Well the other day i was driving along and when I depressed the clutch something broke. Now the clutch pedal has no resistance for the first 6 inches of travel, and a slight resistance for the last little bit. I can't put the car in any gear while the car is on. It is a mechanical linkage, and everything seems to be OK in the linkage. The rods do move for that last little bit of travel where there is some resistance. Just not nearly enough to shift gears. I was thinking it could be the throwout bearing, but I'm not sure. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Adam

 

Ok, I too have an 83 with the T5 (not too many of us here). First thing i would check would be the pedal linkage and the Z-bar. Make sure none of the ball studs are broken on the z-bar. Then I would check the clutch fork.

 

Midnight Z-
Thanks for the reply. I'm not very familiar with the mechanical linkage, so could you explain a few things for me? Where are the ball joints and the clutch fork? Should I be looking from underneath the car or from inside the car? And what kind of damage am I most likely to find? Thanks again.

 

Well, the ball joints are located under the hood. One is attatched to the frame and the other one is attached to your engine block. This is what the Z-bar pivots on. I snapped one of the studs a couple weeks ago and had to replace one. This could be your problem. Also, if you look underneath your car, on the drivers side you will see a thin metal bar that is attached to the z-bar. This is used to push your clutch fork backwards and disengages the clutch. Get underneath her with a light and check for loose bolts. Or a bad fork. It maybe that you have a bad thread on your bar and you need to get it rethreaded. The bar connecting your z-bar to the fork is adjustable.

 

I had a T5 installed in my 82 Camaro with the mechanical linkage. When I started to have similar problems, I tried to adjust the linkage to no avail. I decided to change to a hydraulic clutch setup. In the process of converting it over, I removed the z-bar and ball joints, only to find my frame was cracked right where the ball joint was mounted. It was cracked in a u shape. When I pushed in the clutch, the frame piece would flex down and not allow the clutch to do what it was supposed to. I'm not saying that is your problem, but it might be a place to look. I'm much happier with the hydraulic clutch, because I can actually drive my car. Good luck getting it fixed.

 

well I found the problem. I ended up taking the car to a transmission shop. They looked at it and said it was a broken pressure plate. I bought their bs and gave them the ok to replace the entire clutch. 400 bucks later my clutch was still broke. Then, the guy decided to take another look at the linkage. It turns out that where the Z bar connects to the ball stud it had snapped and broken off. But the two broken pieces rested on each other and the entire linkage still moved when you pressed on the clutch pedal, just not enough to disengage the clutch. So they guy welded it up for a few bucks more. (that piece is discontinued) I should have done the job myself

 

I've still got the piece that mounts to the frame if that's what you need. Not sure what condition it's in, but I can dig it out for you.