Now that I've driven my 1980 245 (4sp+OD) for more than a year & 10k+ miles, this once-minor problem (pointed out to me by the sellers when I bought it) is getting major:

The car shifts fine some of the time, but all gears become moderately or very difficult to engage and /disengage/ after 30 min. or so of in town driving. Double-clutching, rolling into first, shutting off the engine for a few seconds, etc. helps quite a bit. Therefore, it seems clear to me that, for some reason, the clutch is no longer completely disengaging once things warm up. Idle speed is normal, by the way.

Once this all starts happening, if I then come to a full stop with the transmission in a forward gear, push the clutch pedal to the floor, and shift directly to reverse, the gears grind steadily. If I shut off the engine (clutch depressed the entire time) reverse engages easily, of course. But then if I start the engine again, clutch still disengaged and car still stopped, I get the same thing again -- grrrr.

According to my mechanic's once-over: clutch cable is good, adjustment is correct, thus the problem must be with the synchros. Drive it and keep an eye out for salvaged transmissions... He doubts that anything is wrong with the clutch. It is true that the car rolls freely and cranks easily (in gear, with clutch in) at all times, even when acting up. Transmission fluid has been changed, and the problem persists. The clutch was apparently replaced several years ago, but no records for that...

So, I am just wondering if anyone else has run into this kind of thing. What might cause an intermittent, slight, but significant misalignment within the clutch? No doubt I am slowly wrecking my transmission by driving like this (though as gently as I can), but I don't accept the idea that the trans. itself is the real problem.

One more thing -- my rear trailer arm bushings are definitely bad. Any relationship between excessive rear axle motion and clutch/trans? Seems vaguely possible, but I can't afford to spend $ on bushings right now and still be stuck with the hard shifting.

Potential diagnoses / courses of action much appreciated!

Thanks,
Tim Canan '78,'76,'85,'86 and now . . . '80 245 DL xxx,xxx mi.