quick question about clutches/diffs...

[htchbck]

Ok, this isn't a question specifically about festivas, but it does have to do with a 5 speed fwd trans, and therefore should be similar to a festiva question. I just bought an '88 daihatsu charade 1.0L 5 speed... who can resist a running 3 cylinder car with ac and power everything for $50, even if the car won't actually drive? Anyway, the guy I bought it from was driving it and he put in the clutch and slowed down for a turn, and when he put it back in gear after the turn and let the clutch out, nothing... the engine just revs and revs, but it doesn't matter what gear your in the car won't go. You can crank it and put it in every gear without even using the clutch. I jacked up the front end and if you spin one tire the other one rotates in the opposite direction while in gear like its supposed to. If I put the car in gear with the engine running the wheels turn ever so slightly, but can be stopped with your hand. Its almost like someone is riding the clutch. Anyway, I tried jacking just one side and seeing if I could spin the tire while the other one was on the ground... it kinda resists at first but then feels like something is slipping and lets the tire turn. I tried that same experiment on the festiva and got the same results with the clutch pedal almost (but not quite) to the floor. Is the clutch maybe burned out on the daihatsu (he did mention that had been occasionally slipping in fifth gear)? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the fact that the tires rotate in opposite directions means the diff is not stripped right? If it was stripped it wouldn't work at all or there would be a grinding right? Sorry for the long post but I wanted to include all the info I could, and unfortunately as much as I work on cars I am still terrified of those evil little boxes full of gears that hangs off the side of all motors... lol

[Unco]

personally, i don't really like pulling gearboxes apart either. but it really sounds like it's a problem with the clutch rather than the gearbox. so it should be easy enough to replace. the slipping in 5th gear gives it away: the clutch is a goner.

[m715]

My guess would be that the friction material will look like a rats nest from the clutch falling apart. That may be all it needs is a new disk.

Michael

[ls1_se7en]

My guess would be that the friction material will look like a rats nest from the clutch falling apart. That may be all it needs is a new disk.

Michael

I concur.

[nonamekid]

Typically when the clutch goes out, it does not go out all at once, like the way the story is told. I would assume something broke, but it was not in the transmission since the clutch was already slipping. If it was already slipping it would not have been able to apply enough torque to the transmission to break anything. I am leaning toward something being wrong somewhere between the pedal and the pressure plate, though it could be in the clutch assembly also.

[solatare]

i did a clutch in an escort once, the old one looked like a polished mirror and the car had the same symptoms, soo prolly just a worn out clutch.

[festivaWES]

Typically when the clutch goes out, it does not go out all at once, like the way the story is told. I would assume something broke, but it was not in the transmission since the clutch was already slipping. If it was already slipping it would not have been able to apply enough torque to the transmission to break anything. I am leaning toward something being wrong somewhere between the pedal and the pressure plate, though it could be in the clutch assembly also.

I've had several clutches shread in a short period of time...i have had one snap the outer friction disc from the center spline.

[htchbck]

ok, well I'm on vacation right now but I'm getting the answers I was hoping for/leaning toward so as soon as I get home I'll be dropping the trans and trying to figure out what happened. Hopefully just the clutch, but I'll keep this thread updated with my findings. Thanks for the quick responses