engine hot, clutch hangs

[stealth50]

hope someone can help. i am at a loss.

just got a '86 5.0 convertible, 5 speed manual, 15,000 mile engine, no A/C, headers, H-pipe, small dual cats just off the bellhousing & higher than the floorboards (almost by wheelwells), small dual mufflers under the back seat.

on the street, she ran too hot, clutch worked fine at 1st and after a few stop & go, the gears got harder and harder until it would not shift out

on the Fwy, PERFECT ........ PERFECT. all speeds, from 0 to 100mph, PERFECT.

so ...... put a 180F thermostat, new 3 core radiator, NO CHANGE

adjusted the clutch to the max, .... NO CHANGE

one thing i have paid lots of attention to:
the clutch works fine until i see the temp rising on the gauge and then the gears get hard quickly, and i end up stuck in 2nd gear all the way home. the getting too hot and the gears getting harder to shift happen at the same time.

i am positive that the clutch wont release once engine gets too hot.

let her cool down for 15 min, and all is back to normal.

please provide any ideas.

thanks so much for any help

 

[ECU5.0]

first thing to do is to check the clutch cable routing and make sure that it is not too close to the headers. second, make sure that there is enough fluid in the tranny (you should be able to feel fluid with your finger just under the fill hole. if both of those come up with nothing irregular than it is your tranny. i was having trouble with my tranny shifting out of gear and into gear when i was stopped, but on the highway or when i was shifting normally it would shift fine.

 

[mooktank]

yeah it coulod be the tranny heating up thats the problem. Change the fluid with a quality synthetic.