FiveSeventyZee Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 So I've got my engine running (sbc 5.7 carbed) but I'm still not on the road. I can start the car in any gear with the clutch down, the pedal is pretty stiff, and let off the clutch to get movement and I can shift into nuetral fine. The problem is when I go to shift into a gear, depending on what gear it either grinds or won't physically let me get the shifter there. And it's not something outside the transmission getting in the way. I can't remember quite which gears do what but I remember 1st is one that won't go, 3 grinds, reverse grinds. The rest I forget. At first I thought the hydraulics on my clutch were bad but now that I've thought about it if that were true I wouldn't be able to get out of gear and stop the car smoothly. Then I was thinking the clutch fork might have bent but I'm not sure, I feel like that would also make it so the clutch pedal was useless, in either of these two cases I shouldn't be able to start the car in gear with the clutch down without jerking the car. Anyone know what might be wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 You probably need to adjust your clutch pedal so the S/C has more travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsommer Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 What master cylinder are you using? I used the Tilton (1" IIRC) on with my T-5 and a custom SS braided line to the slave cylinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiveSeventyZee Posted April 19, 2010 Author Share Posted April 19, 2010 Not sure, the guy I bought it from did the swap but it's not the tilton one. If the slave wasn't getting enough travel wouldn't it not let me start in gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bone028 Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 I have the same problem with the car not always wanting to go into gear (sometimes, cant shift into any gear) I tried adjusting the clutch pedal per the FSM, but it didnt help. I'll be watching this thread for ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiveSeventyZee Posted April 22, 2010 Author Share Posted April 22, 2010 anyone? if it was the hydraulics wouldnt it not let me start the engine with the tranny in anything other than neutral? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 anyone? if it was the hydraulics wouldnt it not let me start the engine with the tranny in anything other than neutral? Are you using an after market T5 shifter? I initially used a Hurst T5 shifter on a new rebuilt T5 and no matter how I adjusted the Hurst shifter it would lock up my transmission. My rebuild shop told me to get rid of the Hurst shifter and re-install the stock shifter. It now works perfect with 500 miles on it so far. My set up: Tilton 7/8" MC, braided -3 line, McLeod -3 to roll-pin adaptor (Summit) connects the line to a stock Camaro slave. Works good. Also, if you have air in the line I found the best way to bleed is to open the bleed valave on the slave and let the fluid run out by gravity while carefully toping off the MC with fresh fluid. I did this for about 15 minutes, closed the bleed valve and gave the pedal two pumps and had perfect clutch engagement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piston Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 does it go into gear with the car off? i mean, shift into all gears? if it only has issue with 1 and 3 then you might have issues with the shift fork or linkage because those two gears ride along the same shift linkage and forks. a bent fork or defect linkage will cause it to either jump out of gear or not go into gear or even grind (not a full throw due to bent fork). you mention you have movement? which gear was this in? if it moves in 2nd gear normally then its not your clutch pedal free play (hydraulic). i personally took two of these apart and put it back together at school for learning purposes. if it starts with pedal all the way down in gear, your clutch is running free which means your pedal free play is alright. listen to it closely to when it engages and disengage in any working gears. you should have at least 1 or 1 1/2" of free play on the pedal before engaging. has the transmission been rebuild? also like mention above, make sure the shifter is correct as in bottom shifter ball actually sitting in bushing, bushing sitting in correct location of linkage with ball and detent. there are so many t5's out there, i found one on our donor t5 had the wrong shifter and will not make it fully into gear and pop back out as soon as you try to spin the front shaft. this just means if your shifter is incorrect and does not have the right length, if will not fully go into gear. but this will happen in all gears. hopefully this helped a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgeezer Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 (edited) anyone? if it was the hydraulics wouldnt it not let me start the engine with the tranny in anything other than neutral? FWIW, when the hydraulic clutch on my 5 speed Cherokee began to fail, I had the same symptoms. The slave cylinder was "ok"; the master cylinder was the culprit. I'd revisit the slave cylinder again and look for adequate throw and then go back on top to make sure the master cylinder does not leak down. I never had a problem starting while in gear and holding the clutch down; but if I came to a full stop with the trans in neutral and the clutch depressed, I couldn't get it into any gear. In my case the master cylinder would simply leak down and allow the clutch to drag (semi engage) and turn the transmission input shaft. g Edited May 1, 2010 by zgeezer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiveSeventyZee Posted May 3, 2010 Author Share Posted May 3, 2010 It is an aftermarket shifter but I tried switching back to the stock one and it didn't change anything so I threw the aftermarket one back in. And with the engine off I can put it in whatever gear I want, start the engine with the clutch engaged and let off the clutch to move the car. Its only once the engine is turning that the problems arise. Based on zgeezer's story it sounds like I have to replace my master. I think I'm going to do that and see what size I have anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxate Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 New to the site. Having the same issue with a T5. Car off, shifts fine. Start car in gear, clutch release is fine and moves the car. Difficult to get into 2nd, (sometimes have to double cluthch) a little easier into 3rd, easier sill to 4th and 5th. Reverse ginds even if shifted from another gear. Pulled the trans yesterday thinking I would find a wasted pilot bearing. Not the case. Pilot is fine. I guess I will be pulling the cover off the trans. I suspect now the syncros are gone. Any help is appreciated. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negligence Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 It is an aftermarket shifter but I tried switching back to the stock one and it didn't change anything so I threw the aftermarket one back in. And with the engine off I can put it in whatever gear I want, start the engine with the clutch engaged and let off the clutch to move the car. Its only once the engine is turning that the problems arise. Based on zgeezer's story it sounds like I have to replace my master. I think I'm going to do that and see what size I have anyways. The same exact thing happened on my Manual Saturn, i actually posted it here looking for help. Ended up being the Master/Slave cylinder setup. The shifter would not move at all when the car was on, but when its off you can put it in any gear and start her up. But be careful with that, in my car, the clutch was engaging even when it was fully depressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.