Transmission Problem?

[LookAtThatSHO]

I just bought my SHO a few months ago. Not even a week after having it, I just had to SHO it off to everyone... I loaded the car up with 5 people, and reved to redline through every gear just about for several miles on some country roads. We got back to the bar, and all you could smell was an embarassing FOUL SMELLING clutch. My sister nearly got sick on the spot and got out rather quickly. At first, I thought for sure that the clutch was done for. Yet, it still engaged. The only problem was with second gear. I could not get into second without grinding the gears unless I was doing a certain mph (10-15), and you could forget about downshifting.

I haven't had the time to take out the tranny / clutch and take a look. But I believe that the syncros are SHOT. Any suggestions?

 

[TYSHO]

Do NOT keep grinding the gears. If you have to, do a 1-3 upshift, skipping second. Just make sure you are around 5k rpms in first, to be safe.

Sounds like you just need to replace the clutch and throw some fresh fluid in the trans.

 

[LookAtThatSHO]

Thanks for the reply TY. I do the 1st to 3rd shift pattern just about every time, and it's definitely getting annoying. I really hope it's the clutch, for my wallet's sake!

 

[pjtoledo]

You might want to master the art of double-clutching to get a little more life out of it before it goes out completely. Did you try adjusting the clutch? Shifting at 5K with a bad clutch is just begging for trouble, way too much rpm mis-match.

Perry

 

[LookAtThatSHO]

Thanks for the input Perry. I have indeed heard of the term 'double-clutching', but never really understood how to go about doing it? Logically speaking, it sounds like you would engage the clutch to get out of gear and into neutral, then disengage, reengaging the clutch to get back into gear. I have tried this, and still get a real bad grind when attempting to get into second gear above 20 mph. As far as adjusting the clutch, I have a friend who's a certified mechanic, so I'll definitely see if he can help me adjust it!

 

[pjtoledo]

Thanks for the input Perry. I have indeed heard of the term 'double-clutching', but never really understood how to go about doing it? Logically speaking, it sounds like you would engage the clutch to get out of gear and into neutral, then disengage, reengaging the clutch to get back into gear. I have tried this, and still get a real bad grind when attempting to get into second gear above 20 mph. As far as adjusting the clutch, I have a friend who's a certified mechanic, so I'll definitely see if he can help me adjust it!

The big deal about double clutching is to match the RPMs before letting the clutch out the second time. When accelerating clutch and shift into neutral, then back off the throttle to let the engine slow down, then clutch and shift into the next higher gear. Down shifting is the opposite, increase engine speed before going to the lower gear. Takes a little practice, keep an eye on the tach and you'll have it mastered in no time. It's much easier to do at lower speeds, but hey, with a dying clutch you can't race anyway. To adjust the clutch, just pull up on the pedal. Really, thats it. When the pedal is pulled up the quadrant rotates and lifts the pawl away from the teeth. That allows any tension on the cable to pull it back to where it should be. If the clutch is worn badly this may not help much. You can manually "over adjust" the clutch by pushing the pedal down and holding it, then grab the release arm with a big pair of pliers to hold it then lift the pedal slowly only 1 or 2 clicks. If you adjust it too far, simply pull up on the pedal and the cable will go back to where it was. It may take a couple of attempts to get it working smoothly. Then start saving for a new clutch, they don't last forever.

Perry