alright, here's the deal. my accord endured some street flooding. the engine still works but i cannot shift gears. i don't think anything is wrong with the clutch because i just got it fixed. i can't engage any gear and there is no grinding when i try. any help would be appreciated.

 

Can you physically not put the tranny in 1st gear? You said it was in a flood? You might have something interfearing with the shift linkage. Other than that it might be your clutch, because theres a dust cover for teh flywheel/bell housing and if you get alot of water in there, it could expletive your clutch up. How deep wa syour car under water?

-Eric

 

If your clutch was dragging, you'd be able to shift into gears when the engine's turned off.

With debris jammed in the shift linkage, it won't matter whether it's running or not.

 

yes it was a good ole street flood in new orleans, louisiana. the water got into my interior high enough to wet my carpet but not any higher than that. so my seats and everything were dry. how low and where is the shift linkage? i did have a lot of leaves and dirt crammed in between the radiator and front bumper. i don't know if it will help but i plan on changing my tranny fluid tomorrow.

my engine was running at the time when i tried to shift into a gear. i never tried shifting while the car was off. i'l try that tomorrow if that'll help you better diagnose the problem.

and i don't know what you mean by <U>dragging</U> jimblake. not familiar with that term.

 

The linkage is located behind your intake mani. on the passenger side (assuming its standard). since it was wasnt that high i wouldnt thin any thing would get up there.

I-Eric

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by oem_CD5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and i don't know what you mean by <U>dragging</U> jimblake. not familiar with that term.</TD></TR></TABLE>
When you press down the clutch pedal to disengage the clutch, it doesn't completely disengage. So instead of the tranny being completely disconnected from the engine; the engine is still trying to spin the tranny input shaft.

When that happens, your tranny behaves exactly the same way as if you'd never pressed the clutch pedal.

If you shift it into gear with engine off, then start the engine, the car would lurch forward (or backwards) because the clutch is still not disengaged. So be careful.

 

alright, so i guess the shift linkage cannot be the problem because the debris did not get that high. however, today i cleaned the underbody of my car anyways and then i tried to shift gears while the car was off. i was succesful in all gears. i then turned the car on and it did not lunge foward or backwards. unlike yesterday, i was able to shift into all gears with the car on.

there is still a problem though. my car does not move when i disengage the e-brake. keep in mind that i am parked on an inlcine driveway facing downwards. before i was able to shift gears, i thought that it may have been my faulty transmission that would not allow my car to move because of the immobile front tires. now that i don't think anything is wrong with my transmission, i can only believe that the problem lies with the e-brake. i feel as if i can drive my car with the rear tires either being dragged or moving, which would damage the e-brake. i'm not entirely sure but i tried to move my car and stopped as soon as i felt resistance.

help please. thanks.

 

Well, I've got another idea...

Maybe the clutch was simply stuck together because of water & rust. The bottom of the bellhousing isn't watertight, so if the water level was high enough, the clutch gets wet.

Your brake rotors are the same way. Try moving the car. When you first go, it'll probably break loose with a big pop. Then your brakes will grind for the first couple stops until the rotors get polished up again. If it's bad you may want to get your rotors resurfaced.

 

i have drums in the back if that makes a difference.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by oem_CD5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i have drums in the back if that makes a difference.</TD></TR></TABLE>Almost the same idea. After they break loose & grind themselves smooth with use, the dust is trapped inside. Maybe take the drums off & clean out the crud after a couple days.

 

i tried moving my car today. i moved it about five feet -- a foot at a time. i did not hear any noises. my dad was watching and he said that all fours tires seemed to be restricted. i didn't want to try and drive the car because i knew it wouldn't happen, there was just too much resistance.

 

Jack up the car & spin each wheel. You'll need to be in neutral when you do the front ones. Also, if it's that bad, you should be able to see that the front rotors are very rusty.

If it's that bad, maybe you ought to take each brake out & resurface the rotors & drums.

How long was it underwater?