Hey everyone! I've got a 1982 Courier 2.0 2wd 5speed pickup and it's been passed down through my family and has sat for quite a while so I started tinkering with it in my spare time.

I began with the motor and got it to run after 15 years of sitting around but am having issues with the transmission. When I first got it running a while back i had it in gear and when I let out on the clutch it lunged forward a little and stalled. I have since then towed it a short distance across my yard (in neutral of course), but now it seems like it isn't doing anything while it's in gear.

While its running I can put it in gear (even without the clutch) it doesn't grind jump or anything. Everything feels like it's okay as in going into all the gears. I was wondering if this is possibly clutch related or if it's the trans itself. Or maybe some electronical thing related. I haven't taken anything apart yet in hopes that it's something simple. I was curious if it might be low on fluid and maybe that would cause it not to engage properly?

Any help on this topic would be greatly appreciated!

 

I know I'm not exactly in the right place on these treads, but I figured it's worth a shot. Not a whole lot of information on these trucks anywhere on the web that I have found other than general info.

 

Sounds more like clutch. Do you have a hydraulic or manual clutch? Most hydraulic clutches fail in the engaged mode when they run low on fluid so that does not sound like your problem. You could start by removing the small inspection plate at the forward bottom of the transmission and have someone work the pedal while you look for movement inside.

 

It is the hydraulic clutch. The little resivoir has plenty of fluid in it. I'll get a check on that when I can get a helper. My other question was that where it's been sitting is it possible that it's just seized up? I was reading on other restorations and that talked about how it was seized up and wouldn't allow things to release correctly.

 

I think I would do a rain dance on the clutch pedal. The clutch is disengaged, and likely the fingers have been pushed in by the slave cylinder, but have not come back.
I doubt the transmission internally has failed. A 'lunge' indicates the clutch grabbed, and the transmission parts worked. No engagement after indicates the clutch is disengaged.
Is the clutch pedal easy - too easy - to depress? If the clutch pressure plate fingers have gotten jammed, due to rust or dried up lubricant, or mice/ants/mud daubers, it will not engage the clutch.
You may break it loose eventually by operating the clutch pedal, or quicker and more surely, removing the transmission.
One other possibility is the slave cylinder has jammed due to, again, rust. If the brake fluid in the slave absorbed enough water, it could corrode the bore, and jam the piston, keeping the clutch released. I think fiddling with that would be the easiest. If you can remove the slave cylinder from the bell housing (external mount) you can check that the internal clutch release mechanism is intact and functional, or at least inspect the slave cylinder to be sure the piston is movable, and not stuck.
tom

 

I had a feeling it's all just hung up somewhere kinda like you said. When it lunged I was afraid something may have broke internally because I haven't gotten any response from it since.

The pedal doesn't just drop to the floor, it's not like it should be in my opinion, but I don't know what it was like when it was operating correctly. It does feel stiffer if you continue to pump it.

Thanks so much for the info. I'll give it a shot to look at it and inspect everything as soon as I can and see what it looks like.

I'm not very familiar with the internal parts. I will probably have more questions as I go on this.