1985 Hard Shifting all the time

[JOE MCDERMOTT]

1985 Venture has 24,000 miles and started shifting and down shifting very hard..Clutch and linkage appear to be ok..

Changed oil thinking oil breakdown but still hard to shift.

Does seem to shift a little easier when it is cold that when

engine is hot seems to get more difficult shifting.

Would like to to get thoughts on this before I dig into transmission.

Has me baffled ..

[shighley]

Joe; Is your clutch releasing? You say it appears to be OK, but it's worth asking. When it's hot, put it up on the centerstand and start it and put it in gear. Pull in the clutch and see if the wheel slows or stops. Use a little brake with the clutch in and see if the motor drops RPM. A very quick check that costs nothing. I assume the fluid level is up to snuff and the system is properly bled? Just a couple of thoughts. Let us know how is pans out. Ride safe, Steve

[muffinman]

Joe the first thing I would do is to bleed the clutch good to make sure that there is no problem with the slave.

If the problem still exsists I would pull the clutch cover and start looking at the basket,plates,springs ect to see if they are burned,warped,glazed over ect

Keep us updated so we can try to help

Jeff

[Marcarl]

Bleed the clutch first and then if that don't help take the linkage right apart and clean and lubricate it well, all of it, before you go taking the clutch itself apart.

[JOE MCDERMOTT]

It Was Slave Cylinder That Was Bad On 1985 Venture..

Causing Hard Shifting.

Thank You For All Your Input..

Joe In Nj

[RyanHarris]

I was having the same problem with my 1985 Venture Royale just a couple of days ago. My uncle rebuilt the slave and after putting it on and bleeding it everything was back to normal. I'm glad that was all it was since I have never serviced a transmission before.

[jasonm.]

how difficult is it to pull the clutch lever? Mine the clutch hose failed interanlly. Blocking fluid flow a bit. And thusly the slave cylinder did not move as it should. This hose makes a sharp bend at the steering neck. And the hose fails internally at this area.

Edited June 29, 2010 by jasonm.

[Yammer Dan]

Thats another thing. My 86 shifts a lot harder than it should.