adam

Well, I got my car home (towed on a flatbed) and the clutch appears
to move the clutch fork but not enough to disengage the tranmission.

It was doing fine before a 70 mile round trip. Now I can't even put
it in the forward gears and the gears are still spinning so I can't put
it in reverse.

It was suggested that maybe something is bent on the fork or
clutch bar or something. Anything else to look for? :confused:

This is the ST-10 4sp Borg Warner tranny...

Thanks.

Jvette73

Can you adjust the clutch linkage? Most likely theres too much slack and its not releasing the pressure plate enough. I did some side work in a shop one time and a mechanic told the customer they need a new clutch. So he subbed the job to me and told me to put a clutch in it which I did. The old one didnt look bad and I pointed this out to him. I put the new one in and the problem was still there. it was having difficulty ingageing as you describe. It turned out to be a streched clutch cable. Mad a spacer from a few washers and dropped them onto the cable housing to take up the slack. That fixed it. of coarse he kept that part secret from the customer and charged them for the clutch job.

adam

Thanks, I'll check the linkage. Though I think the problem is not that.
The clutch was doing fine and I think that the linkage wouldn't slip
enough to automatically stop working...

Rockn-Roll

Sounds like the throw-out bearing. Hopefully the fork is still in good shape. The forks sometimes will crack and break...mine was almost there when I first started working on mine, and so broke it completely when I was taking it apart. Now you can think about a Centerforce Dual Friction clutch. :yesnod: Every time there's a break it's a good excuse to upgrade!

adam

Well Its not the linkage - I tightened up the linkage and the system
groans as you press the clutch. The fork moves but not by much.
Its something in there. I am completely locked out of the gears... :mad

Now I need to find a good tranny man or shop.

THanks.

feb18blacksunday

Throw out bearing. A do it yourself fix, but you gotta pull the tranny.If the clutch is old you probably will want to change it while you've got it down.

adam

Hmmm, didn't remember seeing that in the shop manuals. Any suggestions for
a procedure?

Anyone knowledgeable in DFW with ST-10 's?

Gator81

It's not a big deal, Adam, just a tiring and messy one. You'll need a tranny jack (or a big, dumb brother-in-law who can bench press about 150 pounds without a good handle... :) ).
Support the car under the frame with absolute certainty - level surface, concrete slab, good jackstands... you know the drill.
Support the engine under the oil pan. Support the tranny with the jack.
Disconnect all the stuff - tranny mount, driveshaft, clutch linkage, speedo cable, bellhousing bolts.
(Do you have to take the shifter off the side of the T-10? Or can you just remove the shifter handle? I can't remember. :crazy: )
Drop the crossmember.
Roll the jack/tranny combo back from the motor far enough for the pilot to clear the clutch, then start to let it down.

If I were into it that far, I'd pull the pressure plate and take a good at the flywheel - it may need resurfacing, it may have broken teeth. I also think I'd put in a new clutch just because it feels good. :D You'll probably find pieces and chunks of the throwout bearing; it may have chewed up the fingers on the pressure plate, too. I would certainly put in a new clutch fork and fork boot along with the throwout bearing, even if it looks OK. There's a blue-steel spring on the back of that fork that fatigues with age, and you will want to have a nice new one in there.

I know there are high performance clutches out there, and maybe you need one, but I used a relatively cheap RAM brand clutch in my '81 and I have been very happy with it.

Good luck! :seeya

Fevre

While you at it.....

Check all your pivot points for wear, I found most had some wear and are about 1/2 gone causing extra friction. Used very thin washers to shim the pivot point so they where moved further in toward the connecting rod in an area with less wear. Not the best long term solution but works short term until I replace all the worn areas. ( Also lubed all pivot points with white grease). The one pivot point that is the hardest to get to is the one under the dash, a real PITA to be sure.

adam

Oh my; :eek:

One of these 'while you're at it jobs' ....

The disassembly seems straightforward - The shifter can probably stay provided
the rods come off. The shifter is bolted to the tunnel - I had to replace/tighten those bolts.

