77 Bus can't get in gear

[tvargs]

Driving around Portland, OR to get some lunch, I hear/feel a small pop on the clutch pedal and now I can't get the bus into any gear while it's running. Yesterday I heard for the first time a high-pitched squeel when letting the clutch pedal up - mostly into first but also 2nd and 3rd. Squeel was very brief, and went away when the engine was warm - I had orginally thought that the alternator belt was loose and needed tightening. Now I'm reading in Muir that it could be "the flywheel gland nut is shot."

Pushed it over into a 90 minute parking spot on Oak btw 2nd and 3rd. Had the wife pump the clutch pedal while I was under the bus to see if the cable was broken - everything appears fine on that front. I can get the bus in gear when the engine's off, but we are a long way from home (San Francisco) and this doesnt feel like the right time to practice clutch-free driving.

Am I in dire need of having the engine removed? Is there a quick fix that I might be missing?

[RSorak 71Westy]

If it's not the cable, the problem is inside the bellhousing and requires engine removal to repair.

[tvargs]

Thanks, Rick.

[Amskeptic]

I hear/feel a small pop on the clutch pedal and now I can't get the bus into any gear while it's running. Yesterday I heard for the first time a high-pitched squeel when letting the clutch pedal up - mostly into first but also 2nd and 3rd.
Now I'm reading in Muir that it could be "the flywheel gland nut is shot."

I was under the bus to see if the cable was broken - everything appears fine on that front.

A) appearance is only half the story, an unravelled clutch cable strand makes a "pop" and ruins your freeplay as the cable stretches.
CHECK FREEPLAY at pedal - no more than one inch.

B) if freeplay is good, and you have a decent travel at the operating lever on the side of the transaxle, then next guess is operating fork snapped. Engine removal necessary, and a new cross shaft/fork assembly is required.
Unlikely, pop was pressure plate failure.

C) if no "pop" was heard, and you had squealing and you had difficult shifting only when engine was running, I would say that the pilot bearing has gone dry, you *can* save it with a thorough greasing into the needles and into the pocket of the crankshaft (Type 4) or gland nut (Type 1).

Please do not try to drive without a correctly operating clutch, you do not want to damage your far more expensive transmission.
Colin