the vehicle in neutral, I can move the shift lever and select shift lever on the top of the transaxle and place the car into gear. Also with someone in the car holding the gearshift in 2nd 4th or reverse position I can move the levers on the transaxle to have the car go into those gears. Initially after that I thought it was an issue with the shfit cable. So I ripped apart the center console and checked the cables using a diagram I found online. I couldn't make the suggested adjustments to the shifter cable because I couldn't get a wrench back far enough to loosen the cable nut so i just put everything back together. Now for some reason the car will go into any of the top gears 1st 3rd or 5th but will not come out of gear.

I don't think its an issue with the transmission because i can still put the car into each gear using the levers on the transaxle. At this point I'm stopping to get my bearings so i don't cause any potential damage. I'm thinking that it's either an issue with the cables or the likange. Any ideas/help would be greatly appreciated.

 

can you break some of that text up so I don't get a headache trying to read it all, then I will try to help you.

 

Im not reading that entire post the way it has been posted.

Not sure what you said, so check your gear oil in your trans.

I had simliar problems that what you are saying in the first 2 lines with a past car i owned.


Edit-

Nice doors!, wow.

 

Okay the general gist is. The car just stopped shifting into 2nd 4th and reverse. I can get the car to go into the gears by moving the shift lever and the select lever on the transaxle so i don't think the issue is internal to the tranny per say. I checked the shift cables and they don't seem to need to be adjusted or to have slipped in any way. Not sure what else to check aside from ripping apart the tranny. It doesn't seem like it needs a rebuild or at least i'm hoping not since i just dropped 3700 on a motor three weeks ago.

 

The fluid levels should be all topped off...that should have been done when it was in the shop getting the new motor put in. Well I would hope so....

Thanks on the doors BTW.

 

It could be the shifter?

I'd have to see it, hmm, can you drive it to the meet tomorrow?

 

No can do. Unfortunatley now I can get the car into a gear but cannot get it out of gear. It's the weirdest thing. I'm gonna have it towed to a tranny shop and have them check out the cables and linkage. Hopefully they'll have good news and hopefully for mitsu it's not something they did when they put my motor in three weeks ago.

Hopefully though she'll be back in commission soon so i can make it out to the RKC meets on Mondays. Between the rear being replaced from someone backing into then the new motor and now this...nothing else better go wrong for a while. LOL

 

it's a dsm... more shit WILL go wrong.

 

Lol it is a dsm, they do have problems lol.

Which shop are you using? Alot of them will ass rape you with prices.

 

Yeah I know. DSM yes...part Chrysler. Crap motor. I've heard it all..LOL...and i respect your opinions on the car :here2u:

I have faith in my 'lil DSM though. This is my second one. First one was a beast (368 whp on the dyno) and gobbled up anything you threw at her until she got totaled. Stupid drunk driver. Not much to do about that one. So I've started over with this one. Hopefully she's be as good to me as her predecessor.

I was thinking on Aamco. I've got a friend that's been in service for a while and he says they're pretty good and fair priced. Plus they have financing which is good since I just dropped 3700 on putting the motor that I wanted in the car. If not them then I've got a buddy that owns a shop but I don't know if he has any good tranny techs.

 

It's the shift cables, they need to be adjusted.

The reason it will go into gear is its close enough to engaged in 1,3,5 that the fork will pull into place. I'll try to draw it out with letters here once (just visualize best you can)


l ... l ... l
l___l___l
l ... l ... l

That ^ is where you want to be, underscore being center of the shift patern (neutral)


l___l___l
l ... l ... l
l ... l ... l

That ^ is where you are right now vs where you should be.

You need to adjust the cable that controls the front to back of the shifter. One should be for side to side and the other should be front to back.

Do that and you should be good.

 

I've been thinking the same thing which is why i ripped off the center console to check the cables earlier. From what I could see they looked to be okay. They were about 1/2" off from where they should be. I couldn't quite get my wrench back behind the lower part of the dash to get to the cable adjuster nut to loosen it and move the cable so I just put everything back together. Probably just take it to Aamoco or my friends shop and have them do it. Don't have enough time this week between work and my daughter to find time to screw with it. By the time i get home all of the light to work with is gone and I no longer have a garage in my apartment to work in so once the sun goes down i'm SOL.

 

BTW for the record, I like that year eclipse, gsx are awesome, I might be getting a 92 3000gt vr4, which I know is not technically dsm, but its the older brother lol..

 

Honestly if I had my choice between the two I'd lean more towards the vr4. Those cars are beasts. Now the 4G63 motor is a beast as well. I've seen them dyno at ~1000 whp. That's rare but just a note on the potential if done right. The only problem is that dreaded word 'crankwalk'. I hear that and I shudder.

Just out of curiosity what kind of setup do you have on that Cutlass? Is that a 69 or 70?

 

It's a 1971, where do you live in flowermound? You must have seen it, I use to go to school in flowermound off of mainstreet and firewheel drive, and drove it almost every day.

Its a veryy loong list of what I've done to it, best thing to do is see it in person and I can show you. Whenever the weather clears up I'll get it back out.

But yes I really do want the vr4, and im going to trade him straight up for my 1990 nissan 300zx 2+2 N/a 5 speed if the deal goes through

 

LOL. It is a 71. I was so intent on trying to figure out what year it was by the front end that I completely forgot that It's right beneath your picture. :lmao: Wow it's been a long day.

I live off Morris by the high school but I haven't seen your car around. Then again I'm usually up and out the door to work before anyone is really on the road. We'll have to meet up at one of the RKC meets. I usually go to the Sdnday meet at the Filling Station. Haven't been in a few months though because my Sundays have turned into my errand day. I don't go out to the Monday night meets as often because of the drive but i make my way out there once in a while.

I know what you mean about the list of mods being large. My last 2Gen was like that. Sounds like a good trade the 300zx and vr4. Both have pretty good potential.

 

LOL yea, its cool. You have NO idea how many times ive had to tell people everything about my car. I have not met one person that knows more about oldsmobiles than me lol.

Dang, how old are you if you don't mind me asking?

Yea I might start attending that meet, problem is I get out of church at 12:30-1ish. I personally enjoy the wednesday night meets(not an rkc meet) that is held in plano. Its only a lil bit farther than the filling station meet.

 

I was being sarcastic..

Us members here at RK HATE doors that have been done up like yours.

 

:lmao: holy crap here it comes

 

im gonna have to say its a user error. Judging by your Avi, yeap user error.


Cute doors. Is that a lamborghini conversion on your eclipse????