Difficult Shifting

[joejoecat]

I have a 1964 TR4 . When cold it is difficult to shift into or out of 1st or 2nd gear to the point that I have to double clutch. Once the car warms up it shifts like butter. Any ideas of what could cause this ? Fluid level in master cylinder is good.Thanks in advance.

 

[CJD]

To isolate clutch vs. tranny, press the clutch and hold it. Shift into one of the forward gears to stop the gears from spinning, and then shift into neutral without lifting the clutch. Pause for a few seconds and then try to shift into reverse.

If reverse grinds, then the clutch is dragging. If it does not grind, then you have a tranny issue.

John

 

[joejoecat]

I think its a dragging clutch,any fixes for that ?

 

[Moseso]

From the outside:
1) Make sure the hydraulic cylinders are adjusted correctly. Minimal pedal play before the master cylinder engages-- and no more than 1/10" play at the slave cylinder.
2) Bleed the clutch to be sure there is no air in it. I don't know why, but my clutch system needs to be bled from time to time. I don't know how the air is getting in -- and I am not losing fluid -- but when I feel as though the clutch engagement point is getting lower, and I can pump it up by pressing the pedal a couple of times, I bleed it and I get some bubbles out.

If none of this remedies a dragging clutch, it becomes time to look inside the bell housing.

 

[Andrew Mace]

How cold is "cold"? And do you mean it is physically difficult to move the shift lever, or something else? Good old 90wt gear oil gets awfully thick when the outside temperature gets much below 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[Moseso]

+1 on Andy -- and I forgot to mention:
"Stiff" movement of the shift lever and lackluster operation of the syncros has always been part of TR3 life for me -- before things have warmed up a bit.

A dragging clutch will certainly aggravate these conditions but, even when the clutch is operating perfectly, the first few minutes of operation in the morning have always involved careful shifting, as a part of "normal" operation.

 

[CJD]

OK, clutch.

Make sure the master cylinder piston is returning all the way back out when you release the pedal. You may have to pop the outer boot seal to see. When cold, this can start to drag in the cylinder.

Next, make sure the slave cylinder rod is adjusted for proper free play. If the adjustment is tight, that's likely normal wear on the clutch disc. But if it's loose, then the fork pin may have sheared.

Bleed as Moseso recommended...after that it's likely time to rebuild the master cylinder.

John

Oh, there is a chance there is an internal problem with the pressure plate...but it would likely drag all the time then.

 

[joejoecat]

Thanks for all the info guys. What I mean by "cold" is when it first starts up,it could be 80 degrees out."hard to shift" means physically hard to put into gear.It did not always act this way ,just started this past driving season. I will check all your suggestions.

 

[JohnnyMead]

Thanks for starting this discussion. These are exactly the symptoms I started getting this past summer on my TR3A. No matter the outside temp, the first couple of shifts into second are hard, then everything is ok. Something I discovered after I put the car away for the winter: the clutch master cylinder is leaking.
John