I just swapped a 350 into my 83 Z28, and while the motor was out I had a mechanic inspect the flywheel, throwout bearing and shaft on my 5 speed because I was having clutch problems. It had all been replaced recently from the guy I purchased the car from. I am still having 2 issues. The most annoying is the clutch, after driving for a few weeks, the clutch pedal gets stiff, only on release, not while depressing it. If I shoot grease onto the throwout bearing and shaft it will be fine for another few weeks. The other problem is reverse, it always wants to grind, even though my clutch seems to be adjusted correctly. I did loose some fluid during the motor swap, however, I am pretty sure that it is filled back up, it was red so I assumed it was ATF and the auto parts store said that ATF is used in some manual trannys, is this correct? If anyone could shoot me some ideas I would be very grateful, I love this car, however I do want to treat her well, Thank You

 

you can stop the reverse problem by going into 3rd then second to slow the tranny shaft down and then put it in reverse. The reason it grinds is because your syncros are bad for reverse. Friends that have manuels run synthetic lube in their trannys.

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I was always told that reverse was the only gear without a synchro. Also, while we're on the topic of clutch issues: I have an '87 IROC-Z with a 5spd tranny, when the car is running, the tranny is difficult to shift into 1st when stopped at a light, but if the car is off I can shift into every gear smooth as anything. Also, when it is running, if I push the clutch pedal in and try to shift into all the gears, 99% of the time it is very difficult, but every once in a while I can work the gears and feel 0 resistance. Also, when the car is running and the tranny is in neutral and the clutch pedal isn't pushed in, it sounds like the clutch is rattling. And finally, after driving on the highway and being in the process of getting off an exit, I'll try to downshift into 4th and it will refuse to go into 4th. Also, when on the highway, I'll try to downshift to 4th or sometimes upshift to 5th and while in the process of that, when I push the cluth pedal in and move the shifter into the intended gear, it will get stuck in the neutral position and get stuck and then I have to jiggle it back and forth like crazy to get it to loosen up. What gives?? I suspect I have bad synchros and a throw-out bearing. I'm sure it's worse than that