nv3500 wont go in gear at idle

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5SPD350

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Nov 8, 2013
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Elkland, PA
I have a 1992 Chevy C1500. It has a carbed 350 vortec with an LT4 hotcam, an NV3500 out of a 97 C1500 with a Core shifters Hurst short throw and a 1990 454SS rear.

I've gotten past the "break-in" period and finally made some WOT full power pulls. before, I was only shifting at 5,000 rpm.

However I have a problem now. It started after romping on it for a bit, then just crusing I had to come to a redlight. I put the truck in neutral, and when it turned green and I went to take off it would not go into any gear. Not thinking and not wanting to hold up traffic, I jammed it into first. Thinking back, I should have just shut it off, put it in gear, then started it back up.

The truck drove fine all the way back to my house, but when I came to a stop it did not want to come out of 1st gear. I got it out eventually.

The truck still will not go into gear if you fire it up in neutral and after it idles down, try to put it into gear. If you start it in reverse, or 1st no problem.

So if you start in 1st, and never go into neutral, it will go down the road no problem. No grinding, nothing.

The slave has been gravity bleed, and manually bled. Still no change.

I can see the fingers on the pressure plate moving in and out while someone else operates the clutch.

If you come to a stop, leave it in 1st with the clutch depressed, then put in in neutral without ever lifting off the clutch, it will go back into first. But if you come to a stop, put it into neutral, let off the clutch, it will not go into any gear and you have to shut it off and start it back up in gear.

Any idea as to what could be going on? I've heard of the OEM clutch (which I just installed with a new slave, and flywheel) can hold up to near 500ft lb trq dyno verified. I believe by someone with a turbo joe gibbs truck I was reading.

I hate to spend near $500 on a Centerforce dual friction if my problem isn't the clutch itself and it turns out to be the new throwout bearing/slave (which centerforce makes one that's $100.00 just for the throwout)

What kinds of things should I be looking at, trying, testing etc.?

It's not my daily, so i guess I could just drop the trans and inspect everything and figure it out from there but I don't get many days off where I work it's 7 day rotating shifts.

Just to clarify, it's around a ~60k mile used transmission with no signs of leaks anywhere, no play in the input or output when I inspected it, with a Hurst short throw, new hydraulic line, new slave cylinder/throwout, new flywheel, new oem clutch replacement, Pennzoil synchromesh fluid, and a new pilot bearing
 
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Were the input shaft splines properly greased? Sounds like the disc could be sticking and causing drag.
 
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