I swapped a b16 into my 90 crx. Before I put it in, I installed an Exedy stage 1 clutch kit. Everything seemed to be fine when I installed the throw out bearing, so I don't really understand whats going on. I have tried adjusting the cable all the way up, all the way down, and everywhere in between. I adjusted it as usual so when the clutch pedal is pushed down the arm on the tranny is all the way up. I can put it in every gear no prob when the car isnt running, but when its running it wont go into gear. If I put it in gear and try to start it the car it jumps forward. So, to me, the clutch isnt dis-engaging. What the hell did I do wrong? I know im probably gonna have to take out everything cause I can never get the tranny lined back up on the spline with the motor in the car :S Thanks for any help!!
C

 

To adjust the clutch cable:
-no pressure on the clutch pedal (your foot not touching the pedal)
-adjust the clutch cable so that there is a small amount of freeplay (check the factory repair manual for your car; it should be about 1mm; 1/25.4 of an inch)

Note: when the clutch pedal is completely released (your foot not touching the pedal) _and_ the clutch cable is adjusted correctly, there is _no_ tension on the clutch cable which means there is no contact between the fingers of the pressure plate and the throw-out bearing and the clutch is feeling the full clamping power from the pressure plate. (no free play is the same as driving with your foot partially on the clutch pedal)

 

Hmmm. I had the same exact problem with my crx. I replaced the clutch and it did the same thing, i ended up replacing shift linkage, clutch cable, and exchanged the clutch kit itself about three times!
I removed the tranny about 4 times to do all this, and after all was said and done, it was the damn clutch pedal itself!!!!! It seems that most crxs/civic's clutch/brake/accel pedal assembly were made pretty damn poorly. U know that little cylinder that kinda holds the edge of where the clutch pedal pivots(it's like some kind of joint, u can tell by seeing that it is welded to the assembly)? Well on mine, it snapped, and my clutch pedal couldn't get enough leverage to lift the clutch out. I thought everything was okay but apparently that was my problem. Cheap fix too....$25 at a parts yard.
Check the pedal assembly at that joint i'm talking about. If that's not it, then it could be a synchro problem, in that case get another tranny.

 

Im positive its not the pedal cause its moving the arm on the tranny all the way up when the pedal is to the floor, which should be dis-engaged. Basically I could stand under the hood and hold the arm up and it would be doing the same thing. I'm guessing it has to be the throwout/release bearing or something inside the tranny but its a new clutch kit :S It has no fluid in it right at the moment but im pretty sure its not that cause i have moved cars around the yard with no tranny fluid before. The only problem is when the car is running in neutral and i try to put it into any gear it wont go. I can shut it off and put it in any gear, but when i try to start it it leaps forward. If the synchos were gone it wouldnt be able to go into gear at all running or not would it? And it would be highly unlikely that every gear would be screwed right?

 

Correct. But if the car is off, u should be able to put in gear regardless of any condition(except completely destroyed tranny). The problem could be the release arm itself. Do u get lots of pressure when u lift the arm yourself? Or does it just slide up? If it just slides, then your arm could be bad, or the bolt that holds the release fork to the arm could be loose or something.
Also, yes..if it is the synchros, then more than likely first gear is the only synchro that's damaged.

 

the arm doesnt feel like theres a lot of pressure behind it, I mean its not a dead arm or anything. I just feels like the arm is moving the release bearing on the shaft inside like it should be. No great pressure, but alittle bit of wieght to it..drops back down on its own if I let go. I'll be ripping it out today, hopefully I'll find out what is wrong

 

Well when u lift the arm up, u should feel the bearing touch the pressure plate. Try lifting the arm to disengage the clutch, if u can lift it with one hand, then your arm or bearing is not on right, or worst case, broken. The arm should have LOTS of pressure when attempting to disengage the clutch. Everytime I tried it on my d-series, i needed a buttload of torque to lift the arm up and disengage the clutch. Of course, when u disengage the clutch, the arm should be fairly easy to maneuver up and down, until u let the clutch out again.

 

You have a faulty clutch. If you can shift all gears with a dry transmission, but the clutch won't disengage, your issue is in the clutch system. I have seen the pedal assembly mentioned earlier several times, but if you are sure that is not the problem then it is your clutch. The disk may be installed backwards, or maybe the wrong application and is wedged against your pressure plate. I have seen both and they resulted in the issues you describe. In either case, the only way to find out is to pull the transmission and inspect the clutch assembly parts.