: I just finished swapping in a '77 A-833 into my
: '66 Valiant wagon with a '75 225. I used a
: new 10" clutch set (pressure plate,
: disc and throwout bearing), new pilot
: bushing and Dextron fluid. I had the tranny
: inspected before installation and was told
: it was in very good condition with low
: miles. When installing the trans, I had some
: difficulty getting the input shaft to slide
: into the pilot busing. It took about 30
: minutes of pushing and wiggling to get it
: in. When I test drove last night, it shifted
: up threw the gears fine but when I
: downshifted from 3rd to 2nd and from 2nd to
: 1st there was some grinding. What could be
: the problem? Could the pilot bushing be the
: culprit?

: Yes, it could be that pilot bushing.
: Been there, done that....I basically
: "pounded-in" a regular pilot
: bushing into an "unfinished" pilot
: bushing hole, then forced the tranny into a
: bushing which is now somewhat collapsed.
: (smaller ID) this tends to drag the tranny
: along, even when the clutch is fully
: released.
:
: These days, there is a special pilot bushing
: made for the unfinished hole. How easy did
: your pilot bushing go in??
: DD

: Pardon my ignorance, but what is an unfinished
: hole?

: Pardon my ignorance, but what is an unfinished
: hole? When I removed the 3 spd, I had to
: chisel out the old bushing. I used the back
: end of a socket and pounded the new bushing
: in. It went in half-way fairly easily but
: had to be pounded in the rest of the way. I
: had a difficult time inserting the clutch
: alignment tool. It did not slide right in. I
: do not look forward to pulling the trans
: again. Do you think I could use a hone on
: the bushing to increase the I.D.?

: Seeing there was a factory installed bushing
: already there, I would say that the
: "unfinished hole" is not an issue
: here. (mostly found on cranks used with
: automatic trannies)
:
: Why your is so tight...????
: If you put some grease in there, then you my
: want to run it a bit to see if it will
: loosen-up. (engine running, clutch-in,
: tranny in gear)
: Down side... if the pilot bushing gets real
: hot, it can seize onto the front of the
: input shaft, making tranny removal a real
: hassel.
: DD

: I drove the car for two days and did not loosen
: up. I just finished pulling the
: trans...again. I tested the bushing with my
: 3 spd input shaft...it was a little tight
: and there was some binding. I will be
: installing the slimmer Napa bushing (for
: auto trans conversions) this weekend. Hope
: this will fix the problem. Sure as heck
: don't want to pull the trans again. I'll let
: you know how it goes.

: Look carefully at anything which could
: "drag" and keep the trans.
: rotating. The pilot bushing and the clutch
: disc / cover all need to have clearance and
: fully release when applied.
: If it is a 10 inch clutch, make sure the heads
: of the bolts are not rubbing on the edge of
: the disc. Also check the linkage for bending
: or deflection when the peddle is
: "floored". All the motion is
: needed to open the pressure plate, not
: deflect the linkage "sideways".
: One last possibility is the disc itself, if it
: is bent on the hub, it can cause drag. (it
: will also "chatter" when engaged)
: DD