Transmission oil pump

Thanks Josh that makes perfect sense. I was focusing on driving the pump, not saving the bearings by not rotating the shaft!

The pump is driven by the output shaft, and turns only when the car is running. The upper (input) shaft is the one on which the gear bushings turn, and it is they that need pressure lube. Holding the clutch pedal down stops the upper shaft from turning.

Incidentally, once the car has been rolling (not just engine running) for a bit, the bushings are not as fragile as they are made out to be. Letting the car idle for a minute at a time certainly won't hurt it. Most of us have developed the habit of depressing the clutch pedal at stoplights, just to be safe. Essentially, we're trading wear on the clutch throwout bearing and pilot bearing --- which turn only when the clutch pedal is depessed ---for wear on the transmission bushings.

Don't forget that the prototype Cord went nearly round-trip --- from Auburn to LA and back --- before the tranny seized. And it had no pump at all!

Still, much better safe than sorry.

In reviewing some of the older posts here, I came upon one that recommended that the car never be left running in neutral with the clutch out as the tranny oil pump wouldn't be running and tranny lubrication would suffer. It goes so far as to suggest that a stick be made to hold the clutch down at stoplights if you can't do it yourself.

It seems to me, not having been inside the tranny of my Cord yet, that the opposite would be true. Holding the clutch down would result in no movement of the input shaft hence no lube pump operation. Letting the clutch out in neutral would be preferred.

Which is correct?