A230 Linkage Up or Down?
AJ, sorry for blowing up the thread. I tried to PM you, but your inbox is full.
Last night I was doing some work and realized that my transmission doesn't really downshift to any gear. Downshifting to first I have to be at pretty much a complete stop. To downshift to second the RPM has to be way down or I have to force it in (with A LOT of force). Once again, grinding is SUPER rare and only happens when I try to jam it into second. Does this mean that both syncros or bad or could it mean something else?
Thanks
Hey dude
it means it's not synchronizing lol
And you are not helping it by allowing the rpm to fall too low.
Think about it; when you are upshifting, the rpm has to come down until the rpms are pretty close, then the brass gets to work.
Well when downshifting, it's the opposite; the rpm has to be increased to be near the synchronization point, then the brass gets to work.
But more than likely you have other issues;
Insufficient clutch departure, or wrong oil.
If the flywheel is tickling the clutch disc, this is big trouble; the brass is not strong enough to deal with that.Also,the disc has to slide freely on the input shaft, so it can self-center.Also the clutch fingers all have to release simultaneously. Also the pilot bushing must not be dragging the input gear around with the crank.
Maybe it helps to picture what is going on during a downshift.
The output shaft is connected to and spinning with the driveshaft.
Any time the car is moving, both synchronizer assemblies are spinning with it.
The input gear is driven by the disc and ergo the crank, anytime the clutch pedal is not depressed. And so is every single gear in the box.
When you step on the pedal,and begin to move the stick, the brass is supposed to slow-down or speed-up whatever gear you have chosen to driveshaft speed. In so doing it has to also change the speeds of every other gear in the box and
the disc! That by itself is a pretty big request. But if the disc, for whatever reason, resists this action, the brass may fail in it's duty.
Next is the oil
The way the brass does it's job is by friction-braking the selected gear, to match it's speed. To do that, it needs to squeeze out any oil that has splashed up there. It cannot begin to do it's job until the oil is out. And the oil better not be too slippery or too clingy, cuz this slows down the operation. If it takes too long,AND if there is the spinning-disc problem,then the shift rpm window falls to impossible.
But
the oil better not be too thick, or too thin,or the level too high,either; cuz then the cluster either slows down too fast or too slow, and the brass cannot deal with that either.
So, back up the bus, and start from the beginning, with the correct grade,type, and quantity of oil. Then set your departure to .060 to .080. And try it again.
In your case I would suggest closer to .080 cuz of the possible dragging-disc issue. Do not use the freeplay method, this time. AFTER you have a successfully working departure, make note of your freeplay, and from then on you can use the freeplay method.
And here's a wildcard;
if the trans is not original to the engine, did you check/adjust the driveline centerline between them? If the trans is not in a reasonable alignment, it will cause this exact problem.
Happy HotRodding
