Dagnabit!

I'm having trouble getting my car to go into reverse. I can't get the stick into the R-drive at all. When I attempt to I can hear grinding. Now all my other gears feel smooth as butter...but the R-drive feels like I'm not engaging the clutch fully when I'm trying to shift into it...even with the clutch pedal down to the floor (BTW this is all after the Spec install). I remember before I pulled the tranny I had some difficulties getting the car to shift in reverse...not anything where I had to "force" the car into Reverse...but where it felt like the stick was kinda stuck and needed a little "umph!" to get it all the way in. My car has been sitting on Jack Stands for nearly 2 months...and I haven't driven her yet...but I have imaginary drives with it in the air. Shifting through the gears with a smile on my face...pretending I was driving somewhere other than the dealership. Despite the fact that my clutch didn't engage till almost to the bottom... shifting through the gears felt normal. What I don't understand is that I could not engage the gears without pushing the clutch in...(a good thing)..but when I was shifting I didn't need to push the gas in at all. I just pushed the clutch in and simulated shifts into all the gears up to 6th. My Speed didn't increase or anything but I didn't have to use the gas to get into the gears...when I did use the gas pedal I ran from 1-6th at over 90mph..while (2 feet in the air) and didn't hear any noises or anything in the clutch. I could however feel it engage as I let off the pedal and gas(when I used it) So the clutch is doing it's job. I looked back out my door and saw that the Tires where rotating properly and were consistant with the speeds...But I'm just having a hard time shifting into reverse. I don' get it... So far aside from my weak pedal...(still has some traped air) I can't get the car to go into reverse at all. I looked under the car and checked my wiring. THe plugs seemed to be in the right places. (White/Blue) plugs on the Driverside...and the (Tan) plug on the passenger. So I' not sure where to take it from here. What does it sound like to you?

 

Since reverse doesn't usually have a syncronizer, I would say that you aren't fully disengaging the clutch. Is there anyway to look at the clutch while someone depresses it and tries reverse? Sounds scary to me. Maybe you could use a video camera

 

I had a 97 SS that did that too.I put it in reverse and then would start it. You might need to bleed your clutch slave cylinder.First you could take out the slave cylinder and verify that the little white plastic tip is still on slave Cylinder rod. If it is not there,your clutch will not fully release. Oil or junk on clutch plate will make it drag too and not fully release.Hope this helps you out>Jake

 

Your right..I don't htink the Clutch is disengaging. Otherwise it wouldn't be grinding into Reverse.

What do you guys think it might be?

My pedal is still soft.?

Fluid?

 

Your right..I don't htink the Clutch is disengaging. Otherwise it wouldn't be grinding into Reverse.

What do you guys think it might be?

My pedal is still soft.?

Fluid?

 

Tippy

 

Oh so that's how he gets 658 posts in 1 month....

 

A bad master or slave is common. Certainly they should be bled completely with fresh fluid. Didn't you say you recently put a new clutch on? While your were there did you clean the splines real well and put a small (tiny) amount of hi temp grease on the tranny input shaft at the splines? This dry, usually rusty area combined with a new (thicker) clutch will usually cause it to not fully disengage.

 

I thoroughly cleanded the input shaft and spindles with a brush and degreaser... and lubed it up with grease afterwards. I took my time when I put the Clutch and all back together...I just don't get it.

 

Compstall tell me about it. The same question is in 3 different forums and three different ways he asks for help.

 

I asked sevral different questions... this post just explains the original question fully. Plus the moderators moved some of my post aroudn so they ended up in the same forum. I sometimes ask the same quesiton in the DT forum and here becasue I get different replys and more info is good but I've only done that about maybe 4 times or so. What ever it takes to get this car running right I'll do. I've also asked the same question on different Camaro oriented sites...but the responses vary. Can never have too much info That's the only way to do it. I don't know why my post # is so high I don't pay attention to it really...not like thier giving away free toasters when you have 1K post...I just have allot of questions....No harm.

 

Are we back to the question now???? Last thing to check is the fluid flow. Is the master not putting out or is the slave not responding correctly. A pressure test or an artificial source to replace the master for testing can tell you that.

If the pressure plate is much stiffer than OEM it can overpower the slave or master cylinder. The clamping force numbers can help here.

Also because of the unique pull-style clutch system has a very small air gap to accomodate the movement of the hydraulic clutch. If an aftermarket beefed up (thicker) clutch is used, it can drag.

Good luck to you