Ever since I put my T56 in, the car has had trouble getting into reverse. It's almost like there isn't enough throw in the shifter to engage reverse. Now, I almost always have to start the car while holding the shifter in reverse (with some force) to even get it into reverse. It gets kind of annoying whenever I need to get into reverse to have to turn the car off and then restart it. Also, it occasionally gets pretty tough to get the car into any gear, especially when the transmission gets hot. I really have to force it up in there to get it in any gear and getting it into reverse is hopeless unless of course I turn off and restart the car. Now at first I though it was my synchros but lately I've been leaning towards clutch related problems. The clutch is a McLeod and isn't even a year old. I'm thinking it could possibly be the clutch fork. Occasionally at idle, I'll hear a light thud and the car will rattle a bit. It sounds like it's coming from around the bellhousing. Does this sound like the usual symptoms of a bent clutch fork? If it is bent, is there a beefier aftermarket piece made for the T56 or will I just have to go with another factory one?

Thanks

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1991 Z28 - 350 TPI, T56, McLeod street clutch, LT4 pressure plate, Pro 5.0 shifter, ported plenum & runners, AFPR, Hooker shorty headers w/o AIR, Flowmaster muffler, homeade ram-air, SSM subframe connectors, Kenny Brown STB, Global West steering box brace, Steve Spohn adjustable torque arm and T56 crossmember

 

sounds like the reverse guts are worn or broken a bent shft fork would still go into gear but would clip the gear on the way in

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87 trans am 350,L98 aluminum heads,LT4 hot cam,slp runners,slp 1 5/8 headers,3in.y-pipe,edelbrock base,hi flo cat,air foil,afpr,as&m ported plenum,t-5 tranny w/centerforce clutch and a 3.27 9bolt(11.9in. brakes),ed wright's fastchip,relocated iat sensor,tb bypass,accel supercoil,hollowed maf,slp 3in. catback,a/c delete.
oh!no!i think my maf is going!!!!!!!!!!!!

14.10@97mph w/2.01 60'

slp catback is finally on!!!
fastchip prom is in.OH!MAN!
FLOWMASTER S.U.C.K.S

 

Hey ......

try and rebleed the hydralics ... do you have the heat shield on ?? if the fluid boils ..your screwed ...and it happens when it gets hot :| .... also I've been hearing bad things about synthetics in t-56's ...

TVP

 

Yep I have the heat shield on. I was planning on bleeding the clutch fluid this weekend. We'll see if that helps any.

 

Commom problem with T-56's and aftermarket clutches. Go to http://web.camaross.com/cgi-bin/foru...er=1&DaysPrune . Ask your question and you should get answers.

Mike

 

Thanks, but I already posted my problem on that forum. They have come up with similar responses. They also brought up an interesting point that the T56 clutch fork won't bend, it'll just snap. This is because it's made of cast aluminum as opposed to stamped steel. So I geuss it has to be something else besides my clutch fork. I'm gonna bleed the fluid this weekend and also check how far the plunger in the slave cylinder is moving. It may not be moving far enough, therefore not fully disengaging the disc. Does anyone happen to have the specs on how far the slave cylinder plunger should extend on a T56? Thanks.

 

Sounds to me like a collapsed pressure plate. I've had this problem before. Non T56 though. One was a new Silverado 5 speed and the other was a Z24 5 speed. Both times, my symtoms matched yours and both times it was the pressure plate. I just bought a T56 for my camaro so please post the results to what you find.

 

Hmmm....that's interesting. I've never heard of this before. So if that is the case, I'll have to go in there and replace the pressure plate. Can you visually tell if the pressure plate is collapsed? I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I put the new clutch in.

 

The end play for a t56 is .57 of an inche or more

 

Thanks alot. I'll check that when I get home.