Difficulty getting out of 1st gear

[todd1561]

For a while I've had an issue shifting out of first gear, primarily when the transmission is cold, but it manifests in an odd way. If I depress the clutch and let the engine RPMs drop the issue presents itself and I can't get out of first gear easily. It would seem to take a lot more force than I'm comfortable exerting on the shifter so I haven't pushed it. Once I come to a stop it comes out of gear easily. However, I've found that if I depress the clutch and pull out of 1st quickly enough before the engine speed drops it'll pull out of gear no problem. Basically, if I pull out of gear before there's an engine braking effect I can avoid the problem.

I currently have the transmission removed to do the rear main seal and clutch and also have the case opened up to reinforce the 2nd gear roll pin, replace the input shaft seal and red loctite the input/output nuts to prevent walkoff. So now would seem to be an opportune time to dig deeper into this odd shifting issue if it would indicate some internal problem within the transmission.

Any ideas on what might be going on? Part of me thinks just changing the gear oil will sort this out since the problem goes away once warmed up anyway, but if there's anything internal I should check I'd like to do that before buttoning everything up.

Thanks!

[todd1561]

A couple other things worth pointing out... I have a stainless clutch line and I've replaced the fluid recently, the issue was present before and after. There are otherwise no shifting issues and the clutch seems to disengage at a normal point (e.g. it disengages well before the pedal hits the floor) so I don't think this is an hydraulic issue.

[David T]

If engine braking is making it harder to shift out of gear it would seem to be to be a problem with the clutch not getting full disengagement of the transmission from the engine while shifting. If you are replacing the clutch anyway it should fix the problem. How worn out is the clutch and how many miles on it?

[todd1561]

Thanks David. The old clutch has about 29k miles on it and measures 5.8mm and my new one from DMCH is 8.15. So definitely a difference, about 34%. See the pic below, you can barely see the grooves on this side, the other side the grooves are gone. So while a new clutch is probably warranted I'm not sure how that would be causing this issue. The clutch is disengaging, as the engine speed will immediately drop when depressing the clutch and I have no issues shifting through the rest of the gears. And the problem seems to go away when it warms up. At this point I guess I'm just looking to ensure there's nothing internal to the transmission I should be checking before I button it up.

https://toddnelson.net/misc/clutch.jpeg

[Bitsyncmaster]

Looks like that clutch is really at the minimum. Your almost going to hit the rivet heads. So not really 34% worn.

[David T]

I agree, that clutch is just about done. Replacing it should fix the problem, it is NOT a transmission problem. While you have the transmission open make sure the 5th gear shifter fork is not bent. Since you are replacing the clutch you should check the flywheel for heat cracks and bluing and get it ground if necessary. Also replace the throw-out bearing AND the pilot bearing. Inspect the fork for bends and cracks.

[todd1561]

Thanks guys, glad to hear the consensus is the transmission internals aren't suspect. The clutch kit came with new throw out and pilot bearings so I'll be doing those as well. And yes, I plan to have the flywheel machined at a local shop. This is all part of some larger projects so it'll be some time before I have the car put back together. But I'll report back here with the results.

[David T]

Thanks guys, glad to hear the consensus is the transmission internals aren't suspect. The clutch kit came with new throw out and pilot bearings so I'll be doing those as well. And yes, I plan to have the flywheel machined at a local shop. This is all part of some larger projects so it'll be some time before I have the car put back together. But I'll report back here with the results.

Do not have the flywheel ground unless it is necessary. If you do have it ground make sure the shop maintains the "step" (they will have to grind the same amount off the step that they remove from the face of the flywheel so the clutch will work).

[todd1561]

Yes I'm aware of the extra .02" step on the flywheel, Dave Swingle made mention of it in his clutch replacement procedure document that I've been referencing: https://support.delorean.com/kb/a109/manual-transmission-clutch-replacement.aspx

[dn010]

I would have the flywheel machined judging by what the small area of the pressure plate pictured above looks like. It can't be much better looking.