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Sun Aug 01, 2004 10:55 am

Hello! I've been having alot of trouble with this here 54 Bug with the stock transmission. I finally got it running and when I went to put it into first gear it just grinds. The clutch feels like it's engaging but when I go to put in gear I just get CRUNCH as if I hadnt put the clutch in at all. If the car is not running I can change gears fine just sitting in there running through the gears. Is there an adjustment I'm missing? I dont have the service manual for this car, it's on the way though. I just want to drive the rotten thing! Any ideas? :?:

Sun Aug 01, 2004 12:06 pm

I'm not sure if a 54 tranny has syncros in it , but try this and see if it works. With the engine running and tranny in neutral try shifting into 2nd gear first and then push the shifter into 1st and see if it goes. If it goes into 1st ok then the syncros are shot and the tranny needs servicing or you can use the 2nd then 1st trick for a while. Even when in neutral the friction on the shafts causes the gear cluster in the tranny to rotate, as you shift into gear the syncros allow you to shift into gear without grinding. When 1st gear syncros are shot and you shift to 2nd gear the 2nd gear syncro allows you to shift smoothly and it stops the rotation inside the tranny which allows you to shift to 1st without grinding. Hope this makes sense.

Sun Aug 01, 2004 12:12 pm

Hello, it makes sense, yes but this transmission is the style with no synchros on the first gear. So I dont think it would work. Thankyou for the reply though!

Sun Aug 01, 2004 12:47 pm

It sounds like your clutch is dragging when the pedal is all the way in. Too much freeplay will be the cause of this.
Shifting from 2nd to 1st will help even in a splitcase trans, but the dragging clutch will cause permanent damage.

Mon Aug 02, 2004 2:52 pm

Alen, split case tranny's are nicknamed crash-box for reason. The only way to get to first is have the car at a complete stand-still ( no tire rotation ) ,otherwise get accustomed to jamming first into place. :(

Fri Aug 13, 2004 3:22 pm

Alan, is this the first split case you've driven? the first (few) times i drove a splitcase (in a bus) i had the same problem. shifted fine when the engine wasn't running, couldn't get first easily, if at all when it was. i was accustomed to driving a full synchro trans, where first was easily found. i grabbed the shifter like i would normally, hand around the shift knob, trying real hard to get it to go into first (on the splitcase tranny). all i got was loud, grindy, clunky noises, sounded like i needed a clutch adjustment. it would go into gear sometimes, but only after making a very long, loud opposition to wanting to go into gear.
then someone told me the secret: gently push the shifter into first. worked like a charm. i now only use 2 fingers to lightly push it into first gear, and it rarely makes any noise at all, maybe 1 in 100 shifts.
another thing to check is to make sure your idle speed is only about 850-900 rpms. and yes, check the clutch adjustment.
also, i found that when idling, and even after i come to a full stop (very important), i need to wait about a second or two before trying to shift into first after depressing the clutch. this allows the mainshaft to stop spinning or come down to a synchronizeable speed with the gear.
jamming it into gear solves nothing, and will only make the teeth on the mainshaft and 1st gear worse than they probably are already, and make shifting harder, and make it pop out of gear in the end.
i guess there is also the chance your gears are super wasted and it needs a rebuild anyway.