Richmond ROD shifting woes (from old site)

[derekf]

Swiftshifter68
Unregistered User
(8/12/04 11:55 am)
Reply Richmond ROD shifting woes???
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Hello everyone, I'm new to this site and so far very impressed. Very good info' and ideas, so I'm counting on gettin' lots of input on this one.
My problem is my transmission, one of Richmond's ROD 6spd units, has been giving me trouble from day one. When it was freshly installed, I couldn't shift 1-2 nearly as quickly as when I had my Hurst-shifted Muncie. At the 1-2 gear change, it would go into gear but there was an audible CRUNCH to go along with it. I set the shifter/rods up on a bench and went through all the gears and made sure it was up to snuff before the install. After experiencing this shifting problem, I called Richmond and was told that after time, the trans' would "break-in" a little more and become easier to shift. I was also told that the 1st and 2nd gear masses were physically bigger and would have more trouble engaging than the rest. That was pretty much all the info' I could glean from the Richmond guys. The trans' came with a beautiful Long Engineering shifter with billet this and spherical that, but I've since sheared off 2/4 of the little machine screws that hold the shift lever to the body (oops) Also I think the shift lever is supposed to be spring-loaded towards the neutral gate and it has never been that way.
A week ago I took my car to the track up in Redding to try it out and was a shift-missin' goofball, thanks to the shifter/trans'. I launched hard in 1st gear and then needed to shift to 2nd, but was only greeted with a CRUNCH, followed by the trans' not being in gear. The shifter physically moves into the correct position (2nd), as if it's gone into gear, but there was no engagement. If I Super-Granny shift the box, it goes into gear. Around town, it's not an issue when I'm just going somewhere or cruising. Just when I'm on it (figures! :( )
I have read a post, I think on this site, that mentioned sending Richmonds to S-K Speed for a synchro'/slider mod' that they offer. I think it was around $350 for the fix. I can't see spending the coin for a new trans', as this one's fine other than the 1-2 shift prob'. Any ideas?? I saw the video clip of Andrew's '70 at the strip and thought his trans' shifted fairly quickly. Hope you guys can help!! Thanks

68RallySport
Registered User
Posts: 26
(8/12/04 1:11 pm)
Reply sorry
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sorry to hi-jack ur thread because i know nothing, and cannot contribute. however i was wondering where u saw the video of andrew at the strip, i would be interested in seeing that,
David
(Goodluck, I hope my t-56 doesnt shift like that...)

68sixspeed
Registered User
Posts: 249
(8/12/04 2:47 pm)
Reply
Re: sorry
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Did your shifter come with spacers and lock nuts at the threaded ends of the shift rods by the shifter? Mine was an early one without them and shifted like crap-- I made some up and once set right so the rods are free etc it shifts pretty good. It does get better with driving- I have about 8000 miles on mine. I've also found that at the track, once in the staging lights I shift it down through the gears 3-2-1-2-1, and it seems to help the rod/linkage alignment on the shifter.

I've read on another post of some good results using red line 75W90NS instead of MTL to help the synchros shed rpm better, I'm going to try this myself in the next week.

Are you 100% sure that your clutch is fully released? (feeler gauge check)

I'm also curious on the $350 modification-- anyone else have feedback that has tried it?

-Dan

andrewb70
Registered User
Posts: 2577
(8/13/04 2:21 pm)
Reply
Re: sorry
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First off, here is the video clip of me at the strip. Those are actually rather slow shifts. During the RSE competition I was doing much better.

www.lateral-g.net/movies/andrew001.wmv

It sounds like you have an issue with you clutch not releasing fully. That would certainly explain all the simptoms that you are having.

