Transmission Issues

[rotorwrench]

The pin in the tower is there to keep the shifter lever socket & ball aligned properly. It should be relatively tight in the bore. There are fixes for this if it's loose.

[chrs1961815]

Still have the problem. One more thing I did notice is that the three gears are all worn somewhat. Teeth are more triangular than square.

[Mulletwagon]

The problem is the clutch disk is continuing to rotate while the clutch pedal is depressed. The challenge is to determine why. Normally it is the trans oil that puts sufficient drag on the gears to slow down the disk. The oil should be 600W. One check would be to start the engine with the clutch pedal depressed and the trans in low gear. After engine start continue to depress the clutch pedal, move the shift to neutral, wait momentarily, than slowly shift back to low gear. If there is any grinding something is holding/touching the disk or input shaft and causing rotation. As previously mentioned, a sluggish pilot bearing could be causing the input shaft and disk to rotate. Another possibility could be the disk spline not translating smoothly on the input shaft resulting in the disk maintaining a light contact against the flywheel and continuing to rotate. If the issue cannot be determined externally, may be pulling the clutch apart for a detailed analysis. Constant gear clash will clearly result in major damage over time. Let us know what you determine.

[Railcarmover]

If your inspecting your slider gears if they have some clash wear its no big deal as long as the full tooth isn't worn..the flat spot on top of the tooth is the telltale,if its not square the tooth is worn

you have a clutch problem.at a full stop with the engine running it should go into gear without clashing.

[ryanheacox]

I think I remember seeing you have an early 28 roadster. Multi disc clutch?

[chrs1961815]

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Originally Posted by ryanheacox

I think I remember seeing you have an early 28 roadster. Multi disc clutch?

The vehicle is an early 28 but many things have been switched out for later versions of parts and I think the transmission is one of them. Still has the left hand brake though.

[ryanheacox]

Hopefully someone more familiar with the e28's will respond but I have read that the teeth in the flywheel can get packed with dust and keep the clutch from releasing. If you have the floorboards out you can tell pretty easily if your car has been converted to the later clutch/bell housing/transmission.

[rotorwrench]

Most of the early ones were switched out for the single disc for the Ford service bulletin that came out way back when. When the transmission is in neutral and clutch engaged, the input shaft and cluster still rotate with the engine. Disengaging the clutch allows the heavy oil in the transmission to slow the counter shaft cluster to a stop. It has to stop for a decent shift to low gear. Like the guys have mentioned, the tip of the pilot can get galled into the pilot bearing which will cause the input to rotate. Another thing that can happen is a bad misalignment of the clutch housing on the engine. They are generally shimmed to get straight alignment with the crank and flywheel. If it's off far enough, it will pull the input shaft to one side due to transmission misalignment so that's another possibility that may need checking.

[Patrick L.]

As per #19, did you look at the clutch operation with the cover removed ?

[chrs1961815]

I did start the car with the inspection cover off and it looks like the throwout bearing turns just very slowly in neutral when the clutch is up. Depressed in neutral everything sped up. I am not a transmission guy in general so I don't really know what this means?

[Bill G]

Check to make sure that something is not getting in the way of depressing the clutch pedal all the way. I once routed turn signal wires throught eh gap around the felt to the steering column and the wires were actually getting in the way of pushing the pedal all the way. Just something to watch out for.

[Ranchero50]

Originally Posted by chrs1961815

I did start the car with the inspection cover off and it looks like the throwout bearing turns just very slowly in neutral when the clutch is up. Depressed in neutral everything sped up. I am not a transmission guy in general so I don't really know what this means?

When you press the clutch pedal you should feel the resistance decrease towards the end of it's travel and the clutch arms over center. With the clutch all the way out you should have some clearance between the clutch levers and the throw out bearing. too much clearance and your clutch isn't releasing all the way.

[Patrick L.]

When the clutch pedal is released the throw outwearing should not touch the pressure plate fingers, the bearing should not spin. So again the question is how much free-play in the pedal is there ? Should be 1.0-1.5". That is enough to allow the bearing just enough clearance to not contact the fingers.

The pressure plate is attached to the engine/flywheel while the clutch disk is attached to the transmission. When the pedal is pushed the pressure plate should release the disk from spinning letting it slow down to a stop and allow shifting.

[Johnny Nitro]

Can you shift smoothly if you push in the clutch, and wait a few seconds before selecting a gear?

[chrs1961815]

Originally Posted by Johnny Nitro

Can you shift smoothly if you push in the clutch, and wait a few seconds before selecting a gear?

No, nothing. I have also noticed that it is getting harder to shift too.

[Purdy Swoft]

May be holding the clutch pedal depressed too long .

[chrs1961815]

Bad Update: after getting it to run nicely after retiming and some other things, I enjoyed the car. Tonight on the way home my clutch stopped working all together and left me scratching my head and calling a tow truck. I pulled the floorboards and the inspection plate and couldn't find anything that looked seriously wrong to me. Then I took a magnet to the bottom of the trans and pulled out 4 springs! Were these from the pressure plate adjusters or something else? Where do I go from here?

[katy]

Were these from the pressure plate adjusters or something else?

They would be from out of the pressure plate.

Where do I go from here?

You need to replace the clutch ass'y, and possibly the release (throwout) bearing.

[Patrick L.]

The springs came from the bell housing or the transmission ?

If from the bell housing/clutch, then the clutch needs to be replaced. I'd recommend replacing bearing, plate and disk. Set up the flywheel with assembled clutch on the bench and check/adjust the pressure plate fingers. Then take it apart and put it in the car. Then set the free play to 1.0-1.5".

[30 Closed Cab PU]

If I remember correctly, there are two types of plates that the springs fit into. One style holds the clutch springs captive, one style does not. I am not a mechanic, but wanted to raise this point, if true would hate to see him get the wrong type and encounter this again.


Perhaps others can confirm/direct him to the info? Or tell me I do not know what I am talking about.