I knew when I got my 52 Truck back from its paint job that something mechanical would go wrong! To my untrained eye, my clutch is not engaging -- not always but often, when I push in the cutch it is not disengaging the transmission. Where will this take me? Troubleshooting suggestions? Hoping this is something that could be within my limited skill set.... Any thoughts much appreciated!!! Eric
Eric, how much free play do you have in your clutch pedal when you start to depress it. Off the top of my head, I think it needs to be 3/4-1". Check that first, and then adjust if necessary. Next, check your rear motor mounts to make sure that they are still mechanically sound. Many a clutch problem is a direct result of a bad motor mount.
Interesting.... I was told some time back that my rear motor mounts were not very good. How might that affect the clutch. And, dumb question, how do you actually get at those motor mounts to replace them? But if anyone else has any thoughts on clutch problems, love to hear them. I will check the play in the clutch pedal, but I am suspecting that is fine. Thanks, and I would love to hear more. Eric
Eric, a motor mount is nothing more than a piece of steel sandwiched between 2 pieces of rubber. If it becomes separated from the metal, it has a tendency to flex more than it should. Imagine your motor, transmission and rear end being in a perfectly straight line (as it should be). If one thing causes it to get out of alignment, it will cause friction. Friction is good in some applictions, bad in others. If your motor mount is bad, it will cause one side of your motor to droop, causing a binding on an otherwise straight line. Friction causes heat, heat causes failure!
I see the rear motor mounts in the Classic Parts catalogue -- simple looking piece of rubber -- but what's involved in getting them in and under the engine. Yikes! E.
Eric ; Even if the clutch has died it's a fairly straightforward fix and under $200.00 in parts usually , often about $100.00 . Here's another thought ~ is the clutch/flywheel sheet metal cover present ? . if it's gone missing , oil mist etc. from the road draft tube can blow back and get sucked up by the whirling flywheel and saturate the clutch ~ this happened to my '49 and the clutch began to drag and sometimes not release at all ~ I was able to wash the oil out and all was well for a week or two (remember this is a daily driver) then it gummed up again so I hunted up the missing cover and installed it ~ three years later my old clutch is still working fine . If you have a three speed column shift tranny , it's a simple job .
Motor Mounts Are one on each side of the bell housing and most often the problem with the is the bolt falls out ~ this allows the engine to move sideways as it torques up from loading . I also often see the little sheet metal tube that's supposed to go through the center has gone missing , usally lost during engine swap or rebuilding .
Clutch and Motor mounts I'll drive you guys crazy with these questions, so just stop answering when you see fit! My transmission is four speed on the floor -- how do I start getting at the clutch? Through the panel on the floor? Anyone direct me to a good resource on this? And as for the motor mounts, I'm not really seeing any of the rubber, or else its worn away to almost nothing. Is that possible? If one were to order the rubber motor mounts from Classic Parts, do you have to actually lift out the engine to get the new motor mounts where they belong? Again, just start ignoring me when I've reached my limit!! Best, Eric
Motor mounts! Here's a picture of the motor mounts on my truck. https://talk.classicparts.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=473&ppuser=5385 As you can see, I had the luxury of putting new ones on with the engine out of the truck! Studying the picture though, it would appear to be an easy enough job to switch yours out. Using a jack and 2x4's, one should be able to support the engine while removing the 3 bolts on the mount and installing a new one. Guys, am I missing something here?
You just had to have us pull up that picture with the e-x-t-r-a long draft tube now, didn't cha? Jacks and blocking sounds good to me~
Ken, that is a great picture and shows me the motor mount right up close. But as I look at it, I'm not sure anything is wrong with my motor mounts. How key is the rubber? Assume the rubber is worn for me, but the mounts are there with all three bolts holding things together. Is anything wrong then? Or is the rubber really key to all this? Thanks in advance. Eric
Clutch Out To remove the clutch ; raise and support the truck , loosen the collar on the back of the U-joint bell , remove the four 7/16" bolts and slide the bell and retainer back as far as you can for clearance , look at the U-jont and remove it's four tiny special bolts and washers , slide it back and the driveshaft will fall down and bonk you on the head...... There shopuld be a leather ring gasket between the bell and the tranny , SAVE THIS CAREFULLY ! as they don't make them out of leather anymore and you'll be needing it . Remove the U-joint and stick a jackstand under the driveshaft , scrape the 3/4" of mussy rusty gunk off the crossmember bolts and remove the crossmember . Remove tranny drainplug and allow to drain whilst you : Go in the cab and take out the floor boards , wipe all the greasy drirt off around the sides of the tranny lid then unbolt it and lift away , set in the bed for now . remove the flywheel scatter pan and reach up inside to remove the two BIG tranny retaining bolts , take one to the hardware store and buy two same thread 4" studs if you can find them , else buy two more 4" bolts and saw their heads off with a hacksaw , go back to truck and remove the upper bolts being sure to have the tranny well supported as it's a heavy b*tch and will bite you badly if it gets the chance . slide the tranny back and lower it , get your longest 1/2" box end wrench and use it to loosen the