b16 into ef crx-si ---->clutch cable problem

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freak86

New Member
Okay guys. I need help. Car starts, and everything else from my swap seems to be done except for this pain in the butt issue.
The tranny won't go into gear. After my Brother and I contemplating what it could be, we think that the stock clutch cable from my car won't allow for enough play for the shaft on the transmission to move down all the way.
When we take the bracket off(the one that holds the cable to the tranny), it lets the shaft go another inch or two further down, so it seems that it's not getting down far enough to go into gear. After much searching on this, there is all kinds of people saying different things. There are a couple possible conclusions I've found.... Do I need the teg cable? Is there a way to modify my situation to get mine to work? Any ideas are appreciated. However, please don't mistake what I'm saying for having trouble getting the cable into position, because I've got all that figured out. It's just not going into gear. Wheels are not spinning,etc... Thanks in advance for any help
 
your cable will work fine - have you adjusted the cable? - when you depress the clutch pedal, the cable pulls the arm on the transmission up - you want to adjust the cable so that the arm only drops about 1/8 inch from being all the way up to the top of the free travel (where you can't easily lift the arm with your hand)
91-12-4.jpg
 
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I have adjusted the nut all the way up previous to posting this problem. It seems it does not go up far enough for the new clutch shaft(does not allow for enough slack). After more research, I've found that some people with the b16a gen1 swap have used their stock crx cable for the new setup without issues. Maybe this is due to worn down clutches? Maybe mine's less worn, and maybe that's why there's a difference? Even so, I seem to not be the only one who's had this same issue. The clutch cable just won't go down far enough.
But thanks for the pic. It might come in handy.
 
Your stock cable is fine. I have PERSONALLY done three EF swaps (meaning my own personal cars), and SEVERAL (as in 5 or more) EF swaps on other people's cars, and have ALWAYS used the stock clutch cable. Unless you have EXTREME stretchage of the clutch cable (Which is highly unlikely, unless your car has eleventy billion miles), the problem is not with your clutch cable.
 
It's just not going into gear. Wheels are not spinning,etc...
what does it do? - with the engine running and you depress the clutch pedal and move the shifter, does it grind? does the shifter move into position like it should and when you release the clutch nothing happens? - if it shifts into gear normally with the engine running, but nothing happens when you release the clutch, more than likely, you do not have one or both axles fully engaged in the transmission differential
 
okay, it seems I may have been confused.
there is slack where i can lift the bar up freely with my hand. with my stock crx cable, it barely reaches to that lower point. with the stock cable, when i depress the pedal, it lifts the bar completely, and lowers it back down to the point where it changes from being able to move by hand, to only being able to lift with the pedal. Is this where it's supposed to be? Is it supposed to be lowered down all the way including into the point where it is easy to move by hand? Or is it just supposed to be lifting in the area where it's impossible to move by hand?
as of what it does when i start it up. it starts, it's fine in nuetral, and when shifted into gear, and the clutch pedal is lifted, it does not spin the tires. it does not grind, it just doesn't spin the tires, which is why we thought it wasn't making it into gear. when we took the cable off the bracket, we realized that it went further down that where we had it, but it's about two inches of movement left on the clutch bar (the area that's moveable by hand)
I hope it's not an axle problem. I'll be making a custom bracket if it's the cable issue, but I need to figure out this issue. any more help will be appreciated. the swap is done, I'll be done with the battery relocation tonight, I just have this one issue left before I can drive it before the snow hits. Thanks guys.
 
