I'm hoping this is not the end of my 4 speed, I am no where NEAR able to afford a new tranny at this point. And my wife would flat out shut down "project vette", and the poor girl would either get sold, or sit...for a loooong time.

It's not a constant grind. For instance, I can ride the clutch slightly, to just start creeping forward, and no grind. When I lift off the clutch to engage the gear, though, little bit of grind when I gas it slightly. Then, once I'm moving along in 1st, no issues. Also, I can shift from 2nd to 1st without any grind. It's only happening from a stand still start, and not all the time. And it's a light grind...like, I didn't know what it was, at first. Usually, if, say, I miss 3rd gear, or something, you can feel that grind through the stick, and in your seat. But this can only be heard, and strangly, it SEEMS like it's coming from the right hand side of the car, but that could be because I'm half deaf, lol.


Would this be a clutch issue, more than a gear issue? Love these cars...no sooner do I get the timing figured out, now I gotta learn how to either replace a clutch...or....I guess NOT replace a tranny just yet...

 

There's no grind when going from first, holding the clutch for a few secs, then going to reverse...



So it's not a clutch issue, is it?


Synchros?

 

Try adjusting the clutch

 

Kind of sounds like maybe the clutch isn't releasing completely or maybe dragging just a bit.

Try the easy stuff first. Adjust the clutch, maybe pull the drain plug out of the trans and see how much junk (read chunks) has collected on the drain plug. An oil change won't hurt your trans anyway.

 

That is the easy way to get a 4 speed into reverse- go to first, and THEN to reverse.

 

Without starting an all out war.....what oil do you think would be best? I've read a lot of heated debates on this, both for engines, AND for trannies.


And, uh....dumb question here....but....I KNOW where the plug to DRAIN the thing is, but where would I FILL it from?

 

Also, when you folks say adjust the clutch, what do you mean? The clutch pedal, or the actual clutch...and if it's the later, how do I adjust it?

 

It may be a syncro in the transmission. If it is not the clutch you can take the tranny out and take to a manual transmission guy. This won't cost near as much money as a new tranny.

 

Likely clutch or shift linkage adjustment being 1st gear. I have torn out likely 20 or so muncie transmissions and it was usually 2nd and or 3rd gear syncros or countershaft gears. Learned how to rebuild them, pretty easy.

 

There is no physical adjustment on the clutch itself, that's all done when the pressure plate is assembled. It's all adjusted by the linkage at the level we as mechanics in the field have. Adjust it so the pedal is free (no resistance) for the first 1/2 to 1" of pedal movement. Then give it a try.

I keep going back to your initial post- won't shift into reverse without going to first. Reverse gear is on it's own shaft in the bottom of the trans. IF the gear teeth are not exactly lined up, it's really hard to get the gear engaged, by going to first, it makes everything move a little and helps get in to reverse.

I use the old 90w gear oil in mine- nothing special, I think it's GL-5 or something. Others probably use something else so ask around.

 

This is how it should be done.

 

Sta-Lube GL-4 trans oil found at NAPA corporate stores.

Your trans might only have a fill plug and no separate drain. Then you get a sucking device to remove as much of the old gear oil as possible. Then fill to the bottom of the plug's treads when car is level on jackstands.

You could always drill and tap the lower boss for a drain plug in case there's a next time.

You can see I have 2 plugs on my Muncie case:

 

A sucking device? Like, give a hooker 50 bucks, hand her a hose, and tell her to get to work?

What sort of sucking device is advised? I have a shop vac...but something tells me...I don't want 90 weight oil in my shop vac. If I siphon SOME, to get it started, and had the hose lower than the tranny, you think gravity will do the trick, like with gas?

 

And it turns out, it's not just a grind in first. I adjusted the clutch, very tight feel to it, now. It still shifts fine from 1st to reverse...and it shifts fine everywhere else, too. It only grinds when I start to really push on the gas. It did so in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Didn't try it in 4th, which would require near interstate speeds to do. It shifts in gear fine, and I can drive it fine...babying the throttle. The moment I try to push the peddle down further, though, is when it grinds. I imagine it would grind terribly on a hill or something, as well.

 

Manual or mechanized siphon pump, any auto parts store, WM, online, short $$ and can be used for multiple purposes. I strongly suggest that you refrain from putting a HAZMAT in your mouth. Good luck.

 

Won't be the only HAZMAT i've had in my mouth, over the years, giggidy, giggidy....

 

With so many people replacing their 4 speed Muncie's with 5 speeds and 6 speeds, I guess there are a lot of good used Muncie's out their that can be had at pretty low prices. I think the biggest problem with a used Muncie will not be the price but the hassle of installing it.

 

Eh, price would still be an issue. For my wife, who is becoming increasingly anti project vette, anything over 100 bucks this year is a no go...

 

Sounds like the real solution here is not to replace the transmission, but to replace the wife!

Hey! I'm just kidding! One of the secrets to a successful marriage is for at least one of the partners to be good with money, so it sounds like you are in good shape there, which is good. And, all kidding aside, it is a very real phenomenon that women will sometimes become jealous of our 'vettes, if they think the 'vette is cutting in on the attention they get from you, so be sure not to take the wife for granted, buy her some flowers once in awhile, take her out to dinner, etc. Maybe say something like: "I was thinking of working on the 'vette this weekend, but instead, let's go to the beach!" That'll make her think she's getting the best of the 'vette, but don't lay it on too thick, women are vain, not stupid! (Sometimes I think they are smarter than we are, but then I just try to think about something else, nothing but madness lies down that road!)

I don't know much about manual transmissions, but I have read several posts in this forum that tell of problems similar to yours that were cured with a fluid change, so I'd say it's worth a try. A drill powered pump, such as already been mentioned, sounds like the best way to remove the old fluid. I don't think the wife would appreciate a $50 hooker hanging around, even if it's just for a fluid change. (Oh! There's a joke in there somewhere, but I'm not gonna touch it with a ten-foot pole!)


Keep the shiny side up!
Scott

 

Your description of events is slightly confusing.

Are you saying, you've fully engaged the 1st gear (as far as you know) and then when you engage the clutch (i.e. release the pressure on the clutch pedal) to launch THEN it grinds? So it's not when you're actually moving the stick but when you try to launch hard that it grinds?

That sounds more like your linkages are out of whack.

Try this, at idle, push in (disengage) the clutch, shift into 1st, then keep light pressure on the shifter (as in trying to push it farther towards 1st gear) as you slowly release the clutch. Do you feel a click or a thud in the shifter as you do this? Or perhaps does it even notch a little farther in?