Help: clutch service, now my transmission pops out of 4th gear (S13 SR)

[chickentendah]

WARNING: LONG POST; ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED

Before I brought in my car for a clutch replacement, I had the following setup:

nismo ss clutch line (eliminated the loopy box)exedy stage 1 oem replacement clutch kit

I did not experience any problems with this old setup (up until slippage due to end of disc life).

Since it was time for a clutch change, I went ahead and had the following parts (all brand new) installed:

nismo slave cylinder (installed for peace of mind)act "heavy duty" pressure plate (street grade)act street discnismo clutch fork pivotOEM sr20det throwout bearingOEM sr20det pilot bearingOEM sr20det rear main seal(flywheel was resurfaced as well)(transmission fluid flush)(clutch fluid flush)

The first time I pulled the car out of the shop, the clutch behaved very strangely. The length of the clutch pedal travel was extremely short. The pedal was very soft. The engagement point at the pedal was very close to the floor. I managed to drive 3 miles like so. As I did so, I noticed that it became progressively difficult to shift gears with the shifter----kinda like trying to shift gears without fully pressing a clutch pedal. Finally, I could not shift into ANY gear whether or not my left foot was pressed to the floor.

I started to wonder why my pedal throw was so short, and I decided to yank the pedal upwards with my hand for the heck of it. After pulling up, the pedal SPRUNG back up to normal clutch height. Then, I was able to drive normally without any shifter problems.

Since then, the clutch grabs and shifts through the gears silky smooth. However, my transmission now randomly pops out of 4th gear whenever I'm coasting along in the low rpms (up to 2000rpm). The poppage is more likely to occur whenever I take my foot off the gas pedal as I'm coasting to a stop in 4th gear. It has popped out twice under light acceleration in 4th gear.

My mechanic and I first believed that my clutch hydraulic system was screwed up. So, we bled the crap out of the clutch system numerous times. No difference. So, we replaced the Clutch Master Cylinder. No difference. My mechanic says that I'll have to take out the transmission again to see what's up, and that the ACT pressure plate is one of the first suspects.

I don't want to change the pressure plate only to find out that it isn't the problem.......My car never popped out of 4th gear prior to the clutch service, so I highly doubt that my transmission itself is going out.

What do you guys think?????

BIG THANKS IN ADVANCE

[NISTECH]

Check the poisiton of the shifter through the hole in the floor. and how the shift boots are positioned. It is not a clutch related issue. It is either something pushing the shifter it self forward or a bad syncronizer hub in the trans. Highly doubt the latter as you said it happened after the clutch install. I am thinking shifter binding.

[chickentendah]

thanks for reading my post nistech.

Hmm, so would these non-clutch parts get tampered with at every clutch change? also pardon my ignorance, but do you have a picture diagram of what the "shifter binding" is?

also, i think this is important. today, i made a new observation while driving. while driving around in 4th gear, i held my hand on the shift knob to "feel" it. when i applied throttle, the shifter would actually move backwards and move even further in that direction with INCREASING throttle. if i DECREASE throttle, i could feel the shifter moving forward and closer to the neutral "spot." if my foot is entirely off the gas pedal, and im coasting to a stop in 4th gear, i can feel the shifter wobbling around----causing a popping out at random.

what do you think?

[NISTECH]

Still thinking its binding against the rubber boot attached to the base of the shifter. It could even be a bad trans mount. What ever it is I am suspicious the movement of the engine and trans when it torques an accel and decel is what is pushing the shifter. The body of the car is in a fixed position, the shifter only makes contact with the body via its boots. If those boots are not installed correctly it could put force on the shift level. If the trans mount is colapsed ot not installed correct the trans will have more movement or be positioned so the shifter does not come through the hole in the body correctly, again putting to much force on the boot pushing the shifter.

[chickentendah]

Is the boot accessible without lifting up the car and taking off the transmission?

Thanks again!

[NISTECH]

yep, just pop up the trim surrounding the shifter and you will see the first boot of 2. The second boot underneath could be a probblem to. On the second boot there is an arrow. that arrow should point toward the front of the car.

[chickentendah]

so, i finally got around to checking the shifter boots today, and i didn't spot any problems. the arrow on the 2nd boot was pointing forward, and the boot itself was snug against the shifter plate. the popping out still occurs =(.

nistech, do u have any other ideas of where a mechanic could possibly screw up my clutch install which would lead to my problem?

[NISTECH]

If the clutch was staying partially enguaged it would allow it to pop out of gear. It is not typically 4th gear, its usually third. Internally 4th gear is 1 to 1 meaning it only operates off the main shaft. The counter shaft is out of play. So typically 1 to 1 gears dont just pop out unless the shifter is actually binding and being puched out of gear. This can occur internally but the internals are not messed with during a clutch replacement. The trans is simply set aside to gain access to the clutch components.

[chickentendah]

thanks for your help Nistech. it appears i have a problem inside the transmission. transmission swap time =T