I must say I'm feeling overwhelmed and frustrated , I have a 79 shorty with the rugOD trans i6.. engine runs very well. PPO rebuilt the head when head gasket was done. Also the clutch was supposedly done 4yrs ago and maybe 20k max miles.

The engine every time fires right up even after sitting 2weeks outside, today it wouldn't start. Almost like the battery was dead, I pulled out the Porto charger and same thing slow spin click click click. I grab the power charger and slap in on there on boost mode and still won't start.. WTH! I grab the stick and move it in and out of gear and this time, I put it in neutral and it fires right up, spinning as it should. now the throw out bearing is a bit noisy and the clutch catches just off the floor, like an 1" off. I did try to adjust it up off the floor and it only moved a little. I know the first clutch rod is worn at the pedal point, I'll weld that up asap, maybe that will give me more pedal..

so what's up ? Is the throw out not working, is the bearing toast seems like maybe the main shaft is spinning with the engine. And if in nuetral it spins faster?????

also the linkage on this post is terrible. I have a Hurst 4spd shifter here I'll have to try not sure i have the correct mount for a truck. I do have a t5 from an s10 here that I wanted to put in but I'm not finding an easy way to do that. My other thought was a 5mod Mazda tranny but again , looking at pedals. Hydro clutch ect.. I'm just spinning around here..

 

Does that OD transmission have a neutral switch? Does the truck also have a clutch switch? I kind of doubt it, but if it does, then check the clutch switch. Still, a neutral switch shouldn't over-ride an open clutch switch, as far as the starter circuit goes... Only with EFI would it do that, and only for the computer's information - not for the starter.

Do you have a good ground from your engine block to the cab? Maybe bumping the shifter made it suddenly complete that ground. Has your starter ever stuck on?

 

No M/T has a NSS .. clutch safety switch introduced in 1984.

 

It's not electrical, the clutch is not disengaging, fix the linkage.

 

Agree with adjusting the clutch.

 

Mustang T5 transmissions got Neutral Switches in 1986, because the EFI computer needs to know, since the EECs are programmed with different strategies for neutral and the drive gears. If this switch is broken or disconnected, you will have to hold down the clutch pedal for the whole time while the computer does the KOEO, CM, and KOER, tests. If the EEC thinks the transmission is not in neutral, it will throw a code 67 (on the older two-digit coded EECs.) I think the T5s from 1985 had a 5th gear switch instead, in order to keep the Upshift Light from illuminating in top gear.

 

I'm familiar with the neutral sensing switch used with some car M/T's, but the OP does not have a car...and FTE is not a car related site.

OP has a 1979 "shorty" (F100 or F150) with the RUG SR-OD Single Rail 4 Speed Overdrive.

There's no NSS associated with this trans or any other truck M/T

 

You need to adjust it the right way. First remove the spring from the fork, then break the jam nuts loose and adjust the rod till you feel free play. Free play is the distance between the throw out bearing and the psi plate fingers. If you adjust it to where you like the pedal, you very well could eliminate all the free play causing the throw out bearing to fail as you mentioned

 

Well I see a lot of where my play comes in and why I'm almost out of adjustment on my rod. In the pics below. I could fixed the rod and the z bar with the oblong hole but what I cannot fix is the pivot position 4 the clutch Rod actuator, that little house looking thing with a hole in it.

number dummy said before I should have an S Rod, trans but I can see I have a Steelcase Toploader with overdrive and side linkage shifter which has a ton of slop in it. This is my second problem. I also noticed I do not have the reverse lights hooked up and there's really no spot for them not sure what I'm going to do there. The plug is just hanging there attached to the speedometer cable.

I guess it comes down to is it worth the trouble of fixing the system or move on to a different tranny for my 300? I'd really like to just fix this and run it. Does anybody make replacement

or is there a way to fix the z bar?

 

3 pics. Upper: RUG SR-OD shift linkage / Center & lower: Clutch linkage

 

I found a few vendors with replacement parts and decided to go that route. I'll keep these parts for future restorers ... now where is that procedure to set the clutch engagement ??

 

Just an fyi, changing out the linkages fixed my issues. And also made the leg work much easier...