Andrew
Project GatTagO



Swiftshifter68
Registered User
Posts: 1
(8/16/04 2:30 pm)
Reply Richmond shifting woes.....
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Hello again and thanks for the responses so far. My trans' has been in my possession since '99/'00, so it may very well be an early unit. I can tell you for sure that it only came with the trans',shifter/rods, the little harness for reverse light hookup and that's it. I got the owner's manual with the color pic' of the fully assembled trans' too. There were definitely no spacers of any kind included. I would be curious as to what your spacers look like, maybe I can call up Richmond and get them to send me some.
My car uses a standard Chevy Z-bar with the Speed Direct spherical clutch adjustment linkage. We adjusted the airgap to 0.035" (Street/Strip -per Hays' chart) with the pedal about 4in off the floorboard. Also, we took the 3-4 rod OUT to give it a little bend, as the 1-2 rod's heim end was physically rubbing into this rod at the gearchange. This helped with the rubbing clearance, but upon a testdrive, no difference was noticed. On a positive note, the rods seem to have the clearance they are supposed to now.
Just two nights ago, I was getting on the freeway and got on the throttle hard to find out if any headway had been made with the shifter. Upon the 1-2 shift, it seemed like things KINDA worked, but I can tell I need to get used to where the clutch engages now, versus where it used to engage. Before, the pedal was about 1-2 inches OFF the floor and it would already be starting to drag the car forward at a light. Now the pedal actuates at about the same height as my buddy's '00 F-body.
Any other ideas? Still curious about those spacers, I'll call Richmond today. --==Temio


68sixspeed
Registered User
Posts: 250
(8/17/04 6:42 pm)
Reply
Re: Richmond shifting woes.....
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If you can wait, I'm sure I will have my car up on stands to try the tranny fluid swap later in the week-- I can take some pictures of the spacer install then. I think if you go to g-force's website (they make the "long" shifter), the new diagrams for the 6 speed shifter show the bushings and lock nuts.

Also, is there any chance that you linkage could be hitting the tranny tunnel as your motor torques? Just a thought.

-Dan

68sixspeed
Registered User
Posts: 251
(8/23/04 7:08 pm)
Reply update
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Ok, the change to 75W90NS red line oil was very worth while. If this thread can be moved to the new site, I'll attach a picture for you of the spacer setup on the shift rods discussed earler. -Dan

[68sixspeed]

Wow, I still can't get the picture to post-- If you still want more info on the shifter rod spacers and locknuts, just email me... I can't get the post link to work. -Dan ([email protected])

[ZZ430]

I also have an ROD trans, it shifts great using the Red Line NS.

1st to 2nd is as fast as my arm will move.

This is the second ROD that I've had in it, the first one had a problem.....it would jump out of 6th.....and it did right out of the crate.

I had heard some the first ones had that problem, but mine was built only 1 month before.

Richmond was very easy to work with, and after the usual double checks, they sent me a new one.
I returned mine and later they called me back after they tore it down, and admitted a gear problem.

[Eat'em]

I had the same problem w/m Richmond 6-speed, and it was all the shifter. If you pulled the shifter into 2nd real hard(I am real hard on parts)the handle would appear as if it is all the way into 2nd but the trans was actually still in 1st gear. This actually almost caused me to hit the wall at the dragstrip. I went to pull 2nd at 7200 rpm (at about 45 mph), hit the clutch pulled the lever fully into 2nd (but the trans was actually still in 1st) let out the clutch, hit the gas and the motor shot to 8000 rpm bouncing off the rev limiter (trans still in 1st) not knowing why the car fell flat on its face I pushed in the clutch and clicked the shifter into neutral let the revs come down to an idle and let the clutch back in (I thought I was in neutral, but the trans was still in 1st) the rear wheels locked up and the car spun side to side and I almost lost it. So I hit the clutch again and I regained control. This was all because the Long Shifter has a spring loded ball and socket assembly(similar to an internal rail mechanism) that is not designed well. The ball can jump out of the socket, leaving the trans in the last gear.... To cure this problem I made a spacer just big enough inserted above the ball shaft so the ball can not come out it socket ever....I feel this was a design flaw on Longs part.. I installed a small piece of tubing as a spacer and now it shifts flawless every time since then. Hope this isnt too confusing...........

[Matt@RFR]

Hello Ralphs' uncle.


We now continue with our regularly scheduled thread.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

I should have never told you he was my Uncle. Anywho, I can attest to the fact that Eat'em's car shifts perfectly and it's fast as all hell.