Hello. First time poster but not new to the forum (and not a mechanical dolt). With the courage and insight I received from this site, Happy Wrenching, and the Mazda 6 forums I embarked on swapping a 2011 Fusion 2.5l into my 2004 2.3l 6i manual. Spent months and HOURS reading, copying, rereading, planning. Got a 26k mile engine for $650 from a salvage yard and the fun began. The swap went on without a hitch - I used the Mazda intake/exhaust, fuel rail, plugs, crank pulley, crank position sensor, oil pan/pickup, timing cover, and intake cam (with VVT gear swapped). Engine fired up within 15-20 seconds after priming. Idles perfectly! Elated!
While I had the engine and transmission out of the car, I decided to replace the clutch, flexplate and throwout bearing - after all the car has 105k miles on it. Bought an Exedy kit and installed with no concerns; clutch went in the correct way; flexplate torqued in star pattern; throwout bearing clipped to fork; input shaft lightly greased; new pilot bearing tapped in and lightly greased; transmission refilled with lube; clutch bled. The clutch moves the fork and throwout bearing... the throwout bearing presses on and releases from the flexplate... the car shifts through gears smoothly with the pedal in and out... but the car doesnt move when the pedal is released, nor does it stall out. Stumped!
So I look under the car (with wife in the car) and the passenger CV has come out of the hub joint and is spinning the wheel ever so slightly as it winds up the boot. I must have pulled it out when I was removing the shaft from the transmission. So I take out the passenger CV and intermediary shaft and reinstall the shaft back into the hub joint with a new Cclip, boot and grease. Reinstall and the car still wont move, despite the speedometer recording I achieved 40mph with the car on stands. Stumped!
I pulled the engine out of the car again and rechecked clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing installation. The car had no transmissions concerns before the swap, so clearly I did something. The clutch I replaced was not original, it was an Exedy and had the exact same part numbers as the new ones. During the swap, after pulling both axles, I did thread a wire through the transmission/axle holes as I read the gears may come out of alignment. With the engine running and shifting through gears, there is a slight rubbing sound - similar to a brake pad rubbing on a rotor. The sound increases/decreases with RPM, and is only present when the clutch is engaged. Stumped.
Pulled the engine/transmission a 3rd time (in under 3 hours I might add!). With the transmission sitting on the floor, I can turn the input shaft and see the gears through the axle holes turning. With only the transmission (no engine) installed in the car, and the axles installed, I can turn the input shaft, and the axles turn. At this point I am left to believe it is a clutch slipping issue, but the parts removed/installed are identical in part number and appearance. I have measured many aspects of the parts and they are within 1000th of an inch of each other. The clutch disk spins freely when held up to the flywheel, the pressure plate sits flush to the flywheel with no clutch disk, and 3/16inch away from the flywheel when just starting the bolts. When the pressure plate is just finger tight, I cannot spin the disk, so I cannot see how it is not clamping.
Additional bit of background - my inlaws purchased the car new, and I received it at 80k miles. I drove it carefree for another 25k before the engine died. Drove it home one day with fluttering tach, TCS/ABS, and engine light on. When driving home, it seemed to run 'ok' when under load, and would act up when decelerating/coasting. I never drove it again. I could barely get it to run. IF it ran, I could not rev over 3k and it would immediately stall if I tried to release the clutch while in gear. I had it towed to a mechanic who said it was out of timing and had caused interference. When taking it apart for the swap I did find that one of the timing chain guides (non-adjustable one) was broken, so the story fit. There was no metal pieces/shavings found upon disassembly. Not entirely sure why the TCS/ABS got thrown in the mix, but allot goes wrong when the timing is off. TBS/ABS and engine light are on after swap.
Go big or go home... How is this for a newbe post? Appreciate any help.
While I had the engine and transmission out of the car, I decided to replace the clutch, flexplate and throwout bearing - after all the car has 105k miles on it. Bought an Exedy kit and installed with no concerns; clutch went in the correct way; flexplate torqued in star pattern; throwout bearing clipped to fork; input shaft lightly greased; new pilot bearing tapped in and lightly greased; transmission refilled with lube; clutch bled. The clutch moves the fork and throwout bearing... the throwout bearing presses on and releases from the flexplate... the car shifts through gears smoothly with the pedal in and out... but the car doesnt move when the pedal is released, nor does it stall out. Stumped!
So I look under the car (with wife in the car) and the passenger CV has come out of the hub joint and is spinning the wheel ever so slightly as it winds up the boot. I must have pulled it out when I was removing the shaft from the transmission. So I take out the passenger CV and intermediary shaft and reinstall the shaft back into the hub joint with a new Cclip, boot and grease. Reinstall and the car still wont move, despite the speedometer recording I achieved 40mph with the car on stands. Stumped!
I pulled the engine out of the car again and rechecked clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing installation. The car had no transmissions concerns before the swap, so clearly I did something. The clutch I replaced was not original, it was an Exedy and had the exact same part numbers as the new ones. During the swap, after pulling both axles, I did thread a wire through the transmission/axle holes as I read the gears may come out of alignment. With the engine running and shifting through gears, there is a slight rubbing sound - similar to a brake pad rubbing on a rotor. The sound increases/decreases with RPM, and is only present when the clutch is engaged. Stumped.
Pulled the engine/transmission a 3rd time (in under 3 hours I might add!). With the transmission sitting on the floor, I can turn the input shaft and see the gears through the axle holes turning. With only the transmission (no engine) installed in the car, and the axles installed, I can turn the input shaft, and the axles turn. At this point I am left to believe it is a clutch slipping issue, but the parts removed/installed are identical in part number and appearance. I have measured many aspects of the parts and they are within 1000th of an inch of each other. The clutch disk spins freely when held up to the flywheel, the pressure plate sits flush to the flywheel with no clutch disk, and 3/16inch away from the flywheel when just starting the bolts. When the pressure plate is just finger tight, I cannot spin the disk, so I cannot see how it is not clamping.
Additional bit of background - my inlaws purchased the car new, and I received it at 80k miles. I drove it carefree for another 25k before the engine died. Drove it home one day with fluttering tach, TCS/ABS, and engine light on. When driving home, it seemed to run 'ok' when under load, and would act up when decelerating/coasting. I never drove it again. I could barely get it to run. IF it ran, I could not rev over 3k and it would immediately stall if I tried to release the clutch while in gear. I had it towed to a mechanic who said it was out of timing and had caused interference. When taking it apart for the swap I did find that one of the timing chain guides (non-adjustable one) was broken, so the story fit. There was no metal pieces/shavings found upon disassembly. Not entirely sure why the TCS/ABS got thrown in the mix, but allot goes wrong when the timing is off. TBS/ABS and engine light are on after swap.
Go big or go home... How is this for a newbe post? Appreciate any help.
