75 2.0

I can shift into all gears, but shifting is hard...

What I mean by hard is that I need to put some muscle into getting the car into some of the gears.

1st - grinds just about every time I try to get it in.

2nd - easiest to shift into

3rd - hard to engage

4th - harder to engage than 3rd

5th - hard to engage

Aside from that, there have been times that it was equally hard to get it out of a gear.

New bushings - adjusted shift pattern I think correctly.

Car is new to me and has only been running (motor rebuild recently) maybe 400 miles since the rebuild. I did have the tranny axle seals replaced - but that's about all that's been done to it.

Sounds like you need to move the shift lever couplet further toward the rear on the shift rod.

First remove all the stuff to get access to the shift lever.

Remove the access panel under the center cushion.

Place the lever on a position where you can easily access the 13 mm bolt. Use a pair of vise grips on the shift rod in the access panel so you can be sure it does not move.

Make marks on the coupler and rod to define the centerline in case you let the rod slip while adjusting. A silver sharpie works well.

Use the sharpie to make a ring where the shifter coupler and rod come together.

Loosen the 13mm bolt and move the lever forward so that you cover the ring you drew on the rod.

Verify you are in line on your center line marks. Tighten the 13mm bolt. Remove vise grips! Drive and test. It is a small adjustment so it make take a couple of tires to get it right. You can easily get it back to where you were by reverting to your original marks.

Also look to be sure your shift tube has not come loose up front and is interfering with your 3,4, and 5 shifts. Look closely at the tube and see if it has a shine on any part. If it does you are rubbing during your higher gear changes.

Thanks, I'll try the adjustments tomorrow.

Not to sound dumb, but what is the "shift tube"?

What type of gear oil are you running?

Condition of the bushings?

Is there anything rubbing up against the shift rod underneath the car, like a loose heater part (I've had this happen)?

Is is the same regardless of the car running or turned off?

Cheers,

Randy

Adjust the clutch before you do anything else. Look at the hard tube for the clutch cable where it joint the flexible tube at the firewall. If the body is cracked there, or the tube has broken free, stop and fix that (as well as the weld at the front of the tube) before doing anything else. There are several threads in the archives that offer discussions on this subject. While you're under there, look at the condition of all 4 motor mounts.

The Cap'n

Check the cone screws in the front and rear rod couplings.

Problems with every gear often are caused by other things--like the clutch.

--DD

w/ DD and Cap'n K

Also, see if it grinds in reverse. If so, you have your answer = clutch not completely disengaging.

It does grind at times going into reverse. Will adjust cable and see how that goes.


Motor - rebuilt this spring
Flywheel - new
Clutch - new
Ball bushing - new
No washer under the pivot (there was one but with the new flywheel it wasn't needed and it caused the fork to rub on the pressure plate)

Shift rod bushing (at firewall) new
Friction ring new
Shift rod bushing (at transmission shift rod finger) new

I pulled up sick today - not sure if I'm going to feel well enough to check it out today.

Thanks,

Len

Only adjust the clutch first. The clutch should start to disengage about 1/4 to 1/3 of pedal travel. If you are putting it to the floor to get it to disengage, that is an issue of too loose of a cable.

Why does R grind? Because 1-5 have parts on them to synchronize your shifting into them. This will cover up, to some extent, any issues with the clutch not fully disengaging. However, R does not have any synchronization hardware. It is a straight cut gear for the slider to engage. If there is any clutch drag then your transmission parts are still spinning in neutral and when you go to select R your spinning hardware will abuse each other (grind). Any grind from full stop, shifting from neutral to R is diagnostic of at least a need to check the clutch cable.

Part of examining the clutch cable is to also examine the clutch cable tube in the center channel. It is welded at that firewall, and at the front of the tube under the shifter on the drivers side of the center tunnel. If the tube is loose, your clutch pull will be significantly reduced and thus you can not fully disengage the clutch no matter how much you adjust the cable.

Much better - maybe 90%

The clutch cable was NOT double nutted - so that may have been part of the issue.

I took up a bunch of slack and now 1st and reverse don't crunch - other gears are much easier to engage.

Reverse - if the motor is over like 1100 RPM will still grind - just a bit.

Car is too hot now to mess with it any more - no lift so at 63 I'm rolling on the floor best I can - plus I'm still a bit under the weather and I'm done for now.

I adjusted the shift rod a bit also - I think a bit more slack and a touch on the shift rod and I'll be spot on.

Thanks!!!

Len