It's a 1971 18 spline 4 speed trans. I had it converted to overdrive about 6 years ago and finally got it into my Cuda and on the road last week.

I believe I have the rods and shifter alligned correctly. It shifts fine But it wants to grind most times going into 2nd unless I baby it and double clutch.

Any ideas? Would a thicker fluid help? I currently have Passons fluid in the trans.

Thanks
Tom

Well when you mix parts you might wind up with compatibility problems. Some syncro rings are different , this may be your problem. Look on the Brewer Performance web site to see if you used the correct parts.

My stick knowledge is extremely limited but the synchro not grabbing enough/worn out/cone issue there would be just a guess. Gonna live with it or open it up? Was it completely gone thru back when

Converted to OD means what?

There are no stock 18 spline OD transmissions. Unless you bought one of Passon's OD kits, which should have had new synchros IIRC, sounds like someone stuck used guts in your case, which probably means you need synchros.

Sorry guys. Will give some more info.

It's a dated 1971 case with no vin. I bought it about 10 years ago with a set of liberty gears in it.

I had passon swap in his 4 speed overdrive unit when it first hit the market about 6 to 8 years ago.

I never used the trans because my project got put on hold. So it sat in dry storage for all these years. It's now in the car since my Cuda is done. It's a 426 Dana 4:10 rear clone car.

I will probably call Jamie today but I feel a little funny about calling. I don't want him to feel like I expect a warranty when I haven't used the trans for 6 to 8 years.

Thinking about it, I need to clear up the rod and lever arrangement. I did remember the 3/4 shift lever needed to face down and not up after the conversion. But I remember that lever now has two holes for the rod to enter. I wonder if I should be in the upper hole instead of the lower hole?

This will only change the distance the shift handle has to move to put the transmission in gear, and the front lever is for 3-4 gear (or technically 3rd-OD for the converted trans). If it rakes in second, but shifts smoothly in all other gears and your clutch is adjusted correctly, PULL IT OUT , it's got to come apart to fix it. Just my 2cents.

Look at the hole on the back of the bell housing, and then the flange size of the input bearing retainer to make sure they are the same size. There was two different sizes. My Passon od did the same thing, and we found I had the large hole, and small retainer. But I haven't reinstalled it yet to see if that was it.

The 3/4 lever being positioned down is because of the way they changed things around to achieve the overdrive setup. The OEM overdrive gear set used what was 4th gear for 3rd and 3rd became the 4th gear which was cut to be less than 1:1, so overdrive. I understood this change in loading necessitated the larger input shaft bearing.

I don't believe that would affect the 1/2 shifting. If something was out of position 'up front' because of the lever being incorrect, that should affect your trying to go into 3rd. If it was badly out of position you'd be having problems all the time and even moving the shifter across the H pattern would be difficult, because you'd be fighting the detents in the side cover mechanism.

Jamie will be much smarter about this than I. Hope you get it sorted out.

What kind of clutch do you have?

Thanks for the replies. Yes the bearing retainer is sized with the bell housing. I also made sure tHe run out was adjusted within tolerance when installing the bell. The trans slides right in.

I will give Jamie a call today. He is about two hours from me. I will run it up to him if I need to pull it.

Thanks
Tom

If its just 2nd gear.....

Back in the day when most 4 speeds were ALREADY worn out, second was always the culprit for TOO MANY "powershifts".. Heck, it was what "Hot Rod" magazine said to do............

If it's just second gear Id go after the synchro. Here is my favourite method for checking clutch for disengagement. While idling press clutch pedal down for 5 seconds. This give time for disc to stop spining. Engage reverse. No grind means clutch was fully disengaged.

Another thing to consider. The 833 OD was essentially a 1st, 3rd, direct and OD. So a speed shift from 1 to 2 was actually 1 to 3rd which is a super wide ratio change, hence a big rpm change for the synchro to deal with.

Not applicable to Passon's 18 spline OD kit.

Was the bellhousing dialed in? Have you measured the exact clutch clearance with the pedal fully depressed?

I'm thinking the 1-2 shift is less forgiving than the others so any irregularities like the above will show up more on that shift.

Both have a 2.6 1st. Stock 2nd gear is 1.93. Passon 4 spd OD 2nd is 1.59, which is wider.

Nope, stock A833OD 1st gear was 3.09.

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/transmissions/four-speed-manual.html

Yes, bell housing was dialed in. I Set the clutch engagement until the throw out bearing doesn't spin with the engine but Its very close. Clutch is definitely fully disengaged when pedal is depressed.

Why would the trans go bad from sitting for 6 years without using it? If it has problems the you need to talk to the man that built it. You are not asking for too much here.

Good link Supercuda, its 3.09 to 1.6. Thats even wider than I originally thought.

Yes, but remember this is a conversion, it started out as an 18 spline so not necessarily true that you have lower 1st gear.