gears grind

[cosmo]

hi, i am a new owner of a studebaker 63 lark 170 ohv. ibought this car about 5 months ago and feeel in love with it. now i'm on a mission to fix it as best as i can and maybe improve on somethings. my first problem are my gears. the car is three ona tree and drives fine, but if i immedetly put the car into first gear without putting it into second before i do the gears grind. same problem when i come to a complete stop and try to go into fisrt gear right away. my solution is alway put the car into second gear first then into first gear. is there any other solution.

[Roscomacaw]

Cosmo, have you checked clutch adjustment? How far down does your clucth pedal have to travel before the clutch lets go?[?]

Miscreant at large.

[Transtar60]

Cosmo the first gear is not synchronized like 2nd and 3rd gears. Also reverse is non-syncro. But like Studebob says it sounds like your clutch is not disengagine all the way every time. Check the adjustments.

[N8N]

I agree with both of the other comments... transtar60 is right, it is not synchro, so the trick is to not shift out of whatever gear you're in until you're completely stopped (you can push the clutch in, but don't move the lever until the car is at a standstill.) This will stop all the whirly bits inside the tranny and allow you to shift into 1st or reverse without grinding. Let's say you're in second, coming up to a light. If you shift to neutral while you're still moving, then let out the clutch, when you stop the output shaft will have stopped but some of the gears still may be rotating at almost the same speed they were when you shifted to neutral. Hope that made sense. (this drill used to be SOP but it's been so long since vehicles had unsynchro first gears that many drivers have never had to learn that routine.)

That said, if you try the above advice and it still grinds, absolutely check your clutch adjustment. A dragging clutch will cause this problem no matter what you do, and the unsynchro first and reverse makes it even more obvious.

nate

[49stude63]

If the clutch does not appear to be dragging then you can try to prevent the grind by "double clutching", basically your push the clutch in then bring it up to where you would try to put it in gear, then let the clutch out then push back in and put it in gear. Up to I think the early/mid 60's Brand X's also did not put a synchro on the 1st grear. Have learned on a 65 Ford Falcon Futura 289 with 3 on the tree, I did a lot of double clutching as not to look like and idiot around my friends.