71coupe

I finished installing my motor yesterday. I rolled it out of the garage, primed the oil, & started it up. After running it for about 15-20 minutes @ 2500 rpm, I was ready to drive it, but it would not go into gear - sadness:(
I rolled it back into the garage.
When I get home tonight I'm going to pull the trans to see what the deal is.
Note: before I parked it the trans worked well. The linkage was adjusted properly, & the clutch assy only has 15,000 miles on it.
Any ideas?

(pics I took before I rolled it back into the garage yesterday)






[Modified by 71coupe, 10:14 AM 11/27/2001]

ORVette

Dumb question: Did you forget the flywheel bolts?

MikeC

What do you mean by wouldn't go into gear?

Did the gears grind when ytou tried to put it in gear?

Did you hook up the clutch z-bar? Ik now, I know but we gotta go over everything. Did you take the shifter off and not put back on properly.


I'm not trying to insult you but I have found that the most annoying problems with a car usually have the easiest fixes(you know, forehead slappers).

71coupe

Yes the flywheel is bolted up. Before I started it, I adjusted the clutch.
I have good pedal & all linkage is hooked up properly. They were no abnormal noises when I ran it. I tried to get it in gear while it was running,
but it would start to grind as if you didn't depress the clutch.

My guess is one of 2 things: Either I installed the clutch disk backwards (if that's possible), or the pilot shaft is stuck in the pilot bushing & the motor is constantly spinning the pilot shaft regardless of clutch input.

:confused: :rolleyes:


[Modified by 71coupe, 1:30 PM 11/26/2001]

MasterDave

If you're not sure then I suppose the clutch plate COULD go in reversed. That would lock it to the flywheel and not let your clutch disengage, I think, but it would be at the center hub so it probably is not damaged. Maybe you got a 'burr' on the clutch/tranny splines which is not letting the clutch release? It will shift when engine is off, right? If so, it puts the area in question right at the clutch IMO. Let us know... :confused:

PatsLs1vette

yeah it kind of sounds like the clutch disc in backwards.

71coupe

I'll pull it out tonight & let you know. One thing I just remembered, when I bolted up the transmission to the bellhousing, it slid on most of the way except for the last 1/8"-3/16" inch. At that point I decided to help it on by drawing it in with the bolts.
If my car could speak it would have probably said ouch :nono: when I did that.

BB68Vett

Did you change the clutch fork ball stud before installing the transmission and bellhousing. When I installed my engine recently I left the tranny in the car but could not get the engine and bellhousing to seat completely. It turns out that the ball stud I used was too long and wouldn't allow the clutch fork to move back enough and it caused the issue. GM makes three sizes of ball studs for our cars: short 1-3/8; med. 1-1/2; and long 1-? When I used the "long" ball stud the engine wouldn't seat aginst the bellhousing but when I replaced it with the "medium" ball stud it went in like a charm.

Just one more thing to check. Good luck.

GaryS

There have been some good suggestions here but I also think that a bit of caution is in order. First, you can pull the linkage off the side of the transmission and manually move the gears by hand. Of course the engine should be shut off. :( Secondly, before I pulled the tranmission out to check the clutch I would do a linkage adjustment. It is far more simple to do that than to pull the trans. Third, I would call your local auto parts store, because I am not certain, but I don't think that the clutch can be installed backwards. Am I wrong here guys?

Gary

redvetracr

71coupe, My trans NEVER goes all the way in,it ALWAYS needs a little "help" the last 3/4" or so, but i`m going through 3 discs. Does your trans shift nice with the motor NOT running?? Check the TO bearing, so that it`s on the fork properly (thats an easy mistake to make). Also wouldn`t the clutch disc springs hitting the flywheel NOT let you assemble the clutch? I vote for a mis-adjusted clutch. ...redvetracr

71coupe

redvetracr - I installed the throwout brg in the small clips on the clutch fork - I asume that the clips hold the bearing - but I've seen forks without the clips :confused: The big side of the bearing is toward the pressure plate diaphram springs. Let me know if I screwed this :crazy:
Also, I guessed the clutch was misadjusted. I started adjusting it out farther & farther -no help. (I ran out of adjustment)

Gary - The linkage is dead-on. I am using a hurst shifter & it has a rig point in the body that goes through all of the throws. If everything is adjusted correctly, a rig pin (or coat hangar) will slide through the linkage arm rig holes. But I will take your advise & check it again before I pull the trans.
I'll make sure the arms on the transmission are all in the "neutral" detent.

BB68vett- The pivot ball has not been changed. Can the fork seperate from the ball somehow during install? If so, there's probably no chance to fix it unless I get the transmission out of the way.

Masterdave- before I installed the trans, I slid the clutch disk on the pilot shaft to make sure there were no obstructions or galling.
As far as the disk being in the wrong way, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't do that..-right? :bb

One more thing: it shifts ok with the engine off & all of the throws feel normal


[Modified by 71coupe, 3:28 PM 11/26/2001]

71coupe

Thanks for all of the good advise, I'm leaving work early so I can get started. (the car is in Los Angeles County & I'm in San Diego) nothing like an 80 mile rush hour drive. :U
I'll get back with you tomorrow morning on what I find-

:cheers:

vert2go89

i would be willing to bet you have your disc in backwards

ORVette

Sorry for my stupid post. I just realized it's a manual.

71coupe

TUESDAY MORNING:

Last night I pulled the transmission and guess what the problem was...
The pilot shaft was stuck in the pilot bearing. I had a very hard time seperating the trans from the belhousing. It's a good thing I had a little anti-sieze on the shaft or it may never have come out :eek:
Everything else was assembled properly - disk, t/o brg, pressure plate, fork.

A bad $2 part caused me a lot of greif :mad

I guess next time I wil make sure the bearing will slide on the shaft before I install it.

vert2go89

well sure glad it was something inexpensive even thoug it was time consuming.
now go out and drive it till you are grinning from ear to ear.
wave on \ ////

Phlash

Be wary about the pilot bushing/bearing. Years gone by, I ran into an undersized bored crank in a 440 Dodge. Put 3 bushings in before I figured out that I had to have a bushing cut down so it would not squeeze the inside hole for the pilot shaft when installed. I was a mechanic then that worked on all kinds of cars, but drove a 68 conv. vette ;o)

Phlash 72 BB Roadster :chevy

Nomad78SA

71 Coupe, Glad to see you resolved it!!
Last week I put my 400 motorand Muncie 4 speed in my 68 GTO. I had some work done on the tranny, bearings, new input shaft and some syncos. I also installed a new pressure plate and clutch. The piliot bearing was a roller type and seemed ok so I left it in.I was trying to put the transmission on the motor by myself and could get it up on the set pins but no further. I was afraid I was going to bend the new shaft from letting it rest with no bolts in it so I went to pull it back out. NO GO!! I could not pull the tranny off. To make a story short, I set it back on the pins and used the bolts to tighten it. I put the motor and trans in the car and hooked everything up. Push the clutch in and it did not have the tension the old pressure plate did. I crawled under the car and had my daughter push the clutch in and the cutch released. The shifter would not move at first though through any gear. Hit the clutch pedal a few times and the shifter moved. Went out and test drove it and all is well. Talk about freaking out. The pedal does not have the pressure of the old one but works fine. I had the original shifter rebuilt so I guess some of the stiffness is in that too. I wonder what is going to happen next time I try to remove the transmission....My original problem was it kept falling out of 4th gear. Hope I do not have to pull it out anytime soon.
Neil in Tenn

QuickVet

so does it work now?