hi i recently installed a t-5 tranny in my camaro, and i noticed im having a hard time shifting it. at a light i have to push really hard back and forth till it goes in 1st whenevr i shift from there on i basically have to ram it in gear. ive found it easier to just no use the clutch and shift like that. any suggestions what it might be? thanks

 

When you assembled the throwout bearing onto the fork, which of these 2 ways did you put it on?

 

Lol.... Hmmmm, which one of those is the right way to put it on?

 

Iunno...

Ever notice how these posts always start out with something like "I just put this transmission in", or "I just put in a new clutch", and it worked right before, and now it doesn't?

I've posted the pic so many times, I think I've about worn it out.

It's amazing how often this mistake is made. The spring thing on the fork just BEGS to be put on that way; but if it is, then more than half of the total available pedal travel will be taken up by just moving the business surface of the fork across that HUGE gap below it in the pic to where it meets the surface it's supposed to be sitting against.

People will just swear up and down that they've got it right; but then after they finally break down and take their transmission out and put it back in, their clutch suddenly starts working right. I wonder why?

 

**edit*** opps wrong thread

 

well the throwout bering did seem a little weird when i put it in but i dunno how that would affect anything ,thanks

 

Not too hard to see...

Look at the 2 pics. Note how in the top one, the back side of the thick part of the fork, is up against the back side of the groove in the TOB. Note how in the bottom one, the fork is a good ¼" away from the back of the TOB groove, and instead, is smashed up against the working surface of the TOB.

That ¼" that the fork has to move before it can begin doing ANYTHING AT ALL to the clutch, corrresponds to at least 60% of the available travel that the linkage can move it. In other words, no clutching action BEGINS to occur, until the pedal is 60% of the way to the floor. That's why it's stiff-shifting, and grinds going into reverse no matter what you do, and all that. The clutch isn't being anywhere near fully operated.

 

oooo ok i c the pics now yea i made that mistake lol , u think that will help with the shifting that much?

 

No, I don't think so; I KNOW so.

 

Yes. I've always found that putting things together the right way makes them work MUCH better than putting something together the wrong way.

 

I also have a 92 Z with a T-5 Trans I bought the car recently with a new GM crate motor and it also shifts hard and its literally gotten to the point where I have to shut the car off to get it in reverse because it grinds so bad. When the new engine was put in could they have installed the TOB in wrong? Also is there a way to look without pulling the Trans?

 

Yes, of course. Never underestimate the awesome power "they" have to assemble things wrong.

No, no way to look. But, as above, I'd almost be willing to bet that that's why it's not working right. Clutches ALMOST ALWAYS work right when they're put together right. Until they wear out; and when that happens, the symptoms are quite different from what you describe. If it was my car, I'd have already popped the trans out, before even bothering to ask questions.

 

Thanks Sofakingdom for the reply. I did buy the buy the car about 3 weeks ago and have driven it 3 times since. Once on a test drive with the seller, and then about a 100 miles home. Since home I have spent the last to weekends detailing the car so I took it out yesterday for the first time where I really noticed just how hard it goes in reverse and its quite notchy in other gears. I have all the reciepts and paper work on the engine and it is new but the thing I find disturbing is all the work was done by a GM tech at a GM garage. You would think he would have known better but I guess anything is possible. Again thanks for nice pics and getting me going in the right direction.

 

No problem!!!

See my signature for helpful advice in figuring out why your car does some weird thing.

I learned a long time ago that the simplest explanation for why something doesn't work right after somebody worked on it, was because they didn't put it together right. I won't go into detail about WHO it was that I learned this about. Sounds simple enough; but you'd be amazed (or maybe not?) at how commonly people will argue "it can't be that, I just had it worked on". Welll, DUUUHHHHH.

But seriously, if I was stupid enough to bet on ANYTHING I don't already know the answer to with absolute certainty, I'd almost be willing to bet money that that's your problem.

 

well,well,well i did just that when i last replaced my clutch and i didn't know till now that i'm doing an engine swap. scored the face of the tob really bad so i'm going to replace the tob only as the clutch only has about 2000 miles on it. I do have 1 question though, the slightly triangular section on the bearing does it matter what direction it faces as i install it or is there a right and wrong way? Thanks in advance