Help, my car wont go on gear!!!

[Jonas240z]

Hello guys;

 

 

I need some help please, my car (73 240z) does not want to engage into any gear (280zx 5spd) anymore. This all started when i went away from home on a business trip for 5 days, came back and the car ran and everything but it was really hard to shift into any gear, specially when shifting into first gear to get the car going.

Anyhow, a day or two later i checked the oil level on the tranny and it was fine, fluid level on the clutch master cyl. was fine too. But here it's where i think i made a mistake. I pushed on the slave cyl. to see if there was any leaks but at the same time i think i pushed on the clutch fork. So i don't know if i disengaged it from the inside....cuz when i tried to put the car in gear after that, the clutch pedal was super soft, and it didn't want to engage into any gear. From there i got a new slave cyl. and hooked it up bleed the line and no luck. Clutch pedal still felt soft. Then i hooked up the old slave cyl. and same results....actually it felt better (harder) with the old slave cyl. So i don't really know what i should do from here. Any help, please!! This is my only car ....and i need to get it running!

[BrandonsZ]

You might have a broken or worn throwout bearing or fork. How old is the tranny, what type oil is in it?

[mark]

My vote is for the slave or master cylinder. Car sat for 5 days, fluid leaks, clutch will not fully disengage and car will not shift right. Check the fire wall for fluid leaking from the clutch master down the inside of the fire wall. I usually replace the slave and the master at the same time. Also check to make sure the fork is seated. If you pulled it out you need to put it back in place first. Good luck. Mark

[Tim240z]

My vote is for the slave or master cylinder. Car sat for 5 days, fluid leaks, clutch will not fully disengage and car will not shift right. Check the fire wall for fluid leaking from the clutch master down the inside of the fire wall. I usually replace the slave and the master at the same time. Also check to make sure the fork is seated. If you pulled it out you need to put it back in place first. Good luck. Mark

^^^^^^^

Yeah, what he said

Just open the master cylinder reservoir and see if it has fluid....if not, replace master and slave.

[Guest 2slo4u]

Ditto: What they said. Master cylinders are cheap for these and so are the slave cylinders. How's the weather over there? I sure miss Huntington beach.

[Jolane]

You should be able to tell if the fork is detached from the ball. The later style has a spring clip that clips to the ball to keep the fork in position. If you accidentally pushed on this, you may have unclipped the spring. If that is okay (wiggle it up and down, does it move grossly or does it feel retained?), I would try bleeding the system one more time before replacing the Master. I would use a bottle and bleed it properly (put the tube in the bottle, etc). If you just open the bleeder when the pedal is despressed, and let the fluid shoot out, you may still be getting air in the system I had this happen on a Toyota Celica and on my Nissan Hardbody. It seemed impossible to bleed until I used a bottle, then it worked like a champ.

I also had my slave go out nearly instantly in the middle of a road while making a left turn. Why it all of a sudden went out, I don't know, but maybe you have something similar.

Good Luck,

Joshua

[ZR8ED]

Also check the fork for cracks or bending. I had a hela time once.. pulled the tranny to see what was going on and found the fork had a small crack and the slave cyl was starting to "push through" the fork reducing the travel of the fork.

 

The fork is probably 22+ years old afterall..

[Jonas240z]

Thanks for all the help guys. I'll check to see if there's any leaks near the firewall....but i do think that the fork might have been displaced from the pivot. I'm also gonna go ahead an replace the hose and master cyl. Thanks again....oh and by the way "2slo4u" the weather down here is pretty crappy right now, too much rain.