The case of the mysterious clutch. (71 C10)

[jowwel]

Hi All,

This is my first post here. I recently bought a 71 C10 and just love it. I'm new to working with trucks, but I'm pretty well mechanically inclined and I want to do as much of my own work as possible. That said, I'd like to tell you all about my problem and get some feedback.

In a nutshell, I think my clutch is going bad. Here is why.

Basically, the clutch pedal has back pressure and feels like it's operating normally, but when I push the pedal down, the clutch itself is not engaging.

If I turn the engine off, I can put it into whatever gear I want. When the engine is running, I can only put it into reverse or neutral (from whatever gear I had it in).

So I guess that firstly, I'd like some confirmation that my clutch is going bad (or other suggestions) and secondly, a little help on what I'd need to do to get to the clutch to work on it/replace it if it is going bad. Thanks!

Other things to note:
- The guy who had it before me put in a 3 speed transmission with a hearst shifter and linkage.
- I have a 1 ton hoist to pull the engine if I need to.