Ok I drive an 83 6.9 with the 4 speed manual trans. I think its a borg warner T19?? Ok anyways shifted from third to fourth the other day and rpms shot up and speed decreased. I pushed in the clutch and let it out again and it caught but i noticed a smell, sumthin like burning rubber. Ive had the same issue in my 01 saturn but that only happened once and it didnt happen again. Now every time i shift to fourth i have to shift, let off clutch, push clutch again, and let off again. it is getting annoying, and id like to find the problem. Is it clutch? bearing? or is the 4th gear torn up.

 

Sounds like the clutch to me.

 

There may be more then meets the eye and maybe not. You could have easily lost a sychronizer and the double clutching is helping you get it in gear. Could also be that the clutch isn't releasing all the way which can make it hard to get into gear and with fourth gear being the trouble, a worn sych. can show up. A clutch master cyl can cause a clutch not to release properly. Check the firewall. These years were bad about the firewall busting out. They will flex bad anyway. Mine busted out and I took some 11 gauge flat steel and made a support that goes inside the cab. The master mounting nuts catch the steel on the inside. It is basicly a big washer. After I did this I have never seen another truck that had a clutch feel like this truck does now when you push down on the pedal. It feels alot more like manual clutch release. One other thing. Pop your slave cyl off of the trans. Even if it doesn't have the retaining tabs for the piston, it shouldn't come out. If it does it's bad anyway. You can push the slave cyl. rod against the fork and pop it back on the trans. Will not hurt anything. I have done this many times to lube the pivot ball. The ball that the fork pivets in the flywheel housing need to be lubed every now and then. You can pop the fork off and back on with the trans in the truck. They can bind up and give you pedal problems. It should be a T-19. You can see the "T-19" on the shift bar housing behind the stick. It wouldn't be an 18. They had an unsychronized first gear. My 83 had a 19. Hope this helps.

 

Sounds like a clutch to me also.
That smell was the clutch disc, more like hot brakes but still different.

 

yahh thats the smell dave! How hard is it to replace one?? i got a tranny jack and all that stuff so droppin it wont be an issue its jus the internal stuff that scares me.

 

i changed on in a an 87 bronco ll i dont know if the larger vehicles are different but the hardest part was gettin the tranny and transfer case out

 

It is easy. If you haven't ever had one of these, don't sweat it. When you unscrew the cap that holds the stick in the trans, PAY attention for the pin that holds the stick straight. It will be on the left side at the top. Slide it out an put it somewhere. The trans mount bolts up in pieces. Tilt the motor back just enough to clear the firewall when you pull the trans back. You can support the motor with a block of wood and a bottle jack. There are 6 bolts on the trans. Pull the flywheel housing with the trans. You don't have to remove the starter. MAKE SURE that the flywheel housing and the motor mating surface is clean. Sand it down, what ever. Remember, If there is some rust or dirt there it will not allow the trans and motor to be bolted up in line. A few thousandths of an inch can hurt the life of a clutch. Don't forget the lube up the pivot ball on for the bearing fork. Put some grease on the two spots that push on the bearing. You don't have to remove the line on the clutch slave cyl if it has one. Not all 80's trucks had hydraulic clutches. If the rod retaining straps or still there hook them up, if not it is still ok. Pop the cylinder Off it will extend out but it will be fine. Don't get happy with grease on the input shaft housing, part where the throwout bearing rides. It will collect dirt and can gum up over time. Don't forget to put the trans in gear before you remove the stick. It will help you line it up when you put it back together. Take a screwdriver and pop it back into the neutral gate before you put the stick back in. Have the flywheel surfaced no matter what it looks like.Hope this helps