Stephen Young

Hi, Eric, No offense taken . Your clutch is a puzzler, and I'll be delighted if I can ask the right question to help you sort it out. To isolate the problem a bit, (by the way, I like the suggestion to run the engine for a while to warm things up), will the car start while in first gear? It would lurch forward as soon as you start to crank, if the clutch is engaged, and sit still if the clutch is stuck in the released position. Knowing the answer to this will suggest where to think next, whether inside or outside the bell housing.  (My cousin had a red 4 cylinder Fiero, 1984 I think, and it was pretty sharp. So the V6 must be a blast. Also, I worked on one (4 cyl) that had had an engine transplant that needed some tidying up, and wouldn't run right. Carbon plugging the MAP sensor vacuum source in the intake manifold was the culprit there. I looked like a genius to the customer, but I wasn't - someone told me to check there. My late uncle, a mechanic, told me that sometimes we look like idiots, and sometimes like geniuses, but most times the truth was somewhere in between!)

Did the clutch problem start right after the engine transplant? I'm wondering about the contact of the clutch lever with the release bearing, and remembering vaguely that that could be tricky. If it worked and you were able to drive the car after the transplant, it would be fine. Also wondering whether the release bearing is free to move on the transmission input shaft. I think the slave cylinder piston pushes a lever that clamps to (and turns ) a shaft that has (inside the bell housing) a fork that engages and operates the release bearing. Does that seem like your setup? Or does the slave cylinder piston push on a lever that pivots on a ball inside the bell housing and forks onto the release bearing?

Stephen

Hi, Jim,

     Nice educational video on 4 valves vs. 2. I didn't have the sound on (but the pictures were good) Maybe the sound pointed out one advantage of 4 little valves vs. 2 big ones, that I was told about, whether accurately I can't say - better for air pollution reduction. In defense of the 2 valve OHV setup older Pontiacs use, I say the extra cost and complications of the extra moving parts are fine if you need them, but the Chev small block V8s seem to meet pollution standards while producing abundant power and excellent fuel economy with only 2 valves per cylinder. I remember a magazine comparison test report of a Ford GT, Viper, and Corvette. The 'Vette compared very well with the others in performance, except as to fuel economy, where it very significantly outperformed both - something like 20 mpg vs. 11 or 12. So it makes me wonder if we get more complicated designs for no real world advantage. 

Stephen

Hi, Eric, 

     "Car thinks i's in neutral always" , and "seizing/not releasing"  have me wondering if the clutch disc is actually stuck in the released position, that is, not contacting the flywheel. I haven't run into this, but maybe we can think it through - if you talk slowly and don't bustle me. Wouldn't it be, if the car thinks it's in neutral, that the clutch is not "engaging", rather than not releasing?  If I grasp the situation correctly, you can run the engine, shift into gear, let out the clutch pedal, and get nowhere - fast. Right?  (I'm a retired certified mechanic who hopes not to appall you with my shortcomings.)

Stephen