Hello everyone I'm new to the forum but I have a 1986 Firebird 305 5 speed, and we recently rebuilt the engine and put a clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing in it. My problem is the sometimes the car won't shift. We've bled and bled and it still doesn't stop. Some days it'll shift fine and then somedays its like the clutch isn't disengaging. I can shut the engine off and it'll go in gear perfectly but if its running you can't even make it. It doesn't grind in anything but reverse has anyone else had this problem?
Thanks

 

I wonder if you made the common mistake of putting the spring steel clips on the shift fork over the lip of the throwout instead of underneath the top lip. If you do a quick search, there's a good picture that's been posted about a hundred times on here that shows both the correct and incorrect way to put the T/O bearing in the shift fork. If it is installed the wrong way it reduces the pedal travel at the slave cylinder enough to cause the kind of problems you're describing. The bad news is you'll have to pull the trans back out to fix it if it's on there wrong.

 

We had this exact same problem with my son's 87 bird when we first got the car assembled and running.

In our experience, it turned out that we needed to bleed the hydraulics. I know you said that you bled the system, but so did we... but if you try to bleed the clutch like you bleed brakes, it doesn't get all the air out. Follow this link to the correct procedure:

http://www.teamrip.com/how_to_proper...utch_info.html

After we followed that procedure, no further problems with the clutch.

 

Welcome to TGO, Vandyke. The following link, post #2, has pics of what Pat's talking about:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...tallation.html

JamesC

 

I've all ready had the trans in and out twice the first time I put the throwout bearing in backwards lol. I didn't know it could be anyway other than backward or right so it is possible I put it in wrong again but why would it only not shift some days. If it were in wrong wouldn't it be the same all the time. Some days its fine and some days it just plain won't do it at all. And by days I mean about half an hour of driving up and down the road in front of my house since it doesn't have plates yet. And we have been bleeding it exactly like a brake.
Thanks Everyone

 

Vandyke, trust me, your problem sounds EXACTLY like ours... following the bleed procedure cured it once and for all.

 

that's great info for the clutch bleeding....even after i bled my system the clutch pedal is still very very soft....i bled the clutch like a brake pedal!!....this way is the right way...i will do it again , i was told that my complete slave assembly unit if new needed no bleeding ...i guess it's better to bleed it and the right way....thanks for the article.