Ok, so my buddya has a 94 EX. Bout 2 wks ago he shifted into 3rd and got a nasty grinding noise, so he coasted to a stop, went to start in first, the clutch angaged really hard and then there was nothing. He couldnt put it into any gears at all. Assumed it was the tranny. He bought a used 1.5 tranny, we swapped them out, but now if the car isnt running we can put it into gear, but if it is running it wont go into any gear... if you start it while in a gear it starts, then as soon as you let off the clutch its grinds real bad and engages hard. Possibly a clutch issue not a tranny issue? I looked at the clutch when the tranny was out it looked fine but I never tool it off the flywheel, and I dont understand why we would have clutch dissengagement since it didnt move while in gear when we started it if the clutch was gone... So does anyone have any ideas? Its sitting in my drive, he lives an hour away, and has no other vehicle so we need to get this fixed ASAP!! Any help or suggestions would be great.

 

You went through all the trouble in replacing the tranny and didn't even check the clutch?

Since your problem wasn't fixed with the tranny swap, my money is on the clutch. I had some crazy grinding issues when my clutch went out, so it looks like you are having the same problem.

 

I looked at the clutch it looked fine. I wasnt going to try and pull it off...

 

pull off the clutch...it's not that hard...its only like 5 bolts, it's bolted straight to the flywheel...and then find a replacement online or a local shop...if i was you i would have put in a new clutch while i was swapping the tranny as well...but that's my 2 cents. let us know how it turns out

 

It may look fine from the outside, but you cannot see the friction materials unless you pull off the pressure plate. And the wear of friction materials causes clutches to go bad.