88 GT will not go into gear when at a stop (Page 1/3)
Vedder210 AUG 27, 05:16 AM
I went to pull my 88 GT out of the garage and after starting it went to put it in reverse and of course it wouldn't go in on the first try so went to put it into 1st and that wouldn't go in either. Attempted to put it in all the gears and it was like the shifter was hitting a brick wall. I turned the car off to see if it would shift into the gears and it does just fine. I was thinking air in the lines and bled the system (Archie's way plus rear driver side jacked up) but only one little bubble came out. Decided to try and take it for a drive to see how it acted. Started up already in reverse and pulled out of the driveway and go to shift into first and it wont go. I turned the car off shifted it into first and then proceeded to drive. I was able to shift into all the gears just fine while moving. I get back into the garage and after I stopped tried shifting and couldn't get into any gear. Any advice would be greatly appreciated because I'm at a loss on this one.
lou_dias AUG 27, 08:30 AM
It's possible your clutch pedal has bent but it could still be more air in the line.
Vedder210 AUG 27, 08:37 AM
Forgot to mention I did check the pedal and it didn't appear to be bent.
Patrick AUG 27, 03:18 PM

How high above the brake pedal does your clutch pedal sit?
Vedder210 AUG 27, 03:21 PM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:


How high above the brake pedal does your clutch pedal sit?



I would say it's about an inch or so eyeballing it.
Patrick AUG 27, 05:11 PM

quote
Originally posted by Vedder210:

I would say it's about an inch or so eyeballing it.



Well, that would appear then to rule out a bent pedal.

The next thing for you to do is to measure how far the slave is actually moving when the clutch pedal is put to the floor.

My experience is that although an Isuzu requires a full 1-1/16" of slave travel to completely disengage the clutch, a Getrag (which is what you have) will get away with a bit less.

Let us know what you find. If you've got less than an inch of travel, I suspect there is still air in the hydraulics. And if you have a single-seal slave, I suspect that's where the air is getting in.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 08-27-2025).]

Dennis LaGrua AUG 27, 07:46 PM
I'd say Patrick is on the right track in that the clutch is not disengaging. Follow his suggestions. Another item to check is the possibility of a bent clutch fork but air in the clutch hydrauic system in a common cause. Could be a leaky master or clutch slave clutch cylinder. Is the clutch original to the car?

------------------
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[This message has been edited by Dennis LaGrua (edited 08-27-2025).]

Vedder210 AUG 28, 05:20 AM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

Well, that would appear then to rule out a bent pedal.

The next thing for you to do is to measure how far the slave is actually moving when the clutch pedal is put to the floor.

My experience is that although an Isuzu requires a full 1-1/16" of slave travel to completely disengage the clutch, a Getrag (which is what you have) will get away with a bit less.

Let us know what you find. If you've got less than an inch of travel, I suspect there is still air in the hydraulics. And if you have a single-seal slave, I suspect that's where the air is getting in.




I will have to wait until the weekend to measure it when I have an assistant available, aka my daughter. I have a Rodney slave that I installed about 2 months ago. I'm going to try bleeding again tonight and see if that helps.

Vedder210 AUG 28, 05:25 AM

quote
Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua:

I'd say Patrick is on the right track in that the clutch is not disengaging. Follow his suggestions. Another item to check is the possibility of a bent clutch fork but air in the clutch hydrauic system in a common cause. Could be a leaky master or clutch slave clutch cylinder. Is the clutch original to the car?



I'm hoping you guys are right that it's air in the system, really don't want to have to drop the engine to check at this time. I think it's the original clutch, but not 100% sure. I don't remember seeing any records of a clutch change in the records of the previous owners, but will double check.

TakeTwo AUG 28, 06:45 AM
I'd suspect the master and or slave cylinder and when one goes, given the age and likely both original, be a good idea to replace both.

I replaced both on my 87' GT I sold a few yrs ago and it fixed my intermittent issue with not wanting to go into gear.

If after that the car still has issues likely the pilot bearing/bushing is seized up.