I'm really pissed off now. So my dad and I got the new clutch kit installed (the bearings, pressure plate and the clutch disc) and after a full week of work...it doesn't work. We installed the disk itself properly. The only problem is, with everything fully installed and ready to roll the top gears dont work. Gears 1, 3 and 5 don't work at all. Doesn't matter what I do with the pedals, it won't go into any gear. It pretends like they're not even there.

To make things worse, what gears I do have remaining have a ton of free play in them. Gears 2, 4, and Reverse have so much play I can't tell if my car is in neutral or actually in a gear. I talked to my friend's dad tonight and he said it sounds like something got misaligned. Something in the shifter assembly got broken or misaligned during the reinstallation.

Anyone have any clues what's going on and where to start? I'm about to sell this hunk of junk. I've had my fill with it. Words of encouragement or advice would be nice.

you replaced the gearshifter wrong, try to shift the thing into neutral and then remove and reset the shifter and it should work fine(might take a couple trys)
dont give up though, you'll get it
jason

I'm having the same problem after doing a 3" BL. I pulled the shifter to extend it. Reinstalled. Lost 1, 3, & 5. I've tried moving stuff around, nothing. Its annoying..

We've already taken the shifter apart and looked for a problem. It seems like a very simple setup. There's nothing complex that could be out of place. It's just as this manual describes with pictures and everything: http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1e/0a/e7/0900823d801e0ae7.jsp

Image for image it looks just like my setup. Not the top diagrams, but the ones below. The top are for the samurai, the bottom is for the sidekicks.

I'm having the same problem after doing a 3" BL. I pulled the shifter to extend it. Reinstalled. Lost 1, 3, & 5. I've tried moving stuff around, nothing. Its annoying..

Your shifter is most likely hitting on the transmission tunnel, thats why you can't get any of the 'forward' gears. You need to bend it back a bit.

Quote from: lacrosse10604 on April 01, 2007, 08:22:06 PM

I'm having the same problem after doing a 3" BL. I pulled the shifter to extend it. Reinstalled. Lost 1, 3, & 5. I've tried moving stuff around, nothing. Its annoying..

Your shifter is most likely hitting on the transmission tunnel, thats why you can't get any of the 'forward' gears. You need to bend it back a bit.

So is this the same as my problem? Or is his caused by his need to extend the shaft due to his lift installation?

I wouldnt be so stressed about it if I knew where to look for the problem to fix it. Right now there seems to be no justification for my problem, everything was done properly.

Quote from: Rhinoman on April 02, 2007, 01:58:13 AM

Your shifter is most likely hitting on the transmission tunnel, thats why you can't get any of the 'forward' gears. You need to bend it back a bit.

So is this the same as my problem? Or is his caused by his need to extend the shaft due to his lift installation?

I wouldnt be so stressed about it if I knew where to look for the problem to fix it. Right now there seems to be no justification for my problem, everything was done properly.

It is a common problem with bodylifts, it could be that someone bent the lever trying to force it into gear. It could be that you both have the same alignment problem, I looked at that link you posted but it doesn't show you how the rods should be aligned when the gearlever is replaced. I don't have a pic but I'm fairly sure one has been posted before.

Mine really couldn't have been placed in wrong. The whole shifter nob is still attached to the rod, and engraved into the nob is the gear diagram, 1,2,3,4,5 and R. Of course, 1 is at the top, 2 is below it, and so on. Had I gotten it twisted sideways or upside down, the nob will show those numbers upside down. So there's only 1 way it can go in, and unless the installer is illiterate, there's no way to get the shaft in upside down or sideways.

