Two new problems
 

Stock '85 GS DD.

First and foremost, my transmission is more than likely fubar, but I wanted to know why it might be. Let me explain.

Occasionally, when I'm coming up to a light and pull it out of gear, it won't shift into first. I have to stick it in reverse and move a little. I also hear gear grinding noises when rolling in first.

It'll stick half way between the full engagement position of second gear and neutral and make this weird noise and make the shifter shake really hard. It sounds like it's jumping in and out of gear really quickly. If I pull a little bit harder, it'll engage and drive fine.

Moving on, there is something going on with my A/C. Whenever I turn the A/C on, the car runs like poop. When idling, it'll jump up to 1000 RPM and drop to idle (700rpm) every few seconds. When I get rolling, it loses just about all of it's power after 3000rpm. Sometimes when I take off from a dead stop it'll just die.

1) Transmission - before you give up on it - does it start okay in 3rd gear?
What is the chance you have clutch issues and the clutch is not fully disengaged when you try to start? Slave/master cylinder bad? Otherwise, sounds like you need a replacement tranny.

2) AC - Some cycling is expected as the compressor is engaged/disengaged, there is a device to offset the idle to try and keep it correct when the AC load is on - these can be adjusted. Does the AC work at 2000RPM? You might want to stick some gauges on and see what is going on with the low/high side pressure. That will quickly help you isolate the nature of the problem. It may be compressor, blockage in the system, expansion valve, etc.

Good Luck
Scott

Scott

Ok, those problems seem to be intermittent. I just went on a cruise and the car didn't have either one of the problems listed. The only thing that is a constant is the gears making a whirring noise. The weird thing about the A/C is, I never hear it cycle on and off (the clutch ticking).

Scott, I tried to start the car and start rolling in 3rd. Both tests passed. A/C blew like Alaska at all RPMs and not one time did it die or lose power.

If it starts acting up again, I'll revive the thread.

Thanks once again.

gear lube
 

When is the last time the transmission gear lube was changed?
Try a high quality gear lube. 75W-90 Castrol Syntorque Synthetic (gear lube, not "Syntec" engine oil), BG Synchroshift, RedLine MT-90 GL-4 75-90, Amsoil Series 2000 75W-90. Listed in order of my preference based on performance and cost. If you are tight on cash you might try GM Transmission oil (PN 12346191).