T56 hard engaging gears, no reverse

[jgardner]

So, this winter I had dropped the engine/trans to fix an oil leak and do some suspension replacement, etc. Part of this included replacing the clutch that had burned out from the oil leak with a new McLeod clutch (just the disk, not the twin disk setup, also flywheel was resurfaced a few thousand miles ago and PP was replaced then as well). After getting it all back together, I start it up and can't get the stupid thing in gear. It felt as if the clutch wasn't disengaging enough. This would be my 3rd time dropping the trans, so I didn't think I would have messed something up that bad. With the engine off, I can get into gear no problem, only when the car is running. Here's a running list of everything that has been done in an attempt to fix it:

• New master/slave clutch cylinder (sold as a unit pre-bled)
• New Pressure Plate and Throwout Bearing
• Removed bracket between slave cylinder and bellhousing and screwed slave cylinder in closer (kind of works, I can actually get it into forward gears easier, but still no reverse)
• Even took it to a shop (don't have time to mess around with it anymore) and they said everything looked fine and even rebuilt the trans to no avail.

It didn't look like the clutch fork was bent, although that's one of the few remaining things that haven't been replaced.

Is it possible that the clutch is bad (even though it's new)? It looks fine to me. I had problems with engagement before but that was because one of the clutch springs blew out. I'm hoping someone has some insight into this....I'm losing my mind (and putting extra miles on my lease). Any thoughts? Thanks!

[1BADAIR]

does it go into gear with the engine off? sounds like you need an adjustable pivot ball. pics of the angle of the fork?

[jgardner]

does it go into gear with the engine off? sounds like you need an adjustable pivot ball. pics of the angle of the fork?

Yep, goes into gear just fine with the engine off. What pivot ball are you talking about? Would a picture of the fork with the trans in be OK? I know it's hard to see, but everything is together at the moment. Kicking myself for not taking pictures of everything while it was apart....

[c0ncEpT]

Bleed the shit out of the system.

[birdie2000]

He said he got the pre-bled unit, I doubt it needs that.

Seems to me there is a clearance issue with some clutch kits and the fork? Never experienced it myself, but I remember reading about this several times on LS1tech.

[jgardner]

He said he got the pre-bled unit, I doubt it needs that.

Seems to me there is a clearance issue with some clutch kits and the fork? Never experienced it myself, but I remember reading about this several times on LS1tech.

That was going to be my next step was putting the old clutch in. It's a little worn but i know it works. I'll give that a shot and see how it works. Thanks, and if anyone has any other thoughts I'd appreciate those as well!

[1BADAIR]

never mind. forgot those have a t-bolt