tranny help

[scott85]

my rig has an sm465 in it (its a 1986 with a 305, granny low etc). the transmission has never exactly been "smooth as silk", but i never had one of these trucks in a stick before so im not sure if that's just the way that they are or not. over the weekend i had a 1200 lb load in the bed, and it was damn near impossible to get it into 1st gear. i had to put it in granny low first, then shift like you normally would. the problem didnt seem as bad when the load was out. im planning on changing the fluid this weekend. you guys have any thoughts on what might be going on here? incidentally, and i know this is going to sound stupid, what type of gear oil am i putting in? is it possible the clutch is out of alignment? she grabs pretty low to the floor. i also noticed that in the cold weather i might as well forget about even driving it, the tranny is that hard to shift.

thanks guys

 

[dyeager535]

I've noticed mine doesn't really like first gear when the tranny is cold (so far it's only been 40-50* at coldest) but once it warms up a bit from driving, it takes 1st much better.

My clutch starts to grab at about half pedal. If you have an aftermarket clutch master, it might be adjustable, I had one that the pushrod was threaded near the clutch pedal.

80-90W is what's in mine.

 

[Bent77]

I have 2, one in each truck. Neither cares where the clutch is. If it is below 0 degrees, forget shifting it. I use 80/90, and was told at one point to put STP in it to make it shift better.

Anyone ever try that or something similar?