just finished my 5spd swap need help asap!

[mmaxeyjr]

Well we just finished the 5spd swap in my 1990 240sx w/ ka24E

I know this is a little lengthy but I really need some help and or information

Parts used:-Fidanza light weight flywheel (resurfaced)-Exedy Clutch Disc (new)-Exedy Pressure Plate (new)-Exedy Throw out bearing (new)-Exedy Pilot Bushing (new)-Slave Cylinder (new / re manned)-SPL braided clutch line (new)-OEM hardline (used)-OEM master cylinder (used)-OEM clutch pedal assembly (used)-b&m short shifter-3 qts. Pennzoil Syncromesh-DOT 3 fluid for clutch-ka transmission bought from a friend

We installed everything and got the car started and running.

The Good- Car runs & starts- Shifts into every gear with ease- Our temporary wiring works minus the reverse lights

The BAD- the shifter makes lots of noise and shakes like crazy especially in first gear- the trans makes loud grinding noises- my starter needs fixed b/c metal is touching metal on the flywheel at start up noise is heard pretty loudly- Clutch grabs but the pedal isn't as stiff as I hoped it would be- Clutch pedal squeaks when pressed in- When first going into gear ONLY at a stop it will make a quiet squealing or whistling noise- My head unit stopped working randomly on my way home today- Cars timing is still off a tad but runs fairly well

EDIT: also when the clutch is pressed in, the shifter is more calm and the trans is quieter / calmer

My question is how do I fix all the bads?? Also is it okay to drive with these symptoms? It seems to drive better sometimes rather than others.

Modified by mmaxeyjr at 8:06 PM 1/13/2009
Modified by mmaxeyjr at 8:16 PM 1/13/2009

[sebazztard]

DEFINATLY sounds to me like you need to bleed the clutch...seriously, go do it.

[mmaxeyjr]

but i mean it engages fine it's just not as stiff as i would like it.

when we were bleeding the clutch we only had to refill the cup on the master like 1 time and we were good. is that okay?

i will bleed it more but i dont know what major problems this will solve? like the shaking and the transmission noise

[mmaxeyjr]

c'mon anyone?

[sebazztard]

did you try bleeding again like i mentioned? it takes a while to get it properly bled. if you dont have the right pressure it will create all those symptoms, i belive.

[KLYPH]

The BAD- the shifter makes lots of noise and shakes like crazy especially in first gearcan you shake the shifter around/ wiggle it around really easy when the car is off? might be bad return springs but im not sure- the trans makes loud grinding noisesMOST IMPORTANTLY... MAKE SURE YOUR CLUTCH PEDAL IS ADJUSTED CORECTLY. IT SHOULD HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF PLAY BEFORE IT GETS STIFF. LIKE YOU CAN PUSH IT WITH YOUR HAND HALF AN INCH BEFORE IT GETS STIFF. SECONDLY. DOESNT HURT TO BLEED CLUTCH LINE AGAIN. - my starter needs fixed b/c metal is touching metal on the flywheel at start up noise is heard pretty loudly??? that shouldnt happen- Clutch grabs but the pedal isn't as stiff as I hoped it would becrappy stock pressure plate- Clutch pedal squeaks when pressed inBoeshield t-9 that *****.. you can get it at sears.- When first going into gear ONLY at a stop it will make a quiet squealing or whistling noise- My head unit stopped working randomly on my way home todayLol- Cars timing is still off a tad but runs fairly wellmine too

EDIT: also when the clutch is pressed in, the shifter is more calm and the trans is quieter / calmertry taking the tunnel cover off and everything that blocks you sight to the transmission when you are in the car, including the metal ring and rubber cover, you need to actually be able to see the transmission. drive around a bit and seee if the transmission moves around allot in the tunnel. If you engine brake into 1st or second gear and the transmission starts bouncing around you need a new transmission mount

[240-slide-ride]

make sure your trans mount is tight too, with all bolts in. i had that problem and realized it took 4 bolts not 2 lol

[fresno240sx]

i get what your talking about. the same thing happen to my 94 240sx when i converted to 5 speed. the shifter is soft and the clutch is soft. even until now it runs pretty good. if your clutch can't grab, adjust the clutch pedal...if its not that, bleed it better...if the car can't still grab at all, your clutch or pressure plate is not good or cheap. what i did was go tmy stock flywheel resurface and i got a new exedy clutch kit, after that, it ran pretty good.

[mmaxeyjr]

alright i will try the above. could it possibly be the transmission oil isnt thick enough? it was Pennzoil syncromesh so i dont see why it wouldnt be thick enough...

i am missing 1 bolt on the transmission crossmember.

[fresno240sx]

i tought that the oil was the problem to that weird noise out of the transmission but it wan't, i tried switching the transmission oil and put mnay differnt but still the same solution.

[mmaxeyjr]

but the clutch disc and pressure plate is brand new from exedy. my friend has it in his 240 (mrgreeneyes) and he loves it. theres not a problem at all.

