There shouldn't be that much free travel at the top of the clutch pedal movement. 3/4" to 1" is plenty to keep the bearing from spinning constantly and wearing itself out. Drop the dust cover off the bottom of the flywheel and watch the clutch disc when a helper depresses the pedal with the engine running. The disc should stop, not continue to spin, even with the trans in neutral. What kind of lube are you using? Some of the super slippery synthetic lubes will keep the synchronizers from working properly, but that would probably cause problems in all the synchronized gears, not just a 2-3 shift.
Jerry

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