I picked up my '84 GSL-SE, but I had to drive it 1700 miles to get it home. The clutch seemed fine, but today (and toward the end of the trip) I noticed two things.



1) when I am out of gear idling, there is a rattle just underneath the gear shift...it sounds like a single bolt in a jar. I am speculating this is something that came loose in the atypical marathon driving I did (the car only had 110K original miles when I picked it up on Saturday - it now has 112K).



2) sometimes I can't move the shifter into gear, either it is blocked, or very tight, as opposed to slipping right in. When I try to switch into reverse from a dead stop, you can hear mashing gears (which causes me to immediately back-off). I tried pumping the clutch, but it doesn't help.



Once I am moving, or at specific engine and trans speeds, it will shift smoothly, but down-shifting is blocked.



The actual clutch plate seems to grip great...I am getting really good response and acceleration - no slipping...but I have to successfully get into gear first.



Is this just a question of changing out the slave and master cylinders, or is there something worse here?



Thanks,

Brian T. Carter

If your clutch works good and no leaks are present then slave and master cylinders are most likely o.k.

The problem sounds(IMO)like one of the bearings in the transmission has bit the dust, and posibly is bouncing steel all over your tranny, that sux. Great description btw. Ofcourse worst case senerio is youve lost some teeth.

In either case, unless your very good with transmissions, a new one is probably in order.

I was reading the diagnosis section for a DaimlerChrysler transmission in another field service manual I have. It referred to something they called "hard shifting" or "slow shifting" that could be due to a low fluid level in the transmission.



They didn't really describe or define what they meant. I suppose it could be what I described, or it could be abrubt jolts when the actual transmission changes gears.



Since the car was/is unknown to me, it could very well have a small leak, or just be low. A 1700 mile trip would definite exacerbate that. In any case, I should change the transmission gear oil since I don't know the last time it was changed.



So, I will go ahead and do that to see if it clears it up first. At the same time, I can look to see what comes out...metal shavings/dust or lots of broken teeth/bering pieces.



Thanks,

BTC

Hey, what you read in that FSM is for auto trannys. I'd go with what was said and look into more serious problems. I know that some Trannys will be hard to put into gear after they have sat a while, but that is just stiffness and will work itself out after a few miles of driving. hopfully you get it figured out and on the road soon, good luck!

It was specific to manual transmissions. Now, they might have used boilerplate language and pasted it in the manual transmission section.



Later today I will pull the plug and filter what comes out...and see if there is any metal.



Thanks,

BTC

Hey if you need a new tranny i have an extra on for 13 gsl-se let me now pm me

Sounds like your synchros are stuffed.

PM Series1rx7, he has the same problem with his SA 13B.

You'll need to rebuild or buy a new tranny.

It's your throw out bearing - the rattling bolt sound is a dead givaway. I forget which it is but you will only hear it at idle in nuetral with the clutch either in our depressed (can't member which). The good news is that you don't have to remove the flywheel to fix - probably do it yourself if you don't mind dropping the tranny

With the box in neutral noise with the clutch up is the input shaft bearing (unless you have a twin plate!) noise with the pedal down is throwout. If it is farked it may not be disengaging the clutch properly, which will cause the baulking and reverse grinding you mention

If it is "farked"?? I suppose you mean if the throwout bearing is screwed up and you are just being civil (in noted contrast to some of the wild avatars I've seen here).



I bet y'all are right. I usually have the clutch in at stoplights, so I am sure I had the clutch depressed. The noise seemed new, so I hope I haven't screwed something up.



Right now I am finishing up the beige RX-7, so I won't get to the blue one for a couple of days. I am going to replace the slave and master cylinder (I had already purchased them) and see if it improves. I will also check the gear oil level and the shifter. If I still have the problem or the problem goes away but the noise is still there, I will drop the tranny and replace the throwout bearing.



I've done that on other trucks, so I should be able to handle it. I am just glad it is a 2 qt manual, instead of the 45RFE in my Dakota (15 Qt capacity and it weighs a ton! [not literally]). The RX-7 trans should be a feather-weight by comparison.



Thanks,

Brian T. Carter