Hello everyone this is my first time posting to this forum and i have a question that im hoping some one can help me with. Im not very mechanically smart but i'll try to give the clearest description possible.

I have a 85 vette that has been sitting in a my aunts garage since 2005-6 ish that i just moved to my house. Before sitting it was very lightly driven since we've owned it (a few times a summer) and it showed no problems at all.

I got it started up but it would not shift into a gear once it started. And while started if you shifted towards reverse it would make a grinding noise. But when the car was off you could shift it into reverse, 1st and 3rd gears only. So i tried starting the car in 1st and it did start and i was able to drive it from the garage, to the street, and onto the tow truck this way. It can also be started in reverse and driven the same way.

Now that the car is in my drive way and has been driven that tiny bit to the tow truck, it still can start in neutral but still wont shift into a gear once started. But now it can shift into all gears while it is turned off.

My mechanic who he himself says "he is not a trans guy" said that the clutch was probably the culprit and i would be looking at a nearly $1000 repair, while the tow truck guy said the clutch or cable may just need adjusting and shouldnt cost nearly as much.

I've poked around these forums a bit and found this thread http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...into-gear.html and was wondering if this might be the same thing thats happening with my car.

Thanks in advance guys!

 

You could try changing the tranny fluid, and filter first before you start ripping it apart..

 

The clutch fluid level is a good place to start. If you are lucky the fluid resevouir is just low and you can add fluid and pump the clutch numerous times to see if the symptoms you have described improve.

 

Ok Thanks I will try adding more fluid to it tomorrow.

 

If everything was fine when it was parked probley not a big deal. My guess would be #1 cluytched not being totaly released check fluid top off I would even bleed and make sure slave cyl is making a full stroke. #2 input shaft hanging on pilot bushing ( bearing) this will usaly clear up after some drive time.

 

The clutch fluid reservoir was extremely low so I added some dot 3 fluid to it. This wasn't the solution since the car once started in neutral will still not shift into gear.

 

You need to bleed the clutch hydraulics.

 

Thanks everyone. Since i filled the reservoir this morning and it still didn't work, I decided to go back out there and see if the line had any air in it. It bubbled while the clutch was pumped so i kept pumping until there weren't really any bubbles left.

It started and went it to gear and i drove it around the cul de sac a few times and it worked fine. But after i backed it back into the drive way i put it back into neutral for a few minutes and then tried to put it back in reverse and it grinded again.

So now i'll have it properly bled out and this should hopefully fix it altogether.

That $2.49 i spent on clutch fluid sure beats the $1000 that my mechanic suggested the problem would cost.

Thanks again guys!

 

The fact that you added a lot of fluid, is a sign that there is a leak in the system. Have a look inside, where the master's push rod goes through the firewall, the hose from master to slave and at the slave's push rod entrance.
One of them is most likely leaking.

 

Mine went empty on me last week and turned out my slave cylinder seal leaked and drained my reservoir (slow leak). I refilled mine also but within 30 mins of driving the car became very difficult to shift so don't trust just filling it up.

Replaced my slave cylinder and all is well again. Part was like $80. Had a great shop do mine (I hate hydraulic jobs) and was charge 1.5 hrs labor, total parts and all $240. Good luck!

 

with Agent86...you should see it on the floorboard if leaking at the Master, underneath on the ground from the slave.

This should help visualize your issue:


And this article should help explain things further:
Clutch Hydraulics on the 1984 to 1996 Corvette
http://tech.corvettecentral.com/2007...1996-corvette/

Good luck!

 

I drove my 92 for a year having to add fluid every couple weeks. When I did the engine/clutch/flywheel over the winter I replaced the slave and so far no loss of clutch fluid.