Hi all this is my first post!

I just replaced the motor in my 2001 honda accord 2.3l ex coupe.

Everything was running great after the motor swap, also made sure to put a new clutch in it, earlier today I was driving around, the car was running beautifully, shifting nicely, driving smoothly. Just today as i was driving around I shifted down from 4th to 3rd I heard a really loud winding noise, luckily I made it home. when I got home there was a clanking sound. Now when its sitting it will idle, the clanking (I guess you could call it only happens for a second) then it idles great, but it wont let me shift into gear. when the engines off it'll let me put it into gear, when its on, not so much. I don't want to take the transmission off, but if I have to then so be it, ive tried to se if the axels were displaced at all, they're not. im not too car savvy, and this is my first motor swap. my motor is an F23A. if anyone could help that would be awesome!

Why would the throw out bearing on a new clutch drop out unless the new throw out bearing was faulty.

 

you need to check your clutch job.

 

okay so I got the trans off, the throw out bearing seems to be the problem. my next question is, the clutch I ordered, the package came with a pilot bearing, but the pilot bearing looks too big to fit into the flywheel. is it needed? after searching, I guess its not called a pilot bearing. its a brass or copper ring that is supposed to fit inside of the fly wheel. I guess its called the pilot bushing.

 

Pilot bushings usually get replaced when doing a clutch job. You will need to remove the existing one, which is most likely what you are seeing already installed and why the hole may seem small.
During a clutch job the usually the clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing, and pilot bushing are replaced.

What brand clutch kit did you use? Some cheaper brands the damper springs can pop out.

 

I have and m-pact clutch. yesterday we looked at the throw out bearing, we put it on correctly and the car still wont go into gear. I did not replace the pilot bushing, seeing as the motor I bought only had 55k on it, but there is a rattling that comes from what sounds like the bottom of the engine whenever I press the clutch pedal and give the car gas. so im confused, either the pilot bushing is not in the motor I purchased, or its bad leading me to(being as dumb as I was not replacing it) having to replace it.

So, when I press the clutch in there's a rattle that at first I thought was the exhaust, it is not. the rattle like I said above only happens when you press the clutch in. the only two things I can think of is that, 1 we didn't bleed the slave enough and the throw out isn't pressing against the pressure plate hard enough this causing the car not to go into gear, or 2. the pilot bushing needs to be replaced. the spline on the transmission looked fine when we pulled it so, there was no damage done to the tranny. I am having a hard time pin pointing the noise. but it happens when you press the gas with the clutch pressed, you can hear a rattle.

 

How did the clutch disc itself look?
Did you verify the damper springs and rivets that hold the clutch disc are still intact?
Did you inspect the pressure plate springs for damage or bent fingers?
Did you install the clutch disc in the right direction?
Do you still have the old clutch and pressure plate?
Compare the two if you do and look for any differences that may cause incompatibility.
Not sure who M-pact is.
Is there oil in the transmission? It takes not quite two quarts for the MT.

 

After I took the clutch out I found out the rattling was that one of the flywheel bolts had gotten loose. I tightened them up and the car now goes into gear, but now i'm hearing a small ticking when I push the clutch in. the pressure plate is not torqued to spec, could the throw out bearing be hitting the pressure plate fins if the plate is too loose? or would the pilot bearing be causing that noise? should I just start the entire clutch job over?

 

I figured out that the pressure plate wasn't tight enough as well. car is running great, now to work on the wheel bearings.