[Shotimes] Clutch or Transmission?

[Carl Prochilo]

Before you sink the $900 or so into this job, I would try 2 things first.

1)  Use the synthetic ATF you have.  You should need about 3 qts.  You
will find that for your newer MTX IV, the synthetic fluid will make the
synchros work better than convention fluid.
2)  Make sure that your clutch cable is properly tensioned.  Follow the
instructions in the owners manual.  This may or may not do anything, but
if you get even 1 click, then there is a chance this will help your
problem.  The difficulty your are having is due to the fact the pressure
plate is not getting backed off enough to release the tranny from the
engine.

The other typical reason the shifting difficulty can occur is if you've
worn the fingers on your pressure plate enough that you don't get the full
action of the clutch, or that one or more straps on the pressure plate
have snapped.  If it were the latter case, you would feel an imbalance in
the drivetrain.  It would be common to have this occur if you had a chip
and removed the rev limiter and then hit 8K on the tach.  That is enough
to snap the straps on a stock pressure plate.

Also the reason you can engage the shifter at certain RPMs is because
you've synchronized the engine speed to the tranny.  If you could manage
to do this all the time you wouldn't need a clutch.  : )  I still remember
Josh pulling a 14.8 qtr mile at the Commerce drags ('99 convention) using
clutchless shifting.  Brave man and obviously talented.  And that was one
helluva hot humid day.
-- 
Cheers,
Carl Prochilo
92 Ultra Red Crimson

On Sun, August 8, 2004 2:16 pm, Ron Porter said:
> Clutch time.
>
> Ron Porter
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]
> On Behalf Of Peter Maggiacomo
> Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2004 2:00 PM
> To: shotimes@autox.team.net
> Subject: [Shotimes] Clutch or Transmission?
>
>
> Guys... I've been having a problem with my Box Stock
> 95MTX. For the last year or so shifting into 1st is
> increasingly more difficult. The sensation that I feel
> is a resistance of 2 notches that are overcome when
> shifting.
> Some times if the speed is just right at say a parking
> maneuver, it slips right in. This "notchiness" is
> sometime felt in 2nd gear also.
> Clutch is original with 81,000 miles on car.
> Tranny fluid is clean... I change it annually, but
> have
> never tried synthetic, although 3 quarts of M1 are in
> the trunk right now. Any thoughts? Thanks.
> -Pete
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