:mad recently installed clutch new pressure plate the works....1st to 4th are great for the most part...but i get bad grindin when going into reverse, i have to try a few times of pushin into reverse, before it go's in smooth (doesnt grind all the time).. I hope i dont have to take the trans out again...my head still hurts from that thing fallin on me, and my clothes still smell like trans oil! Could it be somethin with the shift linkage or the shifter?

 

Don't ya hate the smell of gear oil in the morning.

Sounds like the clutch is not disengaging completely. Trans might be covering for you in the forward gears.

Just my 0.02

Terry

 

Are you SUUUREE you installed your throwout bearing properly in the clutch fork? :chevy A common mistake is putting the fork springs on the outside of the throwout bearing sleeve instead of the inside.

You didn't happen to install a centerforce did you? If so you may need the longer ball stud, as I realized today.

I agree, the clutch is not disengaging all the way.

 

Over and above any problems that you have you should always put your car into first before putting it into reverse.The reverse gear in our cars is not syncronized and by doing that it will help some with the grinding! :yesnod:

 

Im pretty sorta kinda positive that the throw out bearing and clutch fork are in right. I double checked cause I remember hearing of the mistake. If it wasnt in right would it affect the other gears?

 

You, me and many others have the same problem. You have to shift from first to second a couple of times to guarantee smooth shift to reverse.
After awhile it becomes a ritual. Nobody has ever come up with the reason for this but the "no synchro reverse gear" would make sense.

 

I'm running with an old Saginaw 4-speed. I too had to go to first gear before quickly shifting to reverese to avoid the grind. While installing my headers, I had to remove the z-bar which I completely restored. Guess what, no grind shifting to reverse. I had no idea I would actually fix the problem, but the z-bar was not pivoting properly on the ball stud. The inside of the z-bar uses plastic bushings which degrade over time. You can still purchase these from GM for a couple of bucks. I also went ahead a purchased a new ball stud from GM for about $8.00 along with good synthetic grease and painted the bar satin black. Sounds like your z-bar could be misaligned and causing the grind. When functioning properly, no need to go to first gear to get into reverse without the grind. Besides, this is a simple project that cost less than $20.00 and makes the z-bar look new. Good luck.

Regards,

Jim

 

Okay, I gotta ask... What the heck is the z-bar?!?!??!?!

 

Blues77...does your clutch pedal have alot of free play in it? If so, try adusting the linkage to remove some of the play which will cause a fork to depress the pressure plate more when you depress the pedal. Make sure you don't over adjust the linkage which will could cause the throwout bearing to remain in contact with the plate fingers when the clutch is engaged which will cause premature failure.

fireball...the z-bar is the metal bar between the frame and engine block that the clutch pedal and fork linkages attach to and pivots when you depress the clutch pedal.

Mark

 

Blues -
There is actually a specification for the reverse gear grind: You should be able to depress the clutch fully, wait 9 seconds, and then shove the gear shift into reverse with no grinding. If it grinds before 9 seconds are up, it's normal. If it grinds even after waiting 9 seconds or more, you have a problem.

There are several things that can cause this. Most common is either incorrect clutch adjustment or wear in the clutch linkage/Z-Bar. So the first step is to adjust your linkage such that you only have about 1/2" of pedal free travel at the top of the pedal travel. Once this is assured, you should check out all of your linkage. Over time, the holes and mating parts end up with quite a bit of wear. Egged-out holes and worn mating parts will result in incorrect pedal travel and inadequate clutch movement. I like to remove all of the linkage parts and either weld up the holes or install bushings to make everything work nice a tight. This will usually fix a lot of problems. So check everything out and repair or replace parts as needed. The Z-Bar, as previously stated, is a big source of slop and wear, as is the clutch pedal itself where it attaches to the clutch rod. You can gain a little bit of pedal travel by removing the rubber stop at the top of the pedal travel and using this additional travel in your adjustment. You will, however, get a metallic "clunk" if you let the pedal up fast with the rubber stop removed...

The next very common item is the pilot bushing. If, for any reason, you did not get the pilot bushing well lubricated, the transmission input shaft pilot will gall slightly in the pilot bushing. Once this has occurred, there will be enough drag between the bushing and the input shaft so that the input shaft will never actually stop spinning. This will cause the grinding you describe. Unfortunately, the only cure is to drop the tranny back out and replace the bushing. To avoid this problem, I always install the available pilot needle bearings instead of the bronze bushings.

Finally, there are several clutch assemblies out there that require more pedal travel than the stock setup. I have seen this with some of the McCleod (sp?) products and with Centerforce products. On these, I have had to install adjustable fork ball pivots to get them to work right. Again, this is a lot of work to modify, since the tranny has to be dropped again. The only clutch assemblies that I have never had geometry problems with are the new (not rebuilt) stock Borg Warner units. These consistently work well in stock and near-stock applications.

Good luck in your hunt for smooth reverse operation!