Shifting problems

[Regular Guy with an Elky]

Hi I’m wondering if someone can steer me in the right direction. I recently converted my 83 el Camino from auto to an old Saginaw 4 speed. It was hard to shift from the beginning and I hoped it would smooth out but it hasn’t. It goes thru all the gears fine when the engine is not running and the clutch seems to be working fine. It seems the longer I drive the harder it gets to shift (10 miles or so ) it won’t go into any gear without multiple attempts and lots of pressure on the shifter. I have accidentally gotten the transmission into reverse looking for first gear. The gears do not grind. have tried to play with different RPMs and double clutching but that doesn’t help any.
I checked for any linkage problems and oil level and it was all good. With the car up in the air and the engine running and trans in neutral the back wheels spin but stop when I put my hand on the tire and doesn’t take any effort to keep the wheel from spinning.
From info I can find online my next step should be to check the Syncro’s . It looks like There should be one assembly for 1st and 2nd and another for 3rd and 4th from what I can tell. Could they both be bad ? What would I be looking for aside from obvious wear and do I want to replace parts or the assembly?

I did a partial disassembly of the transmission before I put it in the car to replace the speedo drive gear and reseal of the trans and I’m wondering if I could have reassembled it incorrectly. I did separate the input shaft from the main shaft but didn’t touch the main shaft assembly.

The car is fully assembled and on the ground now if anyone has any ideas before I pull the transmission I’d appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks

 

[buick7332]

Are you using a G-Body Bell Housing and clutch fork? There is also a Hurst shifter specifically for a G-Body with a Saginaw

 

[Regular Guy with an Elky]

Yes I am using the G- body bell housing with the ball stud in the lower position and the proper fork. The clutch appears to be working fine. I’m pretty sure I have the right shifter , it’s mounted forward on the tail housing and goes thru all the gears fine when the car is not running.

 

[pagrunt]

Yes I am using the G- body bell housing with the ball stud in the lower position and the proper fork. The clutch appears to be working fine. I’m pretty sure I have the right shifter , it’s mounted forward on the tail housing and goes thru all the gears fine when the car is not running.

That shifter looks like a mix of parts with the 1/2, 3/4 rods, the reverse & 1/2 arms look like the OE ones used with the ITM & Hurst. The over the counter shifter looks OK. The 1/2 & 3/4 arms should be the same & that reverse rod looks different. I'd suggest getting a 1/4" drill bit & use it the center the gauge hole to adjust the rod trunnions to make sure everything is proper to make it shift smother before going inside. Then what gear oil did you use? 80w90 should be what goes in. Then look at the play in the pedal. Free travel should be about 1" +/- .25".

 

[Regular Guy with an Elky]

That shifter looks like a mix of parts with the 1/2, 3/4 rods, the reverse & 1/2 arms look like the OE ones used with the ITM & Hurst. The over the counter shifter looks OK. The 1/2 & 3/4 arms should be the same & that reverse rod looks different. I'd suggest getting a 1/4" drill bit & use it the center the gauge hole to adjust the rod trunnions to make sure everything is proper to make it shift smother before going inside. Then what gear oil did you use? 80w90 should be what goes in. Then look at the play in the pedal. Free travel should be about 1" +/- .25".

When you talk about the 1/4 inch drill bit are you saying to put it thru the shifter and adjusting the linkage? I checked that before I put the transmission in and the linkage did not need adjusting but I will check again. I used 80w90 gl4 oil I got from summit racing. Pedal free play is good.

 

[Regular Guy with an Elky]

When you talk about the 1/4 inch drill bit are you saying to put it thru the shifter and adjusting the linkage? I checked that before I put the transmission in and the linkage did not need adjusting but I will check again. I used 80w90 gl4 oil I got from summit racing. Pedal free play is good.

I got to thinking and now I’m wondering about the two levers on the inside of the side cover. Any thoughts on that?

 

[spongbob]

Sounds your clutch is toast "... that's the way a fried clutch acts it swells and drags you can't shift it unless it's motors turned off changed sever did the same thing

 

[Regular Guy with an Elky]

Sounds your clutch is toast "... that's the way a fried clutch acts it swells and drags you can't shift it unless it's motors turned off changed sever did the same thing

I think the clutch is operating correctly, it only has a few hundred miles on new pressure plate , clutch disc, flywheel and throw out bearing.
After driving 10 or 15 miles the problem arises. It will come out of gear fine when I stop at a red light but will not go into gear when the light turns green when I finally get it into gear and start moving it will come out of first gear and resist going into second gear. The same going into third and fourth. No problem coming out of gear only going in gear. The clutch feels fine and doesn’t feel like it’s dragging.
I’m not sure if it is the shifter or transmission. It is not like it is shifting fine when it is cold , it is not an easy shift but it definitely gets worse after a few miles.