I was going to take the trans to a specialty shop for diagnosis but I wanted to run it by the wise folks here first - I've been burned at repair shops before and it's really a last resort thing for me now.
I'll describe what I've noticed and been able to reliably reproduce first, then talk about my suspicions and maybe you can help dial me in.
1. When driving at 35 mph, so the trans has a bit of rpm flowing through it, if shift into neutral, then from neutral slowly shift into first, I feel a force resisting the shift. I can push through it without much difficulty and as I'm pushing through it, the trans will make a mild lower pitched whine
2. As before, when the trans has some rpms glowing through it, if I press the clutch to the floor, there's a very short delay while the trans coasts down then I hear a faint rattle. Not like a broken metal rattle like, a rod bouncing around inside a bore just a bit too large for it.
3. If I'm in gear and coasting to a stop with the clutch fully depressed, as I coast there's a whine/whir from the transmission and if I put it into neutral (while stil coasting) it goes away
All of this is very mild, the resistance to the shift is easy enough to overcome with casual force and the noises are all so quiet that I can only hear them on smooth roads with no traffic around. I still want to get on this before it develops into a bigger problem though.
I bought the truck for $500 from a rural area outside of Charleston as a mechanic's special. No crank, no start, guy wanted it gone asap. I jumped on it and it was pretty bad, it had blown a piston. Still a good deal since it had every feature I wanted. I replaced the engine with a junkyard unit from the mid 90s and I recall having difficulty with getting the pilot bushing/bearing setup properly. Pretty sure it has a roller bearing in it, not a solid bushing like the 89 is supposed to have. So maybe the pilot bushing has gone bad either because I messed up the install or it's just not as compatible as I thought. It could also be that the clutch pack from the mid 90s is slightly different and maybe it's dragging under some conditions.
What do you think?
I'll describe what I've noticed and been able to reliably reproduce first, then talk about my suspicions and maybe you can help dial me in.
1. When driving at 35 mph, so the trans has a bit of rpm flowing through it, if shift into neutral, then from neutral slowly shift into first, I feel a force resisting the shift. I can push through it without much difficulty and as I'm pushing through it, the trans will make a mild lower pitched whine
2. As before, when the trans has some rpms glowing through it, if I press the clutch to the floor, there's a very short delay while the trans coasts down then I hear a faint rattle. Not like a broken metal rattle like, a rod bouncing around inside a bore just a bit too large for it.
3. If I'm in gear and coasting to a stop with the clutch fully depressed, as I coast there's a whine/whir from the transmission and if I put it into neutral (while stil coasting) it goes away
All of this is very mild, the resistance to the shift is easy enough to overcome with casual force and the noises are all so quiet that I can only hear them on smooth roads with no traffic around. I still want to get on this before it develops into a bigger problem though.
I bought the truck for $500 from a rural area outside of Charleston as a mechanic's special. No crank, no start, guy wanted it gone asap. I jumped on it and it was pretty bad, it had blown a piston. Still a good deal since it had every feature I wanted. I replaced the engine with a junkyard unit from the mid 90s and I recall having difficulty with getting the pilot bushing/bearing setup properly. Pretty sure it has a roller bearing in it, not a solid bushing like the 89 is supposed to have. So maybe the pilot bushing has gone bad either because I messed up the install or it's just not as compatible as I thought. It could also be that the clutch pack from the mid 90s is slightly different and maybe it's dragging under some conditions.
What do you think?
