I've tried bleeding my slave cylinder but it won't come out of gear!
On jack stands it will go in gear but not while its on the ground!

I know I have the throwout bearing in right... ive done it a dozen times...
I had to fight to get the input shaft into the pilot bearing though... took an hour..
I put the clutch on like always...
If you force the shifter forward it will creep forward but will not go into gear.
I am changing out my clutch master cyl today. Anyone have any insight?

 

How far does the slave cyl push rod move when the clutch is pushed?

 

I think about 1/2" - 3/4" of travel.. I tried to lengthen the rod by 1/2 inch with no joy.

 

Okay someone has to have some insight on this!!!!!!
On the lift while car is running the car goes in gear just fine!!!
I can stand up under the lift and watch the flywheel pressagainst the pressure plate the way its suppose to and the car goes into gear (TO bearings is in the right position BTW)
But when the car is on the ground it will not go into gear when the car is running!!!!... anyone have ANY idea whats up? I have bled this cylinder much. Ive tried force bleeding ... vaccuum bleeding ... old fashion push clutch in and let it squirt!!! I am out to my wits end here!

 

is your clutch fork resting in the right spot?

 

I thought the same thing, so I took a straight edge ruler, and the ball rest exactly where it needs to sit. its not at an angle its completely perpendicular.
Here the thing... I am using a V6 slave cylinder... I wonder if thats the issue.... the V8 one looks the same... so I dunno.

 

Actually the V6 and V8 have the same cylinders... so yeah I am lost

 

Still need help guys? Anyone have a clue?

 

i got basically the same promblem only i can shift perfectly when the car is not running but it sounds like it's kinda grinding when i try to put it in gear while the car is running. I was told it could be the master cylinder for the clutch or a pilot bearing i have yet to find out tho.

 

How could it be the pilot bearing? as long as the input shaft spins in there (as long as you can turn on your car it spins) then what would a pilot bearing have to do with shifting? Just wondering since I kinda went to town on my pilot bearing.

 

your input shaft will spin without a pilot bearing, obviously it will have nothing to keep it in proper alignment though

 

Well heres the deal with my pilot bearing, yes I have one. its new but when I tried to put the transmission in it would go through the clutch fine but would not go into the pilot bearing smoothly. So I bolted up the bellhousing and there was an inch gap. So I even tighted the left and right bolts to force the transmission into the bearing. Its now flush as can be. I do not see how that could cause my shifting problem.

 

what exactly is your shifting problem, you say it will go into gear when the car is off but not when running..
does it grind when its running?

dunno but it just sounds like your clutch isnt disengaging if it shifts fine with the car off and the wheels in the air, simple way to find out.. get it in first / reverse while its in the air, and put it back on the ground and start it up
make sure nothing or noone is in its path however ;0

 

No if in air it will get into all gears no problem with car running, tires spin fine.... if you let it on the ground it wont go into gear...
On a hunch I am going to put a jack under the tail shaft and give it a pump and see if it goes into gear... this is so weird

 

ya my gears grind when i try to shift it when it is running but it goes smooth when it's not running it must be a promblem with my clutch or clutch assesmbly ie cluster master cylinder

 

I called up a Ford tech line... since GM doesn't seem to have one. I told him I had a mustang that would go into gear on the lift while it was running but not while its on the ground. He said its because I didn't have a load on the clutch, which doesnt make since to me....since there is only a load on the ground when you shift into gear and release the clutch...
So I guess I am back to square one.

 

sound like the pilot bearing is the trouble if not the hydraulics. might be cocked in the bore (which would cause the trouble getting it to bolt up) and is effectively keeping the input shaft turning. the reason it's going into gear in the air is the synchros doing their job. they just can't compete with the static inertia of the whole car when it's on the ground, but have no trouble getting a driveshaft and rearend turning in the air. had a similar problem when my clutch went bad and broke a sping in the hub. would grind trying to go in gear even when my foot was on the floor.

 

Now explain to me how the pilot bearing could be the problem? It doesnt make any since... its apples and oranges.. Thanks

 

"I even tighted the left and right bolts to force the transmission into the bearing."

Isn't that like a really bad thing to do?

Could your problem be that the input shaft is not spinning freely with the crank and pilot bearing. Which seems to me would cause the problems you are having.

 

If that was the case then why would it fire up fine... if the engine is on, the input shaft is being spinned in that pilot bearing.... the bearing should be fine if there are no noises.

 

I'm just throwing out some ideas, when I did it I tore up my 350, but it was hard as hell to start. Lessons learned

 

Mine starts very quickly, in fact started first crank on initial startup, so I am going to rule out the pilot bearing being my problem... I am going to try and reverse bleed the slave tonight

 

sorry i didn't get back sooner... quick check for the pilot bearing/input shaft and if it''s jammed...car on ground, put it in gear (reverse if you're facing the garage, don't want to hit it) hold down clutch likenormal and then try to start it. the pilot bearing being jammed will cause the input to continue turning even when the clutch is in and will grind trying to go in gear. if much force was required to get the tranny to seat against the bellhousing, then it probably jammed

 

I will drop the tranny this weekend...

 

i had found the promblem for mine, it turns out the throw bearing was jammed in between the fork causeing it not to move at all. It was supossed to be on the grove buddy i bought it off had it like that he replaced the clutch thinking that was the problem.

 

did you figure out what was wrong with it?

 

I had a similar issue when I put mine back together. I found that all I needed to do was pump the clutch a bunch of times and It worked itself out.

Works fine now.

 

ya i put the fork on the grove instead of haveing it between the fork disableing movement completely of the throw bearing. It runs and shifts fine now.

 

glad to hear yours is running now rover...we'll have to see what's up w/ nelapse