'86 V6 4-speed, grinds going into 3rd gear. Usually happens when down shifting from 4th
to 3rd. Just started doing this a few days ago, (acts as if the clutch pedal isn't fully engaged like if you pressed it half way down to the floor and tried to shift gears instead of all the way to the floor) Other gears work fine. Any ideas?

Your clutch pedal may be bent. Try that first.

Your synchro may be toast.

Or cables may need adjustment, start with the cheapest and work your way up. It's sometimes hard to visually tell if the clutch pedal is bent, it doesn't take much of a bend to effect clutch disengagement.
Good luck and just a word of encouragement, I've never "had" to replace a clutch in any of the fieros I've owned, usually ended up flushing the lines and bleeding it to restore good performance.
Most of these cars have 15+ yearold fluid in the lines, flushing the brakes and clutch completely and running new fluid usually is a good place to start.

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quote Originally posted by Xantavar: Your clutch pedal may be bent. Try that first. Your synchro may be toast.

I've heard of the problem with Fiero clutch pedals bending but I don't think that's the problem because it works fine everywhere except downshifting into 3rd gear.
What on earth do you mean by "your synchro may be toast"??

quote Originally posted by wreakhavoc: [QUOTE]Originally posted by Xantavar: Your synchro may be toast.

I've heard of the problem with Fiero clutch pedals bending but I don't think that's the problem because it works fine everywhere except downshifting into 3rd gear.
What on earth do you mean by "your synchro may be toast"?? [/QUOTE]

In a manual transmission, shifting doesn't actually involve moving any gears inside the transmission (except reverse). The couplers are engaged and disengaged depending on where you're shifting. The transmission is designed to be synchronized at all speeds to avoid grinding - think of the synchros as mini-clutches, the constantly drag in order to keep the other parts of the transmission spinning at the appropriate speed. If a 3rd gear synchro is toast, the gear will grind.

Or things could just be out of adjustment

I've played with adjusting cables before and it is easier to explain than to do! There are alighnment holes in the shifter itself, I'd have to pull out the notes to make sure I'm correct but I beleive you put the car in first gear, loosen the bolts holding the cables to the trans selector and shift brackets, put pins in the alignment holes and retighten the bolts without letting them move (the fun part).
Maybe someone else has a more detailed explanation of the procedure or can correct my error in memory. If no one else posts the correct procedure or verifies my fuzzy memory you could try searching the archives or posting a new thread on cable adjustment.

From past experience if the system needs to be bled it usually shows up first in shifting into reverse, may just be a coincedence.
Still doesn't hurt to flush ALL old fluid out and replace it, a lot of times people just put a new cylinder on, refill, and bleed leaving a good bit of the original fluid in the system.

[This message has been edited by DRA (edited 09-07-2003).]

quote Originally posted by Shadow_Wolf: If a 3rd gear synchro is toast, the gear will grind.

This has got to be the most bizarre thing I've ever seen posted here.
Good explanation but "toast"?
Sounds like you should either put butter on it or hold it up and say "Cheers, here's to ya"

Have to agree with those who suggested that you should adjust the shift cable. Shift cable, back there in the engine compartment, atop the transaxle, that rotates the shift shaft - the lever right on top, with the big nut on the cable end. You can get at it from the left hand side, looking down into engine compartmebt.

Suggest you shift into 3rd, go back and look into engine compartment from LH side of car. Loosen nut that attaches cable to lever, rotate lever as far into 3rd gear as possible. Massage any slack out of cable, then retighten the nut. Also check big nut that attaches lever to shift shaft, for tightness. It costs nothing - and worked for me. Hope it helps. Good luck !

[This message has been edited by StuGood (edited 09-07-2003).]

quote Originally posted by wreakhavoc: '86 V6 4-speed, grinds going into 3rd gear. Usually happens when down shifting from 4th to 3rd. Just started doing this a few days ago, (acts as if the clutch pedal isn't fully engaged like if you pressed it half way down to the floor and tried to shift gears instead of all the way to the floor) Other gears work fine. Any ideas?

How's the shifter feel? Nice and tight, or can you wiggle it around a bit? There's some bushings in the shifter that wear out, and when they do the relationship between the select and shift cables gets altered. You can readjust the cables - specifically the select cable - to help things out in the short run, but the best solution is to put in Rodney's shifter rebuild kit.

quote Originally posted by Whuffo: How's the shifter feel? Nice and tight, or can you wiggle it around a bit? There's some bushings in the shifter that wear out, and when they do the relationship between the select and shift cables gets altered. You can readjust the cables - specifically the select cable - to help things out in the short run, but the best solution is to put in Rodney's shifter rebuild kit.

It feels just like it always has. There is no problem other than when downshifting from fourth to third.

quote Originally posted by wreakhavoc: It feels just like it always has. There is no problem other than when downshifting from fourth to third.

What I'm getting at is how much play is there in the shifter? If you put it in 1st, how far can you move the knob front/back, side/side without moving the tranny out of 1st?