Hey, I just bought my first third gen and first car! A 1984 Pontiac Firebird formula with a carbed 355 swap(from a 2.8 v6) and a Borg-Warner T5. Its really hard to shift into first and reverse grinds unless I slam into it and I practically can't downshift past third. I heard that if I flushed my clutch hydraulic lines and replaced the fluid it would probably fix the problem until I can get a new master and slave cylinder. Anyone have any advice or could help me, pics would be great. Thank you.

 

I'd like to hear this also, specifically where to bleed it from. I drove my 92 firebird for the first time in 3 years, just had the trans rebuilt, new clutch put in, and slave cylinder replaced, I got 100 feet from my house and the clutch went to the floor. After finding a spot to pull over I inspected everything to find the clutch linkage to the pedal came apart, from what i can tell the previous owner put zipties on it to secure it, i never noticed it until I removed the dash panels underneath. Now I can't get it back together it is not budging, after reading a few articles someone said when that happens it goes into hydraulic lock and need to be bled. Went to autozone and they couldnt come up with a bushing or pin to replace the zipties that were there. I hate when people rig stuff to save a couple dollars!! Guess i have to buy it online but I want to make sure I can get the linkage back onto the pedal, do I just loosen a line to bleed it?

 

Yeah man I hope someone can help, I've never encountered this problem before and its a real pain. If you find anything out let me know, I'll do the same too if I find anything.

 

When I first bought my car it grinded in reverse. I was told the slave cylinder was bad, I had to put fluid in it all the time. Eventually the gears one by one went out until I finally could hardly shift it and I did a full rebuild.

 

The hydraulic system is bled at the slave, there should be a small allen-type bleed valve on top of the unit which I believe is 4 mm. It is a bit difficult to access due to the heat shield but it should be just in front of the hydraulic hose which feeds the slave.

Essentially you perform the same operation as with brakes; get someone to hit the clutch a few times and then hold it to the floor. While in this position, crack the bleed valve open and let some fluid spray out. Close the valve and have your friend release the pedal. Keep doing this until the clutch feels better, but always bear in mind that the fluid reservoir must be kept full. I'm not sure how much fluid the whole system holds, but if you want to replace all the fluid it will take a few repetitions I'm sure.

It might also be wise to place a cloth surrounding the slave cylinder as you bleed it, since brake fluid is damaging to painted surfaces.

The grinding in reverse you describe is certainly a symptom of a clutch which isn't fully disengaging, but not an all together uncommon problem due to the unsynchronized reverse in these gear boxes.

 

Alright I did the job yesterday, after replacing the clutch master cylinder i filled the system up, I removed the slave cylinder and broke the bleeder loose, i just didnt have a tool to get in at that screw while it was bolted up and it's only two bolts. Once I broke it free I bolted it back up, then i opened it a tiny bit and let it bleed through for a little while adding fluid to the resevoir as needed, then I closed the bleeder and had my friend pump it for a little while then hold it down and I opened the bleeder a tad for a second and closed it. Did this 3 times and was done. Clutch felt good.