BeatUpTransAm

I just got my car going again, 1985 trans am, with a 350 swap and new clutch. I noticed that once in awhile when i am stopped if i have the clutch pushed in and go to put it in first gear it will vibrate, even before it goes into gear just when your pushing it in.and it continues the vibration until the clutch is released. I have driven a few test runs and it was fine before but now that i have it on the road it does it half of the time when i stop and begin to go. Please let me know what it could be. I wouldnt think pilot or throwout bearing because it doesnt do it until i go into 1st gear. I did put synchromesh in my trans and may have overfilled slightly since i was on a slight angle. Got 3.5 quarts in and nothing came out of the hole. That was completely drained pulling it from the car though. Any help would be great thank you!

BeatUpTransAm

Just took my car for a 15 min ride stop and go the whole way and it didnt do it once so im not really sure what it was.hopefully it doesnt come back but if anyone has an idea what i could be just let me know.

big gear head

What kind of clutch did you put in it? Did you put a new pilot bushing in? Assuming this is a T5, I would have used ATF instead of the Syncromesh. The T5 isn't designed to work with that oil, although it probably won't hurt it.

BeatUpTransAm

I couldnt find any 50w gear oil and ive heard bad things with the non world class t5's with atf because of the synchros. And i did not replace the pilot bearing even though i got a new one with the kit(stupid me). But wouldnt that make noise/vibrate even before going into gear? And it is the zoom clutch and flywheel from summit.

big gear head

I put 240,000 miles on a NWC T5 with ATF in it. I haven't seen any problems with it, but that is just my experience.


The pilot bushings that are found in auto parts stores and clutch kits today are made of bronze with iron in it. These are junk and wear out quickly. They can also damage the input shaft of your transmission. If a magnet will stick to it then don't use it. I have found a good source for the old oil impregnated bronze bushings that work much better and last many years longer than the iron ones. Auto Gear has the good bushings and I highly recommend getting one and replacing what you have in there now. I had a T5 completely lock up on me while driving down the road because of a worn out pilot bushing.

BeatUpTransAm

Ok thanks for the advice i will have to get one of those pilot bearings. Maybe i will even switch to atf if others are having good results. Dextron 4,5,6? Not sure what they make now. It was dextron 3 they came with from factory i think right? I know they dont make it anymore.

big gear head

You spent a lot of money on that oil. Give it a chance and see how it works. If it doesn't work well then change it. If you do decide to change it then use the latest oil, which I think is Mercon.