915 tranny question, needing clarification

[nixter]

Hi guys,

I'm posting this again and attempting to consolidate all the symptoms properly so that I can hopefully get the most accurate diagnosis.

Here are all the symptoms in point form.

1) Major shifter slop (I know the problem here)

2) -Has always been difficult shifting ONLY from 1st to 2nd (slight hesitation with a "bump" feeling) This is with car stopped or moving.

3) -Now difficult shifting into ANY gear while car is stopped, (same bump feeling requiring some force to engage the gear. Once car is moving, shifting is smooth.

4) -Attempting reverse will usually result in loud grinding at first touch. Must shut car off, engage reverse, turn car on, back up!

Now, the strange thing is, problems 3 and 4 appeared over the course of a day or so last week. Makes me think something has come loose, hopefully something I can fix. The only other thing I can think of is that there seems to be a bit of extra slop in the shifter with some hint of rattling noises if I shake it a little?

I'm really hoping the problem is just in the linkage somewhere. The gears/syncros appear to work fine once engaged.

Thanks for all the great help so far guys!

Nikolai

[Jim Sims]

Probably a combination of worn shifter bushings and an out of adjustment clutch (not fully releasing - maybe a stretching cable or failing clutch release bearing fork or shearing clutch pedal cluster shaft roll pin). Jim

[nixter]

Awsome, thanks so much guys! I noticed that the factory short shift is not available anymore. Are there others that would replace both these bushings? I'll check out the tech article.

THanks,

Nikolai

[nixter]

Hi guys, just wanted to thank you for the help. I got up the courage to check things out tonight. I removed the tunnel cover and found no problems there, set screw was tight, coupler bushings ok. I removed the shift boot and noticed that the stop plate was not bolted down as tight as it should be. I suppose it never rattled around due to the spring pressure from underneith so I never noticed before. Tightening this imediately helped with the trouble of getting the shift lever over to the right plane (5th/rev) as the shifter guide plate/fork was not poking up through the loose stop plate fully.

I still had the problem of getting the shifter into gear without some struggle. I removed the footpedal floorboard and found the end of the clutch cable with the trunion pin. It's really tucked under some metal housing so I had no idea how get in there, even with the Pelican tech articles in hand. I don't have the facilities to jack the car up in order to get at the other end of the cable so just to satisfy my suriosity I took her for a short spin in my parking garage without the wooden floorboard. The extra clutch travel virtually eliminated the problem! Bingo, clutch cable adjustment is just what I need!

At least now I can take it somewhere and tell them exactly what to do and not get screwed!

Any idea of what the rough cost of the clutch cable adjustment be?

Thanks to John, Noah, and Jim!

Nikolai

[Jim Sims]

Probably the shop's minimum charge: shop rate x 1/2 an hour. Make sure they know what they are doing; like how to properly support and jack up the rear. You need to find a friend in the local area with a garage; this is an adjustment one can easily do. All you need is a floor jack, a couple of jack stands, wheel chocks, a couple of wrenches and a scale. Cheers, Jim

[nixter]

**Update**

Ok, I took the car to a P-car specialiast in my area and asked him to adjust the clutch cable. He did it for $20! Anyhow, shifting was a lot easier after that. He did mention a couple things to me. He said I had some "chatter" in the clutch. He said it could be some oil on the flywheel or that is might not be ground to tollerance? I could be wrong here, his accent was kinda thick. He also said that if the adjustment didn't do it that I might need the cable replaced. Sure enough, by 3 days later the shifting is difficult again.

I don't quite understand how the cable could be causing this. I mean it's either ok or broken no? Could somebody please explain this in between business? Is something on the cable slipping? Is the cable stretching?

Thanks guys,

Nikolai

[1fastredsc]

Cables do stretch with time, that and if the throw of the clutch cable is not adjusted right, that could cause it to stretch really fast.

[nixter]

Well it was adjusted on Monday and it's now almost back to how it was shifting before adjustment (Thursday)

Nikolai

[john walker's workshop]

there is a roll-pin that holds the clutch pedal to it's shaft. the pin often shears slowly so you loose pedal travel.
the cable can be partialy frayed. remove the cable to fully inspect it. typical area where it frays is where it exits the firewall.

[nixter]

Hi John, I have full pedal travel. Do you mean that worn pin creates poor cable travel in relation to the pedal travel?

Had the cable adjusted on Monday by a guy who comes highly recommended in Vancouver (Frank Olher) sp? He said that the writing on the cable looked quite new which made him suspect the cable wasn't that old. If he adjusted it correctly could this roll pin be responsible for my difficult shifting returning in just 2 days?

While I was at his shop he let me sit in a pristine '83 and the clutch movement was so effortless compared to mine. Is that a helper spring issue? Could it be related to my difficult to engage gear issue?

Thanks,

Nikolai

[Jim Sims]

Sounds like you may need to have the pedal cluster rebuilt (new bushings); this would also take care of the rollpin if it's shearing as the roll pin has to be destructively removed (and then replaced) to access the bushings. Jim

[john walker's workshop]

stiff pedal operation is often a sign that the disc is very thin. continued operation with a very stiff pedal can cause things like the cable, the roll-pin, and fork in the bellhousing to break. nothing like a fresh clutch, a rebuilt pedal cluster and new cable to make you wonder why you put up with that so long.

[Sonic dB]

Put a new clutch cable on yourself, along with helper spring. Do the adjustment yourself.... as a newbie this will take you about 5 hours to figure it out and do it the first time...the experience will be invaluable and your car will be shifting like butter if the tranny is still worth anything.

[nixter]

I'd love to do it myself. I don't own the space or the tools to pull it off unfortunately. I just got home and I BARELY made it. I almost can't get into first when the car is stopped. Why is it that I can shift through the gears fairly easily once the car is moving? Once I've stopped it's very hard to get into first. I even tried shifting into the other gear gates which proved just as difficult.

This has got me really bummed seeing as it's my daily driver. *sigh*

I guess I'll attempt to make it to my repair guy on monday morning and have him change the cable and spring.

Nikolai

[nixter]

So based on the fact that my difficult shifting returned so soon after the cable adjustment my mechanic believes that the release fork? is bent and may break at any time. Things are looking pricey now. He estimated 1,500 Canadian for the job. That's a whole new clutch though. Does this sound right to you guys? I think 1,500 Can is around 1,200 US.

Nikolai

[john walker's workshop]

normal clutch price, unfortunately. the fork often cracks, but you generally get a lot of shudder when starting out in first when it does. if there's no shudder, i would look at the periferals, like the cable and rollpin first. still could be the fork.

[nixter]

Hmm, I definately have some shudder. I wouldn't say a lot but definately some. I'll ask him about the roll pin first though.

Thanks John,

Nikolai