Only thing I can think of off hand is that we may or may not have had the car in a gear. When we put the bell housing back on and the shaft and everything else, was the car supposed to be in neutral or in a gear? I remember we had to put the car in a gear to rotate the wheels to rotate the driveshaft so we can get all the bolts off, but I'm sure we took it out of the gear after we were done rotating them. Once we were reinstalling everything and putting the 4 bolts back onto the driveshaft, we had to rotate the rear wheels once again, putting it back into gear and rotating it to put the bolts back on. What's the proper procedure? Put it in a gear or put it in neutral? I want to have one more go at this tomorrow night, but I want to see what you guys say to do.

When I did my sammy, I had it in neutral and the transfer case in neutral. Not sure if it was necessary for both, I would have to think about that. Anyways, I would put it in gear just to break a bolt or two, then back to neutral to rotate to the next bolts. When you put your transmission back on, you would have probably had to put the transmission in gear to turn the rear shaft on the transmission to align the splines at the front of the transmission with the splines in the back of the engine. What ever you call everything. I remember loosely fitting my shifter back in the transmission when I was reinstalling the transmission because I couldn't get the splines to align with it in neutral  but it would have been better to put it in first gear right before I removed the shifter (after removing all the shafts) and then dropping the transmission with it in gear.

I think the problem you are having is strictly an issue with alignment of your shift lever. Give a good hard look at how you're positioning it and be patient. It's got to go back in there.

Thinking about it, I always drink some beer when I do a clutch because I hate it that much. I still think they're easy but a real drag. That's why it's sometimes hard to always remember the order in which I did things after it's all done.  I'm sure I lose some time due to inefficiency especially towards the end when the beer gets ahead. I still manage to get it all back together without a problem though. Maybe you forgot the beer!!

-Adam

I'll go back and check the shift level tomorrow. I really hope it's as simple as the level, wheras if it were in the clutch area itself I would have to remove everything all over again.

Mine really couldn't have been placed in wrong. The whole shifter nob is still attached to the rod, and engraved into the nob is the gear diagram, 1,2,3,4,5 and R. Of course, 1 is at the top, 2 is below it, and so on. Had I gotten it twisted sideways or upside down, the nob will show those numbers upside down. So there's only 1 way it can go in, and unless the installer is illiterate, there's no way to get the shaft in upside down or sideways.

Sorry, I didn't explain that very well.
I don't think that the bottom of the gear lever asssmbly has gone into the selector assembly correctly. For example if you have replaced the lever with it angled as it would be for 2nd gear but it is actually already in 1st gear it is possible that the gear lever would fit back in but you wouldn't be able to select the gears properly. Try and ensure that the trans is in neutral and then replace the lever keeping it centred as you go.
I do not think that the problem is with the clutch.

Ok. The bottom of the shaft looks like a ball & socket joint, like the human shouder. What you're saying is it's just musplaced a bit? Like I didn't push it down far enough or in its proper place? The shifter is sticking up higher than it did when we pulled it out. It does seem raised more, and it's also slanted a tad more. So I'm guessing you guys are more on track than I am and are right to assume it's the shifter. I'll try adjusting it as soon as I get to my parent's house. (they have a garage, I don't. Been borrowing my dad's truck for the past 2 weeks. Not liking it at all. I want my zuki back  :'(   )

What you just described tells me it's the shifter. You may have to put a little lube on the end going into the hole. Ha! Ha! I can't remember if the transmission needs to be in neutral or if it even matters but just give it a little gentle persuasion and it should wiggle on into place. Careful not to damage the bushing or washer or what ever else is up there. Can't remember that either but I know I put mine in one time and it was like you described and I could tell it was hanging up on something. I just did what I described above and it worked.

-Adam

I stopped by the house just now and tried giving it another try. Still no go. It won't "wiggle" into place, and I can try and push it in hard and it still won't budge any further down. We've already tried that and it feels like im about to bend the shaft if i push any harder. I can try it again later, but I remember it being much easier to get out. To get out, all we did was losen the side bolts and then pull the thing out. it wasn't bound up or held back at all.

Everyone out of ideas? I guess my best bet would be to just remove the whole shifter tower and try getting it through like that, so I can full see what's going on.