sr20det clutch wont disengage

[InfraredCat]

hey all, im new around here. i just recently purchased an s13 and am having trouble with the clutch it will not disengage . the car has a redtop sr20det swap. when the car is running and the clutch pedal is down it will not go into gear when the car is off the it shifts fine. it was working fine and did not start while driving but when i tried to start the car it would not go into gear. i tried the search button and couldnt find much help, if anyone has had similar problem or knows what could be going on any help would be appreciated.

[blkvrtswp]

If you can 'pump it up' and then the clutch works better, you likely need to bleed the air out of the hydraulic clutch system. Look for fluid on the floor for any drips / leaks, find and fix or it will happen again.

If that doesn't work, look up clutch pedal adjustment in the FSM. Easy to adjust, it makes the pedal push the slave pin more or less to fix exactly what you describe. I have seen and done it many times. Sounds like right now the pedal is not pushing the pin enough.

Tip: Make small adjustments and test drive. Pedal travel too short = won't go into gear with w/ engine running (clutch is not fully disengaging). Too long = clutch will slip (not fully engaging)(try 2nd or 3rd gear up a hill at 35mph and floor it).

Good luck!

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Yup, if you never changed anything, you could have air or a blown seal or something in your master or slave.
If the fluid in the reservoir is black, that is no bueno.

[InfraredCat]

Yes the fluid is dark, the pedal is still holding pressure so you guys suggest start by changing the cmc and csc and rebleeding the system? Is it common for the master or slave to get stuck on these cars because i did not see any leaks and the cmc resevoir could not be anymore full

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I'd have someone poke their head under the car (or you can do it) while someone pushes the clutch. If you see the slave moving, you know you have something to work with I guess.
You can always try and adjust the clutch out a bit to see if it helps.

And yes, master cylinders (and slave cylinders) can develop internal leaks and basically not output the pressure they once did, thus not giving you the travel you once had.

[InfraredCat]

Slave is still pushing when clutch is pressed in im starting to think that something is stuck internally between the clutch and flywheel. If the transmission is coming out might as well throw in a new clutch kit as im not sure how many miles are on this clutch. Any opinions on a decent clutch for this car it will be daily driven with some autocross or other track events while the clutch is out will be doing master and slave and all new fluid. Any thoughts on what else could be going on with this clutch?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I'd try adjusting the clutch first. You can do pull your slave and see if your throw out fork pivot bolt is broken. The fork will be all loosey goosey. I think Nismo or SPL makes a higher strength piece.
As far as clutches and flywheels go- check out spec and ACT. I have a center force clutch in mine, but I haven't heard much from them for a long time.

Realistically if your clutch isn't slipping, you shouldn't pull the trans yet. Replacing the master and slave (and removing the damper box) would be the steps after adjusting the clutch. They can be done without pulling the trans.

[InfraredCat]

the clutch was not slipping, i left the car somewhere to have something welded (now i wish i knew how to weld myself) and when the guy gave me the keys back it would not disengage. the shop where it was left would not take responsibility but offered to look at it for free and i checked the slave myself and also tryed adjusting the pedal from the rod that goes to the clutch master cylinder, they told me that it was an internal problem but i really dont trust them at all at this point. im in some what of a pickle as its supposed to snow again here and i dont have a garage to pull the transmission myself right now, this is my daily driver. im going to try and see if i can have another place look at it because of the impending snow. if it comes down to having to pull the transmission i would like to replace everything that would be able to be changed for this job i was quoted 4.5 hours labor or 5 with the clutch master and slave cylinders which im not very thrilled about. if the clutch is being replaced is there anything i am forgetting to be replaced (clutch plate, pressure plate, throw out bearing, flywheel, clutch fork pivot, clutch fork, clutch master cylinder, clutch slave cylinder) that would have to come out anyway. if im going to be stuck paying someone i might as well just go with all new parts so that this does not happen again

[PapaSmurf2k3]

You don't need to replace the fork. And you don't need to pull the trans to replace the master and slave.
What did the shop weld for you?

[InfraredCat]

they welded a wheel stud because the hub was worn and would not hold the stud, nothing that should make the clutch disengage makes me think the guy did something to the car when he had it. if you know of anywhere i can get a replacement 4 lug front wheel hub you can pm it to me im not sure about the rules about posting websites or links on the forums i am still very green on here, i do plan on doing a 5 lug swap, redoing all the suspension, sway bars, z32 brake upgrade when it gets warmer out. the master and slave seem to be working right now it makes me think that the clutch popped a spring or something but the clutch was not slipping when i dropped the car off and was grabbing pretty well i believe it has either a stage 2 or 3 clutch im not sure the guy i bought the car from didnt know what was in there just that it was an aggressive clutch.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

You can get a replacement hub/wheel bearing from Autozone or Advance, courtesy Nissan, or any of our NICO sponsors.
Sometimes they run specials on 5 lug conversion hubs. Feel free to strol around and see if there's anything you like:
nico-marketplace.html

I you popped a spring on the clutch, then yeah, unfortunately you'll have to pull the trans. Typically when that happens, your engagement point is sort of all over the place, and its pretty difficult to drive (and start off in 1st). If you get the car to a point where there's nothing in front of it, put it in 1st, and start the car up, does it move on its own (with your foot on the clutch), or is there enough disengagement to keep the car from rolling?

If you're in a pinch, you can always start the car in gear, and just clutchlessly shift to get where you're going. Stop signs and stop and go traffic really suck though haha. I drove from Maryland to New England like that when I broke my pivot fork bolt and kept blowing slave cylinders because of it.

[InfraredCat]

yes the car starts in gear and it will go, no disengagement though so i would have to turn the car off every 3 minutes because of ny traffic . just worried about burning out the starter that way and maybe killing something else in the process of going from point a to b. is there any visual differences which i can take a look at on the transmission to see if the transmission is an sr or ka transmission im pretty sure the transmission was swapped to the sr but i would just want to make sure so if i am ordering parts they will fit. im pretty sure it is some kind of internal problem with the clutch.

also is there a way to give you some rep points or something man you are awesome, definitely very helpful.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Ah, NY traffic... I DID have to deal with some of that in my "no-clutch-drive" from Maryland to New England haha. Miiiiight have ran a stop sign or 2 as well

I'm not aware of any differences in the trans, other than the bell-housing. I'm pretty sure the transmission itself is the same. Regardless, if its an SR, you'll want to get the SR clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel.

And we don't have rep points here on NICO... not that I'd really need them I suppose, I'm already an admin haha.