I think I'm going to need someone who has seen this stuff before - I haven't seen
the insides of a clutch setup. Sounds like pictures are going to have to be taken...

Are the cluch parts standard between the tranny's of the vettes? Or do I need a specific
one to mate with the ST10?

Fevre; you're talking about the clutch linkage points - I'll probably get through those too
as I have to take almost everything off...

Wonderful - I guess my car didn't want to be out in the rainy season for a while...

Budman68

Adam _ I would help, but I'm taking the kids camping. Call Mike, he can have it out and in with a four hour period. I've done it at least 10 times before in different cars, mostly my 67 Camaro. Sorry, I can't help you. :nonod:

Gator81

Yep, Adam, definitely a while-you're-at-it thing. :D It's just that going to all the trouble of separating the engine and trans, and having the trans out of the car, is the kind of trouble you don't want to do again. I didn't mention it earlier, but if you have any "issues" at al with that T-10, now is the time to deal with them, for sure! Take a good look at the driveshaft and u-joints, too.

A decent clutch kit (p.plate, disk, t/o bearing, pilot bushing/bearing, and an alignment "binkie") will be $175-$200. The fork and boot will be another $40-$50. If the flywheel needs to be surfaced, that's about $20.

By the way, it should be an 11.0" clutch, 26 spline. Some of the books show other clutches for C3 manual trans cars up through the '81, but they're wrong as far as I can tell.

If the flywheel is fine and the tranny itself needs no attention, so that all you are doing is replacing the clutch, t/o bearing, fork and boot, you should be able to get through it easily over the weekend while taking your time to deal with unfamiliar stuff. A pro with a lift could probably get through it in 2 hours.

Oh, one other thought: some guys would laugh at this, I know, :rolleyes: but I would never put a new clutch on with the old bolts. Get new ARP bolts to mount the pressure plate, and if you pull the flywheel, get new ARP bolts for that, too.

mvftw

One note to add, C3's are Not that EZ to drop. The Crossmember does NOT come out, it's welded in (on 4 spds). So you have to pull the tranny back, then rotate it alittle to drop it down between the xmember and bell housing...alittle tricky

adam

Thanks Gator;

Where did you get a new clutch fork boot? I haven't seen any...
okay is Eckers the only place?
I've found throw out bearing and clutch kits:

Ecklers sells a GT clutch kit $200
Jegs sells a Hays performance for $249
SDPC sells the Ram for $118 and Ram performance for $280
The 'zone sells other names for about 120-180 as well...

Did you get your stuff from the above, or did you check local
places - would they stock clutches and bearings?

THanks again.

Now to find a tranny jack - anybody in DFW?

Gator81

Zip has the fork boot, $10. Their clutch kit is $179, includes plate, disk, t/o bearing, pilot bushing, and the "binkie". Their fork, with the bearing retainer attached, is $36. I don't know what the brand is, but you can call 1-800-962-9632 and ask.

I got the basic RAM clutch for mine. It's smooth, reliable, and ought to last a long time. It will start to fade some after 3 or 4 hard launches, though, so if you plan on doing much racing or trying to get your strip time down, you probably need a higher-performance clutch.
:seeya

Stefan69

Got my boot at the local Chevy dealer $12.00

Porst :cheers:

Stefan

adam

Well, I got the transmission and the clutch out - finally.
The tranny was okay - took the crossmember out (It's bolted in) so it
wasn't bad.

The bellhousing was terrible. The bolts are 14mm with a little rounded
edge. Two were terrible to remove. Must have been put on by
an impact rachet.

Well the clutch is done - the rivets are exposed. And one of the springs
broke off :eek:

Hopefully the tranny is ok - I'm going to check side view...

Thanks Gator.

drspeedy

good luck, man. Sounds like happy greasy fun time comin' your way.:cheers:

BTW, I found that most of the stuff I've needed could be found at the local chevy shop- they had to order it in, but it was faster and comprable in price to Eckler's and others.

-doc

Gator81

Just a note to clarify - the crossmember on 80-81 4-speed cars is bolted in, just like in the auto-trans cars. :)