Clutch adjustment rod too short?

[sargentrs]

Went to hardware store and bought a pipe nipple, all thread bolt and more nuts and washers. Extended rod by 2". Adjusted all the way out but still no clutch. Back of clutch fork is bottoming out on bell housing but throw out bearing still not engaging pressure plate. Must be clutch fork pivot spring and bracket not positioning right. Tranny's coming out again tomorrow. Oh, JOY!

[ezernut9mm]

i believe you can mess with the clutch fork without removing the transmission.

[sargentrs]

I'm sure gonna try before I pull that thing again!

[fordman]

what type of pressure plate are you using? the fingers or the three armed type?

[sargentrs]

Lever type. 3 arm. I'll start pulling the tranny tomorrow. Church this morning and VBS starts tonight. Gotta watch grandbabies! Besides, I love my truck but I'm tired of lookin' at her belly this week. I'll crawl back under next week.

[sargentrs]

OK. Pulled tranny back out. Put new clutch kit in. Everything went together like clockwork. Before I went to the trouble of putting driveshaft back in, I figure, let's try it out first. Had my son get underneath with a crescent wrench to shift gears while I worked the cab. Shifter in neutral. Crank it. Tailstock turns but no torque. Can hold it by hand. Engage clutch, shift to 1st, release clutch SLOWLY. Tailstock turns, good torque, can't hold it. Run through 2nd, 3rd, reverse. Everything works fine. Bolt down crossmember, install linkage, run through again. Everything good. Install driveshaft. Crank it. Engage clutch, start pulling shifter down in 1st..........SQUEAL/GRIND!!!!!!!!!! Not like gears crashing. Loud squealing grind with lots of vibration. With clutch pedal depressed. Barely pulling down on shifter. All gears same result. Sounds like it's coming from bell housing. It's LOUD! Adjust clutch in and out 1/2 inch. Same sound. Crawl back under, remove driveshaft. Try again, no problems, no noise. Driveshaft in.....SQUEAL/GRIND. Driveshaft out, perfect shift all gears. Sound is like when your alternator bearing is going out and your belts too tight. You know the sound. The one that's embarrassing when you start up but stops in a couple seconds. Only a LOT louder with more grind to it. What's the deal?

[fordman]

how are the u joints?

[sargentrs]

New. Replaced 'em a couple months ago.

[knightfire83]

Is the bracket riveted to the bell housing, that you fixed, on backwards?

How about the clutch disc, is the correct side facing the flywheel?

[sargentrs]

Yep again I mean, yes, bracket is oriented correctly and correct side of clutch disc is toward flywheel.

[sargentrs]

Talked to a couple friends. One says might be a burr on the clutch disc or flywheel. He said "drive it and see if it quits making noise". I don't know about that! Another thinks that the driveshaft is putting/pushing the clutch disc in a bind, or trying to shove the input shaft into the clutch disc. Because the front half of the driveshaft is fixed at the tailstock and the carrier bearing. Maybe.....but the input/output shafts don't have any free play front to back and feel tight up/down/side to side. Another says the TO bearing. Maybe...But why does it not make noise without the drive shaft in? All parts are new and installed correctly, to the best of my knowledge and abilities. Everything was working great till the clutch fork bracket broke. I've checked and double checked and the bracket is oriented correctly, the spring clip is in right and the top of the bracket is restly firmly in the emboss in the clutch fork. As we stabbed the transmission, we worked the TO bearing in and out and checked the clips to make sure they were seated. Did that all the way up until I couldn't get my fingers in there, about 1" from the bell housing. Any ideas/opinions?

[ezernut9mm]

when the clutch fork bracket broke, where did the broken part (s) go?

just another thought, when i bought my new pressure plate, it had a big, and i mean like someone dropped it on the floor at the factory big, gouge at the edge of the plate to clutch disk surface. i didn't notice it until i was about to install it. did you check not just the surfaces, but the edges of the pressure plate and clutch disk, and the throw out bearing?

[fordman]

the flywheel has been surfaced beyond its usable thickness is a guess.

[Alvin in AZ]

the flywheel has been surfaced beyond its usable thickness is a guess.

Cool. :) I've been wondering if that could happen to a flywheel. :)

Here's my fix for that problem since mine's been resurfaced a $Load of times...
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/crayon.jpg
...welded a motorcycle wrist pin to it, had a stainless steel bolt in it while welding it. :)

Alvin in AZ
ps- Sargentrs, you'd have to pay me to read your post as written. LOL :)

[sargentrs]

Sorry Alvin . Let's just say I've had some issues and it looks like the springs on the clutch disc are hitting something but I can't figure out what. So, you've had to extend your adjustment rod too huh? I thought that was unusual? NPD has one on page 125 of their catalog that looks longer than the stock one. Anybody try it?

Fordman, unless the PO had it resurfaced before, I've only had it done the once. It's possible he did though. I've only had it about 5-6 years. What's the thickness limit?

Could the play in the input shaft be causing the clutch disc to float too much? Input shaft bearing? How tough is that to replace?