Garrett Ross

So I have a 1983 Firebird trans-am. Bought it for 750.00 when i bought this car it didnt start or anything. In the last 4 months i've got it up and running and it needed a driveshaft, or so i thought... Well anyways i put a new one in, and got in to drive the car and noticed the clutch pedal was really soft not a big issue so i went to shift it into gear and nothing, it just rev'ed up like it was in neutral so i tried putting it into second and seeing if it would move and i got nothing it just rev'ed didnt bog out nothing, so I took the clutch off and noticed it wasnt to bad looking, it was bad, but not to bad. My clutch set up is the z-bar set up. I can hear the transmission shifting almost like a clunking sound. And the driveshaft has about 2 inches showing when in the tail shaft. So i took the tranny out and shifted it on the ground and the main shaft didnt spin at all when shifting. But i can manually spin the main shaft and the shaft at the oppisite end of the transmission spins too. Another thing is im unsure if my car has a neutral saftety switch because when i push in the clutch it sounds almost like grinding so i dont and the car starts perfectly fine, but sometimes you have to push in the clutch then start the car and no grinding happens. But on those occasions you try to turn the key and the car does nothing until you push the clutch in. I know the rear tail shaft seal is gone because transmission fluid leaks out the end. Umm when car is off you can shift it into every gear with out pushing in the clutch and the same goes when the car is on. Its a 1983 t-5 borg warner, 350 small blc. The guy that sold it to me told me he had to replace the bellhousing because it was cracked could he of broke the tranny too?

Ok not sure if its correct but what im calling the output shaft is where the drive shaft goes into that housing. When i put the shifter into neutral the output shaft is semi easy to turn, then put it into first and it takes a little to get it to turn, then 2nd-5th gets easier as you go up. But if i put it in reverse that takes an extreme amount of effort to turn. But all the gears are the same if you turn the main shaft. If i shift it i can hear the gears sliding and hitting each other. On the output shaft there's a little orange mark that i can allign with on the tail housing. If i allign it and shift it into first the mark moves a tiny bit to the right assuming your looking at the tranny as if it would allign with the car. then 2nd-3rd it doesnt turn at all and in 4th it moves a little more to the right then if you put it into reverse it moves about 1/4-1/2 inch to the left. When i drained the fluid it was a black red no silver anything.

jmd

iTrader: (4)

You need to clean and inspect all the linkage parts, plus the firewall for cracks, plus the pedals to make sure things are tight. Play in a connection of these parts or the bellhousing can prevent the fork from releasing the clutch properly. The linkage in these (and many mechanical linkage clutch setups) is very likely to wear out or break like the bellhousing did. The fork needs inspected for wear at the throwout bearing, pivot ballstud and linkage pushrod pocket. The upper and lower pushrods needs inspected at both ends; grease here is helpful. The z-bar needs both the block ballstud inspected, a zerk greased (or installed, then greased,) inspected for cracks at the arms/main tube, the holes for the pushrods inspected and often rewelded. Pedals need the bushings at the top swivel bolt replaced infrequently. And if pedals were serviced and a bolt or two left loose or missing, the firewall can even crack. There's just a whole lot of things to go wrong with that generation of GM clutch linkage.

If the linkage is flexing or for whatever reason not fully releasing the clutch, shifts will "clunk."

The grinding you mention when pushing the pedal down could be the throwout bearing, but the linkage is steel on steel in multiple places so it could be that.

Nothing you've posted indicates fault with the transmission itself.

If you locate the bellhousing, pedals and everything in between from a 84-92 V8 5spd F-body and swap those in, you will get better service life out of those parts. You don't have to change the clutch or throwout bearing. The fork, bell, hydraulic master/slave/line and pedals do need changed.

Garrett Ross

I have a hydraulic transmission now that i picked up for an extra 50 bucks when i had to buy a new bellhousing PO replaced the original bellhousing with one from a ford.. The only other pedal that has a little of play is the gas pedal. I know most of the linkage on the z bar is pretty greased up still. There's no cracks in the fire wall. The throw out bearing was stuck on the main shaft and took a little sliding before it would eventually slide freely. The fork on the ends were starting to round of showing alot of wear. I replaced the fork and the bellhousing so far. Going to replace the clutch and change the bearing with it. When the clutch is pushed in you can see the push rod pusing on the fork. But the pedal is so soft like you can push it in with 2 fingers. I believe i figured out the clunking to be the gear actually sliding into place. How much should be showing on the drive shaft? I have 2 inches of shaft showing. And no matter what gear i have it in, i can still rotate the drive shaft by hand in either direction.

jmd

iTrader: (4)

The slip yoke needs to be 100% within the tailhousing bushing (the one just inside the rear seal) at any range of suspension travel. You could have under an inch of the slip yoke showing, or you could have inches showing, depending on the yoke and driveline length, and still be fine.

No gears slide, except the idler for reverse. Instead, 4,3,2,1 are in line on the input shaft / output shaft and locked to the mainshaft by their synchronizers. The more "clunk" is allowed, the more likely the synchronization teeth on the gear and synchrizer slider will get chewed up.

Two more common things that come up for the third gen T5 owners - the pilot bushing or bearing in the back of the crank should be in good shape or replaced each clutch change so the input shaft is supported. Also, the fork spring should be in the same groove as the two tines of the fork. That last one plays havoc with clutch release.

I forgot to mention the outer ballstud and frame bracket in my earlier post, but it seems you're getting the details knocked out.

Garrett Ross

Im pretty sure there is no pilot bearing at all in this car. Could that cause my issue?

jmd

iTrader: (4)

Tough to tell.

But an input shaft isn't "installed" without one. If it flops around, the clutch won't apply correctly.

Garrett Ross

I found the pilot bearing i had to clean up alot of grease before it was visible. I took a picture. The pilot bearing is smooth and not gritty or nothing. So thats a good sign. Still dont understand what's causing me so many issues. I kinda have to shift it fairly hard to get the output shaft to spin a tiny bit.