Ryan---From what I gathered in Nelson's fine essay on 'The Sticking
Clutch' the chances are your problem is elsewhere. Still in the clutch
area, of course, but squealing, and the inability to engage first gear
smoothly usually comes from the following:
The squeal could be sign of the T/O bearing not spooling up fast enough
(to the speed of the spinning clutch) as it contacts the clutch
diaphragm fingers. If the squeal goes away when the clutch is
disengaged, it could be the early signs of impending bearing failure. It
is also my belief at this time that as the clutch fingers lose their
factory (matte-type) finish, it further delays the bearing (slips) in
getting up to speed. If and when the squeal doesn't 'go away' even
after the clutch is disengaged, the bearing is in the last throes of its
life, and will soon start to growl in protest.
The fact that you can still get it into reverse gear, but not always
first gear, confuses this issue somewhat. (I like all of the pieces to
fit) Consider that if you have to push the clutch pedal all the way to
the floor to engage ANY gear a sign that some of the stroke necessary to
do so is being lost. With an accomplice, make the following check: Take
a measurement from the slave cylinder push rod clevis pin to any
stationary place (like the flange of the SC). While someone pushes the
clutch pedal to the floor, take another measurement to see how far the
push rod moved out of the SC. It must move at least one half inch to
disengage the clutch. If it doesn't move this half inch, the problem is
upstream, probably play in the pedal box (or) air in the hydraulics. If
it DOES move this distance and you can't engage first and/or reverse
gear, your problem is then internal. This means you get to remove the
transmission again to see why. "Not as smooth as before....." and "extra
resistance..." generally means you have snapped the fork pin, and the
clutch now reluctantly & partially disengages using the stub of what's
left of the pin. There's a lot of this going around.
To get you to a time when it may be convenient to do some of the above
checks/corrections, it usually helps to engage second gear before going
into first. If it's desperation time, shut of the engine, engage first,
then start up the engine again. OR don't use first gear...
There are steps some of us have taken in giving the fork pin "backup"
thru intallation of a second pin. There is info on this thru several
sources, including the next issue of 6-PACK Newsletter. ;^)
Dick Taylor
'73
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