Quick intro, my name is Josh, I live in Orem, UT. I've had my Black '76 2.0 since 1998, though it hasn't been register/drive for several years-hoping to change that soon!

I just got the engine running over the weekend, and drove it down the street. Now I'm working on the next issue.

The car grinds going into reverse or 1st, though it seems to shift fine in and out of other gears. At one point it wouldn't even go into gear with the engine running, now it just grinds(only in Reverse or 1st).

I put a new clutch in my car, about the time it got parked, T/O Bearing/Pressure Plate/Disc, new Terry Cable Clutch Cable, and rebuilt the pedal box.

I've added a spacers to gain adjustment on the cable(per another thread), but the problem actually got worse. I'm not sure what else to check/adjust. The tube in the center console seems to still be attached. Before the clutch was replaced there wasn't any grinding.

The car is idling a bit high, about 1200 rpm.

Any help would be appreciated.

Sounds like the dreaded clutch tube has cracked problem!!

Take a look at the clutch tube where it enters the firewall to see if there are any cracks. If you have a friend who can press the clutch while you watch you could see if the firewall flexes when the clutch is pressed!

When you did the clutch job, did you replace both the release bearing arm bushings and most importantly the ball cup bushing? Did you replace the shift bushings too? Sounds like the bushing fell apart. Check the bushing at the firewall and the one at the side shift ball socket.

remove the little access cover on the rear of the tunnel, right between the seats.
Clutch tube is hugging the sidewall of the tunnel, closest to the driver.

Gently put you hand in there and touch all the tubes...
push down on the clutch...up and down a few time.

If you feel any movement of the tube....you need to investigate.

Its welded at the firewall, and about 8 inches in front of the shifter on the drivers side wall of the tunnel.

If you did not replace the clutch fork pivot cup, you may need to do that also.

Clutch forks also get bent over the years.



Rich

I will just through out some grinding related questions off the top of my head...

Are you at a dead stop when grinding into 1st/reverse? Can you shift into 2-5 at a dead stop without grinding? How tight have you adjusted the clutch cable? Can it be tightened down to the point where it is not grinding? With the clutch fully depressed is your clutch fork hitting the tranny case? Was your flywheel machined when your replaced the clutch?

When you replaced your clutch where did you disconnect the shift linkage at?

High idle will make a small adjustment issues with the clutch more noticeable, bringing the idle down might help it grind less but still wont fix the core problem.


I think the first thing you need to narrow down is if this is a clutch release issue or something else, possibly shift linkage, tranny,or maybe pilot bearing issue. My first guess would be that it is a release issue of some sort, if so start checking the things everyone else has mentioned.

To confirm you could try this, but be VERY careful... Block the front wheels and get the rear up on good jack stands(the safe sort). With the car in gear, engine running, and the clutch fully depressed do your wheels start turning? If so, first check to make sure that the clutch fork is not hitting the tranny case when fully depressed. If it is not hitting you could try tightening up the clutch cable a bit more. If it is hitting the case(and you have managed to not break the clutch fork, cable, or tube) then you need to pull the tranny and check the bushings at the clutch fork and possibly shim the pivot ball.

Also, be sure you have the proper pedal stop under your clutch pedal.

If you get stuck let me know, i am not to far and might be able to help you out. We need to get this thing back on the street, not enough 914's at our local PCA autox's

FYI E-center this Saturday

If reverse is grinding, your issue is external to the gear box and is the clutch not disengaging all of the way. Things that will cause this to happen include a loose cable, and/or a broken clutch tube.

My 74 1.8L does this as well but only after a decent drive, not when cold. Mostly just grinds in reverse. Is this a related issue to this thread? Should I be checking the clutch tube too?

The cable can stretch with use on a warm drive. If the small amount of stretching is enough to change your shifting, then it is way too loose. Check my link below to the 31 pages of notes and see about adjusting it correctly. I will bet that yours is too loose.

He may be Evil but he's a tranny genious.


Does that sound as odd as I think it does?

Thanks for all the responses. I will check the tube and clutch fork to make sure it isn't "bottoming out" against the transmission. I'll let you know what happens.

Thanks Dr.Evil, I think you just killed two tranny problems with one thread. You da man!