My Stewardship of 10439

[dodint]

I'll keep you updated.

The day I bought this car I drove it from Atlanta to Knoxville (January 1st), through the Tail of the Dragon in NC/TN. Didn't have a problem at all. Nor any time I drove it after that including the trip to Pittsburgh.

Then on my way home from the Ready Player One opening weekend it started to get really tight getting into first at red lights. And now each time I've taken it out since then after about 30 minutes of driving it gets really hard to get into low gears and reverse. I guess I'm most concerned because it's an emerging problem, and I'm worried about damaging the linkages by forcing it into gear.

[dodint]

Boooo!

download_20180506_102536.jpg

Another project added to the list.

[David T]

First of all check the oil level in the gearbox. If it is very low and/or you don't know what kind of oil is in there or when it was last changed, drain it all out and refill with fresh. Next, flush and bleed the clutch system with brake fluid. Inspect the trans mounts for cracks, especially the left one. Finally, check for worn rubber bushings in the shift linkage and replace and adjust it. If you still have trouble shifting you may need a clutch. While the output seals can leak and make a big mess, that isn't the problem unless they have been leaking for a long time and you are low on gear oil.

[dodint]

I couldn't really see how low the oil was, my fingers couldn't really get in there to tell. Drained the old stuff out and filled it with the Red Line 75W90NS I mentioned earlier. Finished up around 10PM and won't be able to drive it till Tuesday.

Drove it for about 20 minutes before doing the transmission and engine oil changes, to get the fluids running a bit. Took notice of two two behaviors; the only forward gear that is difficult to get into is First which takes firm steady pressure, and Reverse grinds regardless of how slow or fast I apply the gear selector. All other gears shift fine. First shifts fine while the car is warming up and becomes increasingly difficult as time goes on.

One other odd tidbit. I shut the car off with the gear selector in First and the clutch pressed in, it could not be pulled out with reasonable force. I let the clutch out and then put it back in immediately, and the gear selector came out of First with practically no effort. I have no idea if that means anything.

Thanks for the suggestions, David. It's final exams week so I probably can't get underneath it again until next week. I am going to order the seal and o rings and when I swap it out I will check the other items, thanks.

[dodint]

The Quickjack worked out well, by the way. I ordered the 12VDC model so it goes up nice and fast. I'm a big guy and, when on the creeper, there is about 6 inches between my chest and the lowest part of the frame. Very nice.

[dn010]

Try shifting into first before reverse and you shouldn't get a grind.

Thanks for the info, good to know that what I'm dealing with is not normal - I will have to dig into my transmission and fix some things I guess, I am getting tired of driving around like this. I guess it is time to create a thread of my own.

That quickjack looks awesome! Perhaps my next investment.

[dodint]

I'll give it a shot, thanks. Once it warms up I pretty much ignore First entirely.

[dodint]

This transmission/clutch is all over the place. Yesterday it was slipping; accelerate past 3k in any gear and the motor would spin up without applying more power to the wheels. I'm throwing in the towel and taking it up to DPI and having them work it; I'm not wasting my whole summer diagnosing the car and throwing money at it when I can just take it to a professional.

I did have to drive it to work today and I had no problem getting into any gears for the first time in a long time, but it's all traffic congestion so I never got over 40mph if that.

Once the parts come in for the projects I planned to do and will now just have Josh do, I'll take it up there. It's only about 100 miles up to DPI, I'll just have AAA tow it.

[dodint]

Josh and Delorean Industries was great, really happy to have him and his shop within 100 miles of the house. Just got the car back on Friday.

Josh replaced the clutch, PO used a cheap aftermarket disc that wore badly after only three years. Also replaced a leaking slave cylinder that was hindering clutch disengagement. While there I had him upgrade my leaking axle o-rings and upgrade to his chrome hardened flanges at the same time. I had already purchased shifter linkage parts to do a refresh and they put them on while he was in there. The clutch now has a distinct clutch bite point and no more sloppy gear selector.

I wanted him to charge the AC as well, turns out it wasn't holding a charge because many of the components were bad including a evaporator core assembly with disintegrated ports. PO had tried to modify the box in the past and certain portions of it were held together with bailing wire. Replaced the evaporator core, lines, compressor, pulley/belt, orifice tube, accumulator, lower pressure switch, etc. This effectively switched me over to R134a at the same time so I don't have to fuss with R12 anymore. The car blows ice cold now and the AC system is nice and quiet (was rattling prior to the upgrade), very happy with it.

The next day I took it to a local tint shop that I've used in the past. Put 35% ceramic tint on all the windows except the rear center window which got 70% tint (I didn't want to look through two layers of heavy tint to see out of the quarter panel windows). The ceramic tint is very effective at blocking heat from direct sun, it cost about $100 to $150 more than standard tint but it's worth it to me. Also added a 5" matte black window banner to the windshield, mostly to hide the headliner, sun visor, and mirror. Really a clean look as the matte black is very close to the color of the trim.

d-tint2.jpgd-tint1.jpg

Last night I couldn't sleep so I installed the DMC LED window switches, PJG Mattaligner, and swapped the window switch and dummy switch locations as I always thought the stock position of the three active switches in the middle had a 'bunched' feeling, really happy to have the the window switches in the outboard location now. I didn't realize the LEDs would be on all the time, figured they would just be on when the dash lights were on. Not a big deal as they're not in my immediate view while driving, just an observation.

Finally, on Friday my local tire shop refused to swap my spare tire because 'they make them disposable, go back to the manufacturer and buy a new one.' His shop was slammed and I was in a hurry to get up to Ohio to get the car, so I didn't bother to stick around and explain to him why he's incorrect. I just ordered a T125/70D-15 KUMHO Spare Tire for $68 shipped from TireRack and will visit them again later this week to explain it better.

Now I just need to get my 85mph speedo back in and dump the broken 170mph speedo; then I'll be ready for my trip to Kentucky on Father's Day weekend.

I drove the car in very heavy rain the other day and it lost drive; something new to diagnose and play with in the future, but for now I'm focused on getting the final touches done before that trip to KY.

[DMC-81]

Congrats! Also, the tint looks awesome!