[Fot] TR6 Second Gear Scrunch

[Mark J Bradakis]

About a year ago I rebuilt a trans and A type overdrive for a fellow here
in Salt Lake City.  At that time we also installed one of TRF's 'Magic
clutch kits' with a Gunst throwout bearing.  About a month or so back
he brings it by the shop and has me drive it around.

The gearbox works well, except that going into second gear you get
grinding noises.  Upshifting or down, you get the noise.  Shifting into
any other gear is just fine.

To me the clutch engagement seemed too close to the floor, and the
transmission behavior was a lot like what my little Nissan pickup
does on occasion.  In the pickup, I pull the floor mat out from under
the clutch pedal to fix it.  I suggested that one probable cause was the
clutch hydraulics, as we did nothing to that last year at the time of
the rebuild.

Anyway, he brings the car in with a new aftermarket slave cylinder
and an adjustable pushrod, which I installed the other day.  The 1st - 2nd
shifts are smoother, the engagement point is further off the floor, but
still grinding on 3 - 2 downshifts, though not as badly as before.  More
bleeding and adjustment, the 3 - 2 noise persists.

Pulled the cover off the gearbox, everything looks good inside.  The
synchro has plenty of clearance, end floats seem to be fine, nothing
amiss as far as I can tell from my contorted position under the dash
trying to peer into the heart of the thing.

Now what?  Anyone have some sure fire ways to determine if the
grinding is due to internal gearbox issues, or simply a dragging
clutch?

mjb.