I just finished putting the tranny back in my '96 200SX SE-R. I bought an Exedy Stage 1 clutch (brand new) from a forum member here, and after getting the car back together I can't get the clutch to disengage. When I put the clutch pedal to the floor, the clutch doesn't release enough (with the car running) to get it into gear. I tried tightening the hell out of the clutch cable, and the pedal feel gets stiffer, but I still can't get the clutch to release.

What did I do wrong? Is it possible I got hosed and ended up with the wrong clutch for this car? Help, please?!?!

is the whole clutch setup new or just the disk?

will it go into gear with the car off?

though the clutch will not disegage does the pedel still feel just right?


i helped out a buddy and did a clutch for him a month or so ago. I felt like a jerk when the car wouldnt go into gear when i was done. took the following day off from work took it apart , turns out the very slightly used PP he bought had a little lip of metal in on the inside of the contact area causing just that part to grab.

If either your flywheel or PP was previously used and you KNOW the pedal feels good and you KNOW you put everything in right then may i suggest starting off in first gear, shoving the shifter into third and then just go down the road pushing the clutch in and reving the crap out of the car so any high spots can burn off.

again dont do this unless you KNOW its the case. i even had the flywheel re-cut and hit the high spots on the PP with a angle grinder before i did my own suggestion because the car STILL wouldnt go into gear when it was running

It's a brand new clutch kit - disk, pressure plate and throwout bearing.

Yup, the clutch feels great with the car off and it goes into all gears just fine.

Hmmm... could be something on the pp grabbing the disk I suppose... The flywheel was used but looked to be in great shape.

If the t/o bearing popped off its mount it would cause that problem.

I don't think that's it... the throwout bearing broke free the first time I reinstalled the transmission, and it was quite noticeable by the amount of up and down slop that was in the lever arm. This time I was careful to not dislodge the bearing when I put the box back in.

well ive never had it happen on any of my cars but that what it took to get this kids car moving right,

and ive never cut a flywheel except for just now on my turbo car on my new engine

is your throw out bearing

The throwout bearing is brand new, and seemed to be the same as the old one that came out. But I supposed it could be....

Something similar happened to a friend of mine with a Supra. Turns out they had put the disk in backwards. I'd check that as well.

i helped out a buddy and did a clutch for him a month or so ago. I felt like a jerk when the car wouldnt go into gear when i was done. took the following day off from work took it apart , turns out the very slightly used PP he bought had a little lip of metal in on the inside of the contact area causing just that part to grab.

If either your flywheel or PP was previously used and you KNOW the pedal feels good and you KNOW you put everything in right then may i suggest starting off in first gear, shoving the shifter into third and then just go down the road pushing the clutch in and reving the crap out of the car so any high spots can burn off.

again dont do this unless you KNOW its the case. i even had the flywheel re-cut and hit the high spots on the PP with a angle grinder before i did my own suggestion because the car STILL wouldnt go into gear when it was running

This was MY car that we did, and he and I did it the 2nd day, in the RAIN and we made SURE it was going to run. After it didn't we did what he's suggesting to you and now the car works perfect. it's not for the faint of heart, frankly, i almost didn't wanna go on the ride around the block at first. But before we made it to the 2nd corner, it was already grabbing and letting go perfectly.

With this clutch disk, there really was only one way that it could be installed.

I might take it for a spin around the block today and see if it'll free up. I can start it in gear with the brakes on, so there's a bit of slip there.

Okay - I just went out for a ride. I was able to get the car started in first, and while cruising and putting the clutch in, it was definitely slipping but still not releasing completely.

At a stop, I noticed that if I let off the clutch pedal a little bit, the friction would cease. So I backed the cable way off, and that seems to have worked. So the first half of the pedal travel is free play, and the engagement point is just off the floor. It makes the pedal feel like crap, but it seems to work ok like that. The clutch engages and disengages fine now, it's just the pedal travel between fully engaged and fully disengaged is about a half an inch.

New clutch cable? Did you try using a spacer on the cable?

I actually drilled new holes in the bracket and moved it forward a bit to make up for the stretched cable, rather than use a spacer. So it's not the cable, the clutch itself only moves a bit between on and off, and I have to run it with tons of free play in the pedal.

did you install the T/O bearing clips?

Was the flywheel cut with the correct step? Pressure plate bolts torqued to spec?

just the usual break in/ adjustment stuff now

keep adjusting it, if it keeps changing even after a week still then id say get a new cable because it should really be seated by then and your cable may be breaking