clutch to flywheel bolts one by one as you turn the flywheel by hand (old glove helps protect non mechanics soft palms here) , once all the bolts are out lower the clutch cover and disc Ay. out and screw the two thick studs you bought (or bolts you cut the heads off of) into the two upper tranny bolt holes in the bell housing , you'll use them later as guide pins to avoid ruining your new clutch when you re-install the tranny . now it's time to begin de-greasing everything and inspecting your old clutch . Lay the cover (perssure plate) face down on a level surface and look at the " operating fingers " ~ if any are groved, broken or uneven , there's your problem right there but replace the disc too whilst it's out just for safety's sake . Your original clutch had dozens of tiny little fingers , this is called a " diaphragm " typ clutch cover and it's the best one , it gives very good hookup with little pedal pressure and lasts forever . Or , it might have been changed and a cheaper (but still good) "Rockford" typ clutch cover installed , you can tell as there will only be three operating fingers on it . Pix will help . It's early (06:00) Labor Day and I had a wretched night , SWMBO told me we'll be hitting the road as soon as she gets up and it's allready 87° F out , sun's not up yet . I'll look in later on and see if you've made any progress... To clean all this junk use the basic spray on typ de-greaser , no " foam " "steam" or other fancy-schmancy crap that doesn't work . I'm told Simple Green works well but I dunno ~ use a couple brushes , one stiff solvent brush and a nice 3" paint brush for the larger areas ,a toothbrush helps too get everything (including the fywheel and inside the bell housing) slurpy wet and swirl it all 'round untill _everything_ is gooey wet with oil , dirt , grease , de-greaser etc. then grab the garden hose and begin flushing it all away , it'll make a HUGE mess and the run off will kill the grass so choose your work area carefully , try to use rubber gloves so the de-greaser doesn't de-fat the skin on your hands . prepare to have SWMBO toss out the clothes you're wearing as they'll be ruined too . Have fun ! remember : once it's all dry you can do it again after cleaning up all the globs that fell off and I like to clean the normal oily spots off the driveway at the same time , this second time should leave everything clean and nice , ready to work on more easily .
And while you're at it... Replace the throw-out bearing, because if you don't, that will be the next thing to go out
T.O. Berg. I was going to cover that as soon as the PP was out ~ the surface of the T.O. Berg. MUST match the PP or you'll have problems ~ one surface should be rounded and the other , flat . It makes no differance if rounded fingers and flat T.O. or vise-versa . They make both types of T.O. Bergs. so once the PP is on the ground you can look at it and figure out what you need . Unless you're the typ who rides the clutch all the time (bad boy) the old T.O. Berg. might just be better than the new one , unless it's a Timken . It's -HOT- out there ! we just came in from chasing school supplies and some food shopping , I'm glad to be inside and SWMBO let me turn on the Ac wich naturally , doesn't work well (no air flow) down here in the room I stay in...... *sigh* . at least I no longer have 35 cows to milk and stables to muck out....
You Guys are Great I am reminded over and over again what a great forum this is. Look at the extended responses, walking me through something I haven't done before. My weekend is almost up, and it looks like I need to set a hunk of time aside for this project, so I will let you know how it goes. If anyone looks at this final post and has read Nate's final post -- is it fair to assume that the Classic Parts pressure plate and throw out bearing will match up properly, right? Thanks again guys -- you're the best. Eric
Look before you leap! Never assume anything when dealing with these oldies but goodies. First off, we've been talking about your truck and we know that it's a '52, but what kind of engine does it have in it? 216 or 235? Without looking it up somewhere, I don't know if there is a difference in the diameter of the clutch plates or not on 216's vs. 235's, but I do know that there are 3 different size clutch plates for your given truck. There are differences in the pressure plates too, so make sure before you order anything that you're ordering what you need. My advise to you would be this. Begin your tear down and once you have it disassembled and cleaned up, check each part and then decide if it needs to be replaced and then, after taking critical measurements, then order your parts. And if you have any kind of questions about whether or not CP's parts will work, call them and ask them questions. They excel at that. Ask anyone on this forum. It'll only cost you a couple of days, but I'd rather wait a couple of days for the right parts, than have the wrong parts on hand and then go into a wrench slinging, sailor swearing fit! And always remember, my advise and 75 cents will get you a cup of coffee Best of luck and keep us posted!
Thanks I thought I posted this reply, but it doesn't seem to have registered. I just wanted to thank you guys for taking the time. What a great explanation, point by point by Nate. A great help! I may be a few weeks before I sit down to do this, but I will let you know how it turns out. By the way, would the Classic Parts Pressure Plate and their throw out bearing match up -- I would assume so, but if you know, let me know. Again, thanks a ton! Eric
What Ken Said.... Plus , your locan NAPA or brake wholesaler may have the parts in stock but the big thing is : measure it as there's THREE different diameter clutches it can be , all will work fine in a light duty truck but you gotta match it up correctly . No matter what , DO NOT let go of your old dead clutch parts untill the job is done and the truck is driving again to your satisfaction ! .