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okay, it seems I may have been confused.
there is slack where i can lift the bar up freely with my hand. with my stock crx cable, it barely reaches to that point. with the stock cable, when i depress the pedal, it lifts the bar completely, and lowers it back down to the point where it changes from being able to move by hand, to only being able to lift with the pedal. Is this where it's supposed to be? Is it supposed to be lowered down all the way including into the point where it is easy to move by hand? Or is it just supposed to be lifting in the area where it's impossible to move by hand?
as of what it does when i start it up. it starts, it's fine in nuetral, and when shifted into gear, and the clutch pedal is lifted, it does not spin the tires. it does not grind, it just doesn't spin the tires, which is why we thought it wasn't making it into gear. when we took the cable off the bracket, we realized that it went further down that where we had it, but it's about two inches of movement left on the clutch bar (the area that's moveable by hand)
I hope it's not an axle problem. I'll be making a custom bracket if it's that kind of issue, but I need to figure out this issue. any more help will be appreciated. the swap is done, I'll be done with the battery relocation tonight, I just have this one issue left before I can drive it before the snow hits. Thanks guys.
when the cable is adjusted correctly, you should only be able to lift it by hand about 1/8" maximum - make sure the passenger side axle is completely into the transmission and the snap ring on the end of the CV joint pops into place in the differential - also make sure you have the correct axles and that they are on the correct side of the car - the splines on the inner CV joint of the driver's side axle are longer than on the passenger side CV joint
 
ok, i'll try the axle thing. it's going to be difficult for me becuase i'm unfamiliar with that area of my car. my brother did that part of the swap, because he was helping me with the car and i wasn't there for that, and he knows more about what he's doing than i do. but he's gone for the military now, and i'll have to figure it out with just me and my haynes manual now. while winter gets closer and closer every day. it's not right that this is the only thing stopping this from moving. wish me luck. lol. but thanks for all the help, and if there's any more ideas of what it could be other than the axles, please let me know so i can save myself some trouble.
 
I think you were both right about it not being the cable. Here's why.
I went out and started her up, and put it in 1st, let up on the clutch, and the passenger side is spinning. I don't know if we just didn't notice it spinning before, or if maybe something happened to cause this. I've done nothing different with the cable.
In any case, the drivers side axle does not spin. I don't know if this means anything, but the tire/axle won't spin by force either(meaning I can't turn it by hand), so it seams like something is stuck, but I have no idea what part or why. If it wasn't engaged into the transmission, it would at least let me spin it from the tire right? This is strange to me. Any ideas before I start tearing stuff apart that I know little about? Thanks again for the help. You've already saved me 60 bucks for a new cable from acura:)
Oh, and just in case you need more info on my setup, I have a intermediate shaft that came with it(it's female where the axle goes in it if that matters). b16a gen1, 88crxsi, teg non-abs axles, hasport mounts, j1 tranny.
 
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I think you were both right about it not being the cable. Here's why.
I went out and started her up, and put it in 1st, let up on the clutch, and the passenger side is spinning. I don't know if we just didn't notice it spinning before, or if maybe something happened to cause this. I've done nothing different with the cable.
In any case, the drivers side axle does not spin. I don't know if this means anything, but the tire/axle won't spin by force either(meaning I can't turn it by hand), so it seams like something is stuck, but I have no idea what part or why. If it wasn't engaged into the transmission, it would at least let me spin it from the tire right? This is strange to me. Any ideas before I start tearing stuff apart that I know little about? Thanks again for the help. You've already saved me 60 bucks for a new cable from acura:)
Oh, and just in case you need more info on my setup, I have a intermediate shaft that came with it(it's female where the axle goes in it if that matters). b16a gen1, 88crxsi, teg non-abs axles, hasport mounts, ys1 tranny.
if it is not a LSD transmission and you have it jacked up, it would not necessarily turn both wheels - did you remove the dust rings from inside of the hubs at the CV joint - if not, the axle may be binding up against the hub
 

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i don't know if my brother took the boot off or not. i'll have to check that. also, i've been looking some more, and i've noticed people posting that you can't use the intermediate shaft that came with the engine with the integra axles. is this true? do i need to buy a different one? also, someone else had the problem by switching the axles around and putting them on the wrong sides? is this also possible in my swap? thanks for the info, i'll check that too.
 
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