Hard time shifting into 2nd

[4 speed fish]

I would check the polite bushing before putting the tranny in.They can get banged up the second or third time out.A bad one makes lining up the tranny a pain.

[Chlngrcrzy]

I installed the transmission, everything looked good. I dry shifted everything before i installed back into the car. All gears shifted ok. I shifted through all the gears with it running and the clutch in. Shifted fine. Drove down the street, and again could not get it to shift smoothly into 2nd. I can skip gears and go to 3rd and 4th just fine. What the HE!! is wrong with 2nd!!!!
          
Now i am getting really ticked.  Someone please chime in with some ideas. Its been 7 1/2 years rebuilding this pig and now i can't even drive it.

It shifted fine before i tore it down and rebuilt the transmission. Complete rebuild kit from PASSON. I am starting to wonder about the new syncros that came in the kit. However, everything looked good when i took the side cover off.

Well i probably will throw the cover on for a couple of months while i get through potato harvest and come back to it when i finish up.

Right now i am thinking of buying another complete rebuild kit and going through it again. Not sure what else to do.

Aw heck, i'm tired. pick this back up later.

[1970 RT Challenger 1970]

I once knew a girl like that, she was a hard gear to get into! 

Not sure what the problem is, but i can't ever hit 2nd. I do know that the levers were aligned properly, And it shifts into 2nd when it is just sitting, but when i am cruising and then shift to 2nd, all i get is grinding gears. Do i need to adjust the clutch a bit more or what?   

[Chlngrcrzy]

3rd time was the charm, or maybe it decided that 3 strikes it was out. Anyhow, i pulled it and went completely through the rebuild and discovered the problem. I had the 1-2 shifting gear (or whatever it is called) turned around backwards. On one side their is a hub that sticks out 1/2 or so further. It is suppose to be facing forward. Well it was backwards.
          
These are the times you just have to laugh it off and learn from it.   I sure wish i had had the vehicle service manual the first time i rebuilt it. 

[CudamanTom]

3rd time was the charm, or maybe it decided that 3 strikes it was out. Anyhow, i pulled it and went completely through the rebuild and discovered the problem. I had the 1-2 shifting gear (or whatever it is called) turned around backwards. On one side their is a hub that sticks out 1/2 or so further. It is suppose to be facing forward. Well it was backwards.
          
These are the times you just have to laugh it off and learn from it.   I sure wish i had had the vehicle service manual the first time i rebuilt it.

That's great to hear. 

And thank you for coming back and telling us what was wrong and what you did to fix it. 

[Sleepychallenger]

you didn't happen to take any pictures did you? I am going to pull my trans sometime in the next couple months and open her up and would love to have some pictures to compare mine to.

[MOPAR FANATIC]

  Glad you figured it out and got it fixed,just think of the good work out you got doing it 3 times. 

[Chlngrcrzy]

you didn't happen to take any pictures did you? I am going to pull my trans sometime in the next couple months and open her up and would love to have some pictures to compare mine to.

I did take a few, but they were on my phone and i dumped them after i had finished. It really isn't too bad. Download the service manual and pull up the molar magazine article on it, and you will be fine. Lay out everything as you take it apart and take pictures as you disassemble. And give me a call if you have any questions.

[Chlngrcrzy]

Glad you figured it out and got it fixed,just think of the good work out you got doing it 3 times. 

I pulled it by myself in about an hour the last time. Had the wife lower the jack as i handled it underneath. Took me about 2 hours to put it all back together. I think i could almost do it in my sleep.   

[Beekeeper]

Hey sleepy, I had a 69 Chevelle do the same thing as yours in turns and under hard acceleration. Took it to a tranny guy I knew and once in the air, he showed me how my frame was bent and there was no clearance for the rods, anything I did to cause frame torque like turns or hard acceleration caused binding and forced it out of certain gears. Not saying that's your problem but it might not hurt to throw it in the air and look around first

[Sleepychallenger]

Hey sleepy, I had a 69 Chevelle do the same thing as yours in turns and under hard acceleration. Took it to a tranny guy I knew and once in the air, he showed me how my frame was bent and there was no clearance for the rods, anything I did to cause frame torque like turns or hard acceleration caused binding and forced it out of certain gears. Not saying that's your problem but it might not hurt to throw it in the air and look around first

Thanks Beekeeper. I will have to look at that too. I don't know why but I keep thinking that it is a problem with that shift fork. there are times where it seems that I feel it shift and other times that it feels like I am just moving the shifter. It still drives and every time that I down shift it hits second so Im a little lost on what it could be.

anyone know how long it takes to ruin a throwout bearing? Im wondering if a couple times of pushing too far on the clutch would ruin it and cause my noise.

[CudamanTom]

anyone know how long it takes to ruin a throwout bearing? Im wondering if a couple times of pushing too far on the clutch would ruin it and cause my noise.

I seriously doubt a couple times pushing too far on the clutch would have any effect on the throwout bearing. IMHO.

[Sleepychallenger]

I seriously doubt a couple times pushing too far on the clutch would have any effect on the throwout bearing. IMHO.

that's what I thought but I have put 3 throwout bearings in and I keep getting the same noise. clutch in, rev, and horrible whirring noise. It doesn't do it as much when the car is in neutral but it does do it still as long as the clutch pedal is pressed. once I let out it goes away.

[Beekeeper]

I know a guy who keeps wasting pilot bushings. He believes it is a worn bearing on the input shaft but I have a slightly different theory that the runout is so far off that the input shaft is not centered in the hole of the pilot bushing causing premature wear and the noise he keeps complaining of.

The reason I thought of this was a couple years ago, I helped a friend install a tremec Trans in his car. They were very specific in the instructions to measure the runout with a dial indicator and that it could not be more than a couple thousandths. The factory spec allowed for much more. His was around ten thousandths off center. We put in the offset pins in the block and made it perfect. Afterward, he said it always shifted poorly before but it was fantastic now. Obviously some of it was the tranny but I could see how having the bell housing off center by just a tiny amount could cause grief. I know I plan to check my Challenger when I restore it regardless of which transmission I use. Can never hurt to get tolerances as optimal as possible.