We found another reason not to ride the clutch: pilot shaft bushing. We
started having problems shifting the 'cuda's Hemi four speed. It would shift
out of one gear but not into the next, or we couldn't get it into gear with
the motor running this was the most common problem, etc. So we pulled the
tranny. The syncro blocks were all broken, so we went ahead and changed the
syncros (which are not easy to find these days) and put it back in.
Everything else looked fine including the clutch. The problem persisted. So
out it came again. This time I looked and looked at everything, and I found
what appeared to be bronze on the input shaft of the trans, where it engages
with the pilot bushing. We cleaned that up, cleaned and relubed the bushing
(I would have replaced it, however, it's a special part to mate the Hemi four
speed to the Chey crank, and it was Friday before a lakes meet, you know the
drill). The theory was the input shaft was seizing in the bushing,
preventing the driver to shift the trans (it was like the clutch wasn't
released). The mystery was why was it seizing in the first place? The
installation was good, the lube we used was the best, etc. So we compared
notes on driving techniques, Phil and I were the only ones driving the car.
To make an already long story a little shorter, Phil was keeping his foot on
the clutch (trans in gear, engine off) from when he shut down at speed until
the car stopped on the return road. Can you imagine the heat generated,
coasting to a stop from 200 + mph in this configuration with the engine shut
off? Needless to say, we haven't had a problem shifting since.
The moral of these stories: keep your foot off the clutch pedal as much as
possible!
Jim (I'll be at the salt as a spectator this year).
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