Grinding Gears

[BubbaSR49]

This question has been asked a million times, but here is 1,000,001. Got a little grinding going on between 1 & 2 and 2 & 3. Transmission fluid is high, but I noticed that my level in Transmission fluid has not changed in the past 8 months. Any ideas??????

[TJ's Chevy]

After sitting for 5 years....mine would ground in and out of gear no matter how nicely you shifted....after some driving...it doesn't even grind at all now. Something to do with the synchros far as I know.

[Old Truck Man]

double clutch

[bullwinkle3331]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

After sitting for 5 years....mine would ground in and out of gear no matter how nicely you shifted....after some driving...it doesn't even grind at all now. Something to do with the synchros far as I know.

Yep - Mine was doing the same thing when I first got it a year ago. I have since had the clutch replaced and it is starting to get easier shifting it in and out of gear, with a few times here and there seeing the grinding.

[61_FL_Apache]

Make sure your linkage is adjusted correctly.. You may not be fully disengaging the clutch when your shifting..

At what point when you lift the pedal off the floor does the clutch engage? If its right off the floor, you will need to adjust it. It should start engaging a few inches off the floor.

[BubbaSR49]

Ok will try. Any reasoning why my transmission fluid is not lowering. Still at same level it was 8 months ago.

[61_FL_Apache]

Unless you have a seal leaking you won't need to add gear lube.

[powerdriver 1958]

In a manual trans with zero leaks the oil will maintain the same level , Which is a good thing .

[BubbaSR49]

Cool, learn something new. Thanks.

[padresag]

Originally Posted by BubbaSR49

This question has been asked a million times, but here is 1,000,001. Got a little grinding going on between 1 & 2 and 2 & 3. Transmission fluid is high, but I noticed that my level in Transmission fluid has not changed in the past 8 months. Any ideas??????

what do you mean that the level of gear oil is high?/it should be level with the bottom of the filler hole on the side.
reasons for grinding' worn or maladjusted clutch, worn linkage, worn synchros and or worn bearings and washers. a bearing and seal kit do wonders for those old trans
ron

[jtrichard]

Originally Posted by padresag

what do you mean that the level of gear oil is high?/it should be level with the bottom of the filler hole on the side.
reasons for grinding' worn or maladjusted clutch, worn linkage, worn synchros and or worn bearings and washers. a bearing and seal kit do wonders for those old trans
ron

you forgot rust (from sitting) or oil will also make the clutch drag and grind

[padresag]

Originally Posted by jtrichard

you forgot rust (from sitting) or oil will also make the clutch drag and grind

but that rust doesn't last that long
ron

[jjzepplin]

I guess It may have been mentioned already but what trans do you have? Internal shift type like SM465 or external like Saginaw with shift levers and rods? If internal must be synchros external can be shift linkage adjust and synchros. I like to tear them all the way down and check and replace synchros and bearings. Isn't really all that difficult and no special tools required. Might need to take the mainshaft to get the front main bearing swapped out. My 4speed Saginaw rebuild kit was $80 on ebay. Took 2 hours to rebuild. I did find a massively worn shift fork. Another $20 ebay. My guess is the linkage was way off contributing to the shift fork wear from someone trying to force it into gear. After being frustrated with the shifting issue they pulled it and sold to me. So hard shifting can cause lasting issues that are hard to see from just looking inside.Check your oil when you replace it in a small container for brass particles. This is your synchros going bad. Steel shavings or particles could be a host of things. Either way best pull it and find out for sure.

[BubbaSR49]

Thank JJ, will change out the oil here in a few week and look for metal. Ok Padre, I'm not very knowledgeable under the hood, "filler hole" location? Bought my 66 and year ago and am learning new thing every week. The truck has been a daily driver since December, its been grinding gears since, but before that it sit for 5 months.

[padresag]

Originally Posted by BubbaSR49

Thank JJ, will change out the oil here in a few week and look for metal. Ok Padre, I'm not very knowledgeable under the hood, "filler hole" location? Bought my 66 and year ago and am learning new thing every week. The truck has been a daily driver since December, its been grinding gears since, but before that it sit for 5 months.

filler hole location. basically there are 2 pipe plugs on each trans. 1 on the pass side of the trans about in the middle which is used for filling it with gear oil and for checking the level of the oil. the other is on the bottom of the trans which you can use for draning the oil from the trans. I am curious about how you would know that the trans was overful if you don't know about the filler hole.
in the period of time that these vehicles were new they should have been serviced every couple of thousand miles. eng oil changed and the chassis lubricated and all fluids checked. neglect in these areas usually caused problems, like low gear oil levels(due to leaking) which can lead to the problems you are talking about. the younger generation knows nothing of this as now everything is supposed to be good for a lifetime; whose lifetime I do not know.
if you have been using it as a daily driver since Dec. ypu should have at least done this twice unless you are only going to the corner of the block and back.
if you can locate an owners manual it will tell you about all of these things and more
enjoy your truck
ron

[Ronw435]

I don't know if this is your issue but I have a 1962 Nova once that seemed like it would not completely dis-engage the clutch. It would grind when putting in gear and grind when shifting. I thought that clutch was bad but after putting in new clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing it was doing the same thing. I took it to the local Standard Station and asked them to check it out. They worked for a couple of days and then called and said it was fixed. When I picked it up they showed me where on the clutch linkage it was cracked and when depressing the pedal it would open just enough to not fully dis-engage the clutch. A little welding and it was fixed!
Like I said this might not be your issue but worth taking a look at.

[AnlaufJohn]

The owner's manual will save you time and money on little items, too. And save you from big repair jobs.
One page has all the fuses, another has the light bulbs, but the one that saved me was the wheel torque values, as a big box retailer was going to crank my lug nuts to 100 lb/ft.
I told them I have the owner's manual in the truck and was able to retrieve it and showed them the 55-65 lb/ft rating. Now, my truck is a 10 series; the 20 & 30 series have bigger wheel studs and have a higher torque value.
Reprinted owner manuals are available from several vendors.
truckandcarshop.com and fillingstation.com are 2 that I use.