Hey guys. It's 3am here in Washington. I got the engine back in my car and have it running at the moment, but I can't get it in gear. It has a brand new clutch in it. I've had the clutch cable all the way tightened down and it still won't let me put it in gear. Could my cable be stretched or something? I think I have a new cable in my suby stuff, but I don't want to go that route if there's just something I'm doing wrong.

Edited September 5, 20223 yr by Espey16

Did you inspect the clutch fork for cracks or deformities?

Was the clutch an aftermarket kit that included the throw out bearing? I’ve found aftermarket throw out bearings are undersized - only by several mm but every bit counts! And are you sure it was the correct clutch kit? 

Cheers 

Bennie

I didn't look at the fork itself, I just cleaned the dust off of it. The clutch kit was from rockauto and it's the first one listed under my application. The clutch I pulled out looked fine honestly and it functioned properly, I just decided to change it out because I already had the new one.

The clutch kit is M-pact 15008

And the vehicle is .... OK your earlier post says EA82, so I won't include EA81 weaknesses. Friction plate go into the mix the correct side facing flywheel ? And you installed the engine stay rod, tightened up on flat level ground, vehicle on it's wheels ?

How is this going ? 

Edited September 11, 20223 yr by Steptoe's photos

The vehicle is a 1989 GL spfi 5mt d/r wagon. I put the clutch disk in the same way it was removed. The disk itself doesn't say "flywheel side" on it, so I made sure to put the fat side of the hub toward the pressure plate. I've done that before where the disk was in backwards and I couldn't push the pedal at all. The stay rod, that's the dog bone looking thing that connects the body to the bell housing? If so yes. There were no extra parts when I was done. The job was done in my garage.

What would be the life expectancy on a throwout bearing if it's constantly touching the pressure plate? I'm gonna put my new clutch cable in it and see if that changes anything, and if not put a washer or 2 between the cable and clutch fork.

I drove the car the other night without pushing the clutch pedal pretty smoothly, that tells me the disk is in properly otherwise it wouldn't grab the flywheel. Unless my way of thinking is backwards that is.

The new cable I have is way longer than the original. I'm probably just gonna throw a couple washers in it and hope for the best.

I don't know what's going on. I guess I'm gonna have to get a different clutch kit and see if that will work. Even with washers in the cable to get more adjustment out of it it still won't work.

Anyone have a clutch kit they recommend? I wonder if an auto parts store brand will work.

I’m not family with the kit you had bought. But since you’re likely looking at pulling it all apart again I’d start with being sure it’s installed correctly no matter how sure you are. Step one out of the way I’d go with Atsugi or Paraut for plate and disk if possible. 
 

Kits these days ? Hmmm kind of tough. It’s my opinion that you’d do better to build your own. 
 

There used to be LuK clutch kits for 70’s and early 80’s. Maybe your era too.

But if building a kit I’d go with Japanese made parts from that era. And folks like Atsugi and Paraut are suppliers to Subaru OEM. 
 

Good name throw out bearing and you’ll be back on the road. Good luck. 

Before you go too deep into buying stuff you don't need - get someone to help you measure the travel of the fork/cable pivot from pedal up to pedal fully down. The manual states you need 25mm. I learnt all about this on my own despite reading so much on conversions. My EA82 engine and box were in EA81 body. EA81 clutch cable only needed 15mm travel. I fixed the rotter by fitting EA82 RHD clutch pedal to my EA81 pedal box which was already sporting EA82 clutch cable. It ended engine out, fiddle, engine back in, swear SWEAR, start again.

If you’ve got your old clutch kit still hanging around and you’re going to pull the engine or gearbox out, measure the two throw out bearings for any differences. 

On my EJ conversion with the new clutch I had to put two washers behind the pivot ball to get enough leverage to use the replacement clutch. What I found later on was that the new throw out bearing was about 3mm thinner than the factory throw out bearing. 

This it what I think your issue could be. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Unfortunately I have everything but the throwout bearing. I was gonna check that out last night. I found a different bearing at the auto parts store, but it doesn't say how wide it is.

I take that back, it's 1.260" wide

it will need to be measured from face that butts to fork to bearing face that meets fingers on pressure plate. Good thing you did not fit an EJ

I have a new throwout bearing from the auto parts store. I will pull the engine again this weekend and give an update. 

I have a random, I'm being cheap question. Can I screen coolant and reuse it after I drain it? It's brand new, and it's only been run for about 15 minutes. 

Sure, I would reuse it. 

11 hours ago, Espey16 said:

I have a random, I'm being cheap question. Can I screen coolant and reuse it after I drain it? It's brand new, and it's only been run for about 15 minutes. 

absolutely.  I pour it through a cheap cabin filter or whatever you have laying around.  

As to the clutch issues I imagine you'll know what's wrong when you take it apart but probably a decent change the fork or pivot have failed.

and don't put coolant in until sorted, unless you need anti freeze . By putting coolant in straight away allows Murphy to tap you on your shoulder

Ok, the motor is out now. I have 3 throwout bearings. 1 from my spair tranny, 1 from the auto parts store brand new, and the one from this clutch kit. Looking at all 3 side by side, the old one (im assuming is stock), and the new auto parts store one look identical. The bearing from the "M-pact" kit is taller, and the part that actually spins is kinda flaired a little bit. It's hard to explain. I'd post a pic if I was able to.

I swear it's impossible to post pics on this site.

Aside from that slight difference in the bearing I couldn't tell you what's going on.