throw out bearing

Is anybody using the hydraulic throwout bearings out there???
It seems to be a great way to ease mounting all the hardware for linkage and gets it out of the way for exhaust!
It may also be a good way to seal the bell. to keep out the goo and gunk on the trail???
The only neg. I've heard is they don't like to sit around to long, otherwise they seize up!

Thanks, Dale

 

I'm sure something can be fabricated, but it would be a lot of work, that's for sure.

Might be easier to fabricate a mount and cylinder to actuate the stock clutch fork...

 

I might be using a hydraulic t/o bearing in my build, but as of right now that is TBD. More about it later.

Don

 

You're right they give you a little more room as long as you can route the lines cleanly around components. They're not so bad, but honestly the hardest part of using a hydro throwout bearing is setting up the swinging pedals to actuate the clutch master cylinder. Once you've got that done it's a pretty simple matter to build a small bracket to hold the slave cylinder that actuates the clutch fork.

Failures aren't all that common, but if you've got a slave hooked to a clutch fork and you suffer a hydraulic failure you can always get under there and operate the fork manually. Not so with the hydraulic t.o. bearing.

 

So, if I'm reading this correctly, then I have a question....Would it be possible to just leave the stock linkage alone and add a slave to "assist"?

Probably just pipe dreaming here.....

 

Totally. They make hydraulic slave cylinders that either push or pull, so you could mount it on either side of the stock clutch fork. The clutch fork doesn't care if it's being actuated by a direct mechanical link to the pedal or a slave cylinder. As long as it's got the right stroke, which most slaves do.

Remember, though, when we're talking about early CJs with floor mounted pedals the hardest part is getting the master cylinder for the slave on the firewall and rigging up the hanging pedals. I'm sure you could do an under floor master with a residual pressure valve, but that seems equally difficult when you compare it to how easy the A/A chain linkage is to install (or a homemade copy) and how well they work.

 

While I wouldn't say it's easy to switch over to hydraulic, it's not terribly dificult. First off, you lose the firewall mounted heater, so you need to make provisions for heat. I used 1/8" plate to cover the hole in the firewall and used Advanced Adapters pedals and bracket. I used Wilwood MC and Slave (pullback type). It never binds. Here's a pic of the slave bracket I made. Because it is to the backside of the bellhousing, it alllowed room to run my exhaust inside the framerails. That's a little tougher to make happen with the pusher type slave.

http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=8930&d=1143082017

 

Here is a different approach I think you are talking about by eliminating the fork:

I bought a Quartermaster 720100 "OE and street" series off ebay last year.

I emailed quartermaster and they stated this one would work better with the GM bellhousing than the roundy-round race type.

I wont endorse it until I actually put it in and say "wow, I love this" I plan to use a Wilwood style clutch MC. Now all I need is a SM420 behind it For now its going to be a T90 which prolly wont like 15PSI boost :twisted:

 

AH HA!!! thought this was goin' bad! michigan_pinstripes... that's it, the throw out IS the slave, I saw the howe unit in the summit cat. (and maybe the AFCO cat.??) an' got ta' thinkin that this would be a slick set up, but needed feedback as to it's reliability under offroad conditions! Oh, and I sorta' forgot to say I already am using a juice clutch, sorry and thanks for the lead m_p!! If I can't contact them can I have their email???

Dale

 

YJ's with the AX15 transmission use a hydraulic throwout bearing... so, the concept works off-road... if you believe an AX15 works off-road.

 

true, but also had a pretty high failure rate
pain in behind to yank it all out to change it just because of a leak
I'd be more inclined to go external mount if I were to do it at all
easier to service IMO
my 0.2 worth

 

Yup, that was kinda my point.

The hydraulic TO bearing is a clean install, but harder to work on when something goes amiss, and it has the nasty tendency of getting brake fluid all over the linings of your clutch when something does go wrong.

If you want the hydraulics, I'd suggest copying Posimoto's setup. That looks sharp!

I'm still out as to how I want to do it. I had minimal trouble with the stock cable setup, so I'll probably stick with that.

 

Here is he QM website http://www.quartermasterusa.com and iirc, they have technical drawings showing clearances etc. I chose this because a dirt track racer I know uses these and said he used them in GM powered jeeps. QM cautions that the thickness of the flywheel may be a potential problem "on certain Chevrolet flywheels" (whatever that means). The Dauntless flywheel is a biggun! I'm using a 1960's Buick car flywheel which is thinner (maybe?) and lighter.

 

Thanks for the address, I did look and there may not be an application that works with my set up AND there is that what if syndrome.... it WOULD be a pain if something went wrong. With an external set up, maybe the pull instead of push slave, (my current set up) would get it out of the exhaust pipe space enough! I aslo looked at Howe and AFCO they're all about the same. Back to the drawing board!!!

Thanks for all the opinions, good stuff,

Dale