Clutch fork & linkage question

Well I am trying to wrap up an Buick V6 engine swap and I am having trouble with the clutch linkage. The tranny, bellhousing and clutch assembly was left in place during the swap, so I'm having trouble figuring out what/where things went sideways. Engine starts up and runs in neutral. When I press in the clutch it won't disengage, so I cannot put it in gear.

I have a cable type system from the clutch fork to the pedal pivot arm (the pipe connected between the frame and the tranny; don't know the correct term) and a threaded rod with clevis yolks for the connection from the pedal to the pedal pivot arm. See picture.

I've played around with a adjusting the linkage to a lot of different lengths, but I can't get it to disengage. Maybe the clutch fork is no longer in the right postion?? Should it have this kind of movement when nothing is attached? See video. Thanks.



video (trying to make it larger)


http://vid664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/mpcwillys/Jeep Parts/clutchfork_zpsba00b829.mp4

 

Did the fork maybe get disconnected from the throw-out bearing?

 

It looks like the clutch fork is sliding around on the clutch fork pivot ball. Pull it one way (like towards the driver) then try to move the clutch fork and t.o. bearing back and forth. If that way doesn't work, try towards the passenger side. You should be able to move the clutch fork forward and backward a little bit on the input shaft. Once you get it to a spot where it feels "right", reattach the cable and try pushing in the clutch again. Mine did the same thing after putting in a new clutch set. Good luck.

 

Thanks. Yeah, I'm guessing something is not sitting correctly w/ the clutch fork. I did slide it to what I thought might be the right position, with the fork feeling somewhat snugged up, but after re-attaching the linkage and stepping on the pedal it immediately pops out of place and goes slack.

It's very possible that it got knocked out of place when I put the engine in. I had to wrestle it pretty good to get the engine to slide on. Maybe fresh eyes on it tomorrow will help.

 

The fork is not attached or engaged to the fulcrum ball that's in the Bell-housing............You want to take a look in there with a mirror......if the throw-out bearing is in the correct position on both fingers of the fork you may be able to get the retaining spring that's on the fork to re-engage with the ball.........But, this is normally done before the tranny is installed so not sure if there is enough room to slide it far enough one direction to get the spring on the fork to engage with the ball as the fingers on the spring slip behind the ball and then the fork slips into a socket........ They do take considerable force to slip them in...........it could also be that one or both legs of the spring have broken off and that is why it's flopping in the breeze............In either case it may be that you'll have to pull the Transmission to fix this..........take a look with a mirror.

 

Thanks for that detailed description tarry. I'll try to get a good look in there.

 

O.K., got a look inside and the indent of the fork was not on the pivot ball. The spring slips were around the ball. I was able to pull the fork out and seat it on the ball, but I got same results with the non-disengage of the clutch. I looked inside again and it looked like the fork was in front of the throw out bearing, not engaing it. It's hard to see in there, but that must be what's going on.

I have disassembled everything needed to pull the tranny, but I'm stuck again. I can't get the tranny to separate from the belhousing. The rear of the engine is supported with a bottle jack. The tranny and transfercase are supported on a tranny jack. It's in nuetral. Dispite all my grunting and making sure I'm holding my tongue in the proper postion I can't get more than 1/16" gap between the two. Any suggestions or something I've missed? I have a ratchet strap hooked to the transfercase and the back of the Jeep trying to help me pull it backwards. Thanks.

 

You want to make sure that whatever angle your motor is on the Tranny and transfer case are on the same angle...........shifters are all off? every bolt is out of the tranny to bell housing?..............again both sight planes up/down ....left right have to be square............If the back of the tranny is off a degree or two up/down or left right it will not come out..............best to start that process on a level pad........where it is easy to see the grade.

 

Yeah I hear ya. I can't see where the angle is off. I've been trying different adjustments on both jacks, but I can't find the sweet spot.
Levers are off. Bolts are out. Driveshafts are removed. Really frustrating. Time's up for me in the garage today. I'll try again later.

 

I'm with terry a few degrees will bind it up.and sounds like the fork/bearing problem .....and did you check the bearing in the flywheel?

 

wish I saw this earlier , I would have come over ,,,,,,,you rasied the motor mounts maybe the trans is hitting the floor alittle and not letting it slip?

 

A pair of real long bolts with the same matching thread as the bolts used to tie the tranny to the tc might help you get things lined up properly.

 

No, it's not snagged on floor. I checked that. I have a big enough space around it with the tunnel cover removed that it has room to slide back a little. I will re-assess the angles when I have a chance to get back to it. Maybe try to get everything back to exact install height and start over.

I'm not familiar with the long bolts trick for separating the two, is that just to help visually check the alignment? I'm willing to try about anything. I'm on the edge of throwing in the towel. After just completing an engine replacement, my Jeep patience is running low.

 

Patience Mike...............your almost there, those are nasty sometimes you just have to check that bearing and fork before & during as you stab one of those in.........

Had the throw-out bearing been engaged on the fork I doubt that you could have gotten it located back on the ball anyway , I didn't think there was enough room..........but it's been a while since I crawled one!

A little dap of grease in that socket ball is a good idea as is little anti-seeze on that bearing collar so the bearing slides freely.........

 

Hmm.. I've always had trouble putting the two together rather than pulling them apart? Is the crossmember still bolted to the tranny/tc and to the frame? I took my sm420 out about 5,000 times I think (long story). It would usually help if I got in the Jeep and straddled the transmission and wiggled it back and forth/up and down while pulling back. If yours is a T90/D18 shouldn't be that heavy to pick up and wiggle around. Good luck!

 

It's a Ford T-18 tranny that bolts directly to the bellhousing, 4 bolts. The Dana 20 transfer case is still connected, so all together it's pretty heavy. Not very easy to push and pull. The cross member is off. It's resting on a tranny jack. I'm not giving up yet, just frustrated. I'll report back.

 

A few years back, a friend was doing the clutch on his '96 F350 with the power stroke smoker. He jumped in to start it, no clutch action. He finally looked over and noticed that the throw out bearing was still sitting on the dog house next to his shed. At least you got yours in the bellhousing.

 

The long bolt trick= two bolts about 4" long and cut the heads off. Insert these where you have removed the two upper tranny bolts. They help with alignment both install and removal.

 

I've also had troubles getting with the lineup and the fork to ball springs.

Make sure you read up on the novak web site about clutches and throw out bearings.

I've found it very helpful to hang the trans/tcase by a strap & come a long from above. Just throw a board over the roll cage to hang from. This makes it easy to move the assembly up and down for alignment. Also makes lowering it to the floor less dramatic.

Good Luck

 

I have come to prefer assembling the bell housing/throwout bearing/clutch fork all to the front of the transmission before installing onto the back of the engine. Reason being this puts all the parts for clutch engagement in their proper positioning before the wrestling match starts. Once the clutch throwout arm is clipped onto the bell housing ball, clip on the throwout bearing, then slide the throwout bearing onto the transmission front bearing retainer as you put the bell housing onto the front of the transmission. You will see all these parts are now trapped together in proper relationship and can't be dislodged as you put the transmission/bell housing assembly up to the back of the engine.

I use one of the Harbor Freight transmission jacks that allows tilting of the transmission assembly package to get the angles right as you roll it up the back of the engine. This makes a tough job easy to do by myself and this jack is well worth the money.

Did I mention it helps to be working on a level garage concrete floor?

Don