This is an follow up to an issue that I had a few months ago ( that I still have today). Sorry for the long post below but I want to get all of the facts in upfront.

The car is hard to shift in the forward gears and I cannot get it into Reverse unless it is turned off. (It will grind). It is very hard to downshift, especially back into first or from Neutral to first.

I've got a Brand New Luk Clutch and Rebuilt S-T10 Transmission. I also took off the shifter and Linkage to clean it up and lube it. I then installed it back in using the procedure in the manual whereby I lined up the notch in all of them and then tightened them down- so linkage is not an issue I don't think.

Here are the symptoms:

I am not able to shift into Reverse - It grinds badly so I have to turn the car off, shift into Reverse.
As soon as I turn the car off I am able to shift through all of the gears like a knife through butter - no problems.
Yes, I can put it into gear and then start it up. But sometimes if I start it up while in Reverse, the car will move very slightly rearward.
I adjusted the nuts on the adjustment rod more towards the end of it so that the lower nut is about 1/2 inch from the end of the rod. There is definitely no more free play in the pedal.
I got the car on a steep hill, turned off the car and put it into gear. It would not roll. I then pushed the clutch in and it began to roll freely down the hill.
I have pulled the entire transmission and clutch and then replaced the pilot bushing with a new one. I first made sure that it slipped over the input shaft easily. I put just a small dab of grease on the end of the input shaft and some in the cavity behind the bushing. I checked out the disc for warpage and it checked out good- (its new).
Reinstalled all of it - The last inch of the bellhousing was stubborn until I pressed the clutch in and then it mated up.
Results- I sat in the car and shifted the gears w/out the clutch in ( and the car off)-- It shifted silky smooth. After I started it -- Same exact problems as before- Reverse is impossible unless the car is off . Forward gears are very difficult, especially when the car is stopped.
I have since driven the car 300 miles hoping that it would work itself out but it hasn't and I am getting a little frustrated driving it. I have gotten it on the highway at about 70 mph and then held the clutch in for a while -hoping that would help.
Any other advice for this one? thanks

 

Could it be the dimensions of your pivot ball stud? I'm not familiar with your parts, but you can get an adjustable one.

 

It could either ba adjustment or bad syncros. Why don't you install a hyd clutch and eliminate all that linkage?
Bernie

 

Nah, hydralic is for C4s.

Although, how does one tell if they need to change the pivot stud when they change clutches?

 

Pretty much anytime the flywheel is cut you need the long version of the ball stud, or the adjustable type. Search the forum, this is a a common problem. I'll assume you installed the throw-out bearing correctly, as in the spring fingers go inside the bearing lip, not outside as some have done. Your problem is the clutch is not dis-engaging completely, the trans. is fine.

 

Wow, I wish that I had known that about needing a different ball stud anytime the flywheel is cut.
The next time pulling all of this out and putting it back will be my 3rd time - and my helper here is telling me NO as I type. ..So I am trying to get it right this time. So I anyone has 2 cents now is the time.
thanks Rob

 

I vote you try a different pressure plate and/or disk. The clutch is not releasing.

This same thing happened to me once. The parts looked fine while laying on the bench but the grinding when going into gear would not go away. Exact same symptoms as you. I pulled and reinstalled the clutch 3 times that day!!! Keep in mind I had changed more than a couple of clutches in my time so this was not my first rodeo.

I went to the speed shop and we bolted the clutch assy to the flywheel while the flywheel was laying on the bench. Then we saw it! The pressure plate diaphram spring was warped! The bent fingers prevented the pressure plate from releasing the disk even with the 1" of required freeplay adjustment at the pedal. This was not visible when the pressure plate was loose on the bench but visibly obvious when torqued down to the flywheel with the rest of the parts.

I got a new clutch assembly and everything was fine after that.

Hope this helps.

-Mark.

 

I'll bet it is the pivot stud........sounds just like problems I had once. The stud was worn down with age. New stud, no problem.

 

Do you have to pull the enitre transmission in order to change the ball stud?
The reason that I ask is because I can see the back of it where it threads into the bellhousing.- I am trying my best to not to have to drop the tranny again.

 

Yea, you will pull the tranny 1 more time. I don't think you can slide it back far enough to get the t/o bearing off of the fork.

 

Update: I pulled the tranny again and replaced the clutch fork and pivot stud (with a longer one). This pivot stud was recommended by some fellow members and looked to be the correct replacement for my new Luk clutch. Fork fingers are all inside of the T/Out bearing grooves.
Results: I still cannot shift into Reverse without a grind. Doesn't matter if I go into a forward gear first. Shifting while driving feels a little better but the problem is at its worst when at a standstill going from Neutral to first.
The other thing that I have noticed is that I cannot seem to be able to find some free play in the clutch pedal. I don't feel that soft 1 inch of pedal travel before the pedal gets tight (even after adjusting the nuts on the rod).
I am really frustrated now because I was counting on those new parts to solve this problem. It takes me a lot of time to drop and reinstall the tranny. This was the 3rd time. My new wife is about to kill me 'cause of the time working on this.
Please submit your suggestions fellas....

 

anyone?

 

how far away is the throw out bearing from the pressure plate spring fingers?

 

Have you considered that the pressure plate is bad?

If the adjustment is right and the thing is assembled correctly, it has to be in the pressure plate/disk assy. The disk would have to be dragging for the gears to be grinding. Warped disk or bad pressure plate is the next thing to try. It can be bad out of the box.

-Mark.

 

How can you tell when it is all installed?

I took a look at the fingers on the P/Plate when I pulled the tranny and they all looked even to me.

 

Do you have any pics of what you are speaking of about the throw- out bearingr and the spring fingers?

 

If your clutch engages (car starts to move) an inch or so off the floor, your problem could be the pilot bearing dragging on the transmission input shaft causing the gear clash. It could also be the pressure plate as the guy from Arkansas has said.

If you clutch picks up right on the floor, you still have a linkage geometry problem. If you accelerate in high gear, how far can you shove the clutch pedal DOWN before the clutch starts to slip?

 

I have replaced the pilot bushing. What happens when it is dragging and what you can I do about it? The clutch does engage about an inch off of the floor but could this be because of how I have it adjusted at the moment?

 

Generally you have enough room to see next to the fork. The throw out bearing clips into the fork. In it's static position you want to be very close but not touching the PP finger springs.

If your engaging right off the floor. Your throw out to spring gap is to wide. with the linkage off of the fork you should be able to freely move the pilot bearing back and forth on the input shaft.

Not having a correctly aligned bell housing can cause weird problems because the input shaft is binding

 

You mean throw-out bearing, not pilot bearing, right??