S2 NA + Mods

[Nicolas14]

Would this likely be synchro' ?

[matt447]

It feels very much like the clutch not disengaging - hard to pull it out of one gear and into the next…

The entire contents of the gearbox were new about 500 miles ago, so I can’t think for a second there’s anything on that side that’s worn - I think it must either be something odd with the slave cylinder, the clutch or the release bearing? But I don’t know which….

[Fonzey]

Release bearing can certainly make noise, and having a brand new but aftermarket one is no guarantee its not fecked (Toyota or go home, as I found). I'd be surprised if it was hurting clutch engagement though, it would need to have totally disintegrated for that I think.

Tried bleeding fluid? Could be something simple.

Hopefully not, but also heard of some clutch pressure plates falling apart, clips breaking etc. Starts with difficulty in shifting as it's only partially disengaging and ends in a total inability to disengage.

Also don't rule out gear cables. They'll have been disturbed during the engine/box work and maybe need rerouting or clipping in somewhere.

Hope it's not internal to the box...

[matt447]

Thanks for the guidance!

I’ve bled the clutch - to be honest the fluid looked perfect and no bubbles, but will see how it works tomorrow! Fingers crossed!

The shift is absolutely perfect when I’m not ‘on it’ but as soon as the revs get very high, it becomes difficult to shift out of the current gear and into the next - a lot of resistance all of a sudden…. There’s been a lot of noise from the bearing, I think - I can make it quiet by ever-so-gently applying pressure to the clutch so it makes me suspicious….

Will update when I’ve tried it tomorrow!

[Fonzey]

Might be a cable adjustment thing then if it's hard to shift when you're "on it". Do you have the stiffer engine mount inserts?

[matt447]

Might be a cable adjustment thing then if it's hard to shift when you're "on it". Do you have the stiffer engine mount inserts?

Just tried the car this morning after bleeding the clutch and it's the same... :/

I do have the yellow power flex inserts on front and back mounts - but yes, I guess it could be cable related? I really hope so! I might talk to Track-Group and drive it down there on a day they're more available so they can have a look and see if cable adjustment could sort it out - unless adjusting the cables is relatively trivial? There's definitely some noise from the release bearing that I'm pretty certain shouldn't be there, but if I can get away with not *needing* to take it all to pieces, fix the shift by adjusting the cables and just live with the noise, then that'll make me very happy for a couple of years, I reckon

Thanks for your input Kyle - very much appreciated as always

[matt447]

Incidentally, I'm off to Cadwell Park tomorrow, so I guess I'll be able to see whether it has trouble shifting between the higher gears at high RPM (obviously not possible on the road)

[Fonzey]

I'm honestly not sure how much adjustment is available on the OE cables, I've never had to do it. I've heard of people getting great results from tweaking them, but on aftermarket setups.

There's some things to check with the cable routing though, there's a gearbox mounted hanger and there's another bracket on one of the bellhousing bolts which you cabletie the cables to. If either of those isn't right, there's a lot the cables can get caught up on, potentially making the shift action a little more difficult, or worse - melting/damaging the cable.

[matt447]

I'm honestly not sure how much adjustment is available on the OE cables, I've never had to do it. I've heard of people getting great results from tweaking them, but on aftermarket setups.

There's some things to check with the cable routing though, there's a gearbox mounted hanger and there's another bracket on one of the bellhousing bolts which you cabletie the cables to. If either of those isn't right, there's a lot the cables can get caught up on, potentially making the shift action a little more difficult, or worse - melting/damaging the cable.

Thanks mate - I'll have to see if I can find some diagrams showing where it's meant to be routed and make sure mine is 'as per spec'

[matt447]

My Cadwell day ended at about 10.30am with an inability to select gears I’m going to call the fine chaps at Track-Group to see if they can book it in…

Did have a nice chat with James Jeffery and his Dad though, so wasn’t all bad!