[mmaxeyjr]

Tomorrows TO DO list:

- change the trans fluid to a 75w90 GL-4 tomorrow (should i go any thicker in case of syncros being bad?)- new bolts on driveshaft and crossmember- bleed clutch until satisfactory- tighten down shifter with gasket maker and tighten bolts down good

I'm not sure but i read on a site online that read that the viscosity for Pennzoil Syncromesh from autozone is 10w30 which is WAY TOO THIN which would cause big bad problems that i'm having...

Should I completely refrain from driving it until this stuff is done? or can i just be even more gentle than usual? i've been shifting before 3,000 rpms

[KLYPH]

75w90 will be good, 10w30 bad. MAKE SURE YOUR CLUTCH PEDAL IS PROPERLY ADJUSTED. If the clutch pedal is not adjusted it will create allot of problems.

[mmaxeyjr]

i just picked up some lucas gear oil which is a viscosity of 80w90 which should be plenty thick. I've used lucas oil products before and they seem like they carry pretty good stuff so hopefully that will make it a little better.

i will grease up the pedal a little bit with white lithium, also i will go over each bolt and make sure they are tight.

also i am going to bleed the clutch more

i will repost with the results tonight

edit:I have another question. When I go to start my car it starts up fine however there is a loud metal on metal sounding grind when it startsBut after its started the noise is gone. What could this be? how can i fix it?It seems like it is probably the starter teeth hitting the flywheel teeth? Why would it do this? How can I fix it?
Modified by mmaxeyjr at 11:38 AM 1/15/2009

[sebazztard]

so did you figure out the problem? its definatly some minor adjustments, after this youll be pro.

[mrgreeneyes]

pull that dust plate off and check the flywheel teeth for abnormal raping of gears.

that might be the starter prob. worse comes to worse, either get a new starter to check, or borrow mine

[mmaxeyjr]

well today we did what i said i was going to above ^^

the started problem is a pain so we didnt mess with it too much. teeth are worn on the back on the flywheel but it's not extremely bad theres still plenty of meat left...

it definately drives way way better than it did,however theres a grinding noise in the transmission whenever downshifting, also when idling you can hear a slight rattle noise in the trans but then if i push in the clutch the sound quickly goes away, but comes back when clutch pedal is brought back to the top.

Maybe just needs broken in real good? (other than starter thing)

Or maybe i have bad syncros

[mattblancarte]

If you rev-match and double-clutch, you may stop some of the grinding. This is assuming it is grinding because the synchros are gone.

[mmaxeyjr]

yes i was just driving around for a half hour or so and i noticed if i double clutch and or downshift at different rpms the grinding is absent or not AS bad. I guess theres no way to fix a bad trans easily or cheaply?

[driftspec5]

mine does the same thing

[WOLFANATOR13]

it definately drives way way better than it did,however theres a grinding noise in the transmission whenever downshifting, also when idling you can hear a slight rattle noise in the trans but then if i push in the clutch the sound quickly goes away, but comes back when clutch pedal is brought back to the top.

the rattling noise you are hearing sounds like your throw out bearing needs grease and possibly if you used the OE drive shaft the carrier bearing could use grease. if you refer to the FSM it tells you do grease several different location on the drive line when installing or doing maintainance. http://www.240edge.com/manuals/s13-ka24e.html <link to the FSM

[94_240sx]

also when the clutch is pressed in, the shifter is more calm and the trans is quieter / calmer

I have some noise and it becomes calm and quite when the clutch is pressed in. But the noise is not that bad.

To me, you started with a bad transmission from the begin with. Bearings might be bad. You shouldn't have that many problems if you used a transmission in fairly good condition. Other problems can be resolved by adjusting clutch pedal, bleeding and greasing up the pedal pivot point.

[MJH240SX]

I agree with WOLF.......after i replaced my clutch, i had a rattling in my transmission when the clutch was out, and it went away when it was pushed in.......throw out bearing was bad.....replaced it, made sure it had plenty of grease, and it was fine

[94_240sx]

made sure it had plenty of grease, and it was fine

Plenty of grease on where? Throwout bearing??? I used a brand new OEM throwout bearing.

[WOLFANATOR13]

just becaquse its brand new doesn't mean it came with grease pre-applied to it. there's a good chance that the TO Bearing is making noise. also, the carrier bearing on the drive shaft can make noise.

[94_240sx]

just becaquse its brand new doesn't mean it came with grease pre-applied to it. there's a good chance that the TO Bearing is making noise. also, the carrier bearing on the drive shaft can make noise.

I think I'm going to remove that rubber bushing on the side of transmission and put some grease on the throwout bearing. I think that's the only way I can think of doing it without removing the transmission. Am I right? Thanks for the idea btw.

I have one piece aluminum drive shaft, so I don't have to worry about noise from carrier bearing.

[WOLFANATOR13]

you might be able to reach it that way, I would just drop the shaft and unbolt the transmission and make sure its done right. you don't want grease getting into your clutch/pressure plate area. little extra work can make a big difference. if you can get a grease gun with a long nose on it to reach in the hole spin the main shaft so you get the grease all the way around the bearing.