Clutch puzzler

[MISurfer]

My newly rebuilt 55-57 235 is in the truck. The water pump adapter is in the mail and should be here tomorrow. Here's what I am running into. The clutch plate is worn and the pressure plate has hot spots and a some fine cracks going crosswise on the face. My local tranny guy ordered two sets and neither is the one I need. Now the tranmission is off my old engine, a 1955 1st engine. The clutch plate is 9 1/8 wide and has larger green springs. The pressure plate has 6 bolt holes and lines up with my old flywheel bolt pattern. Every plate I have seen is different than mine. Someone thought maybe this is a passenger transmission, not a truck. The one at the Classic Parts site has a clutch plate like mine but the pressure plate is different. Mine seems more like the 47-53 setup. I don't know what you call the "fins" in the center of the pressure plate but mine has the many pie pieces not the 3 or 4 "spoke" one. Any ideas? Every day produces some frustration. My brother-in-law and I were installing the new decals on my speedometer last night and broke the shaft pin that holds that the needle and goes down to the odometer. And I called my favorite old time salvage yard here in SW Michigan, and turns out it's ALL GONE. They crushed all the old cars (hundreds) when the price of steel made them worth more than parts. Bummer. Thanks again for all the help here. Being new at this mechanical stuff if wearing me out lately. Late nights and lots of setbacks. Brian

 

[willardgreen]

The pie pieces are the equivelent of the 3 spokes. The pie pieces are supposed to deliver more even pressure. A clutch plate has two plates, 1 for the pressure plate and 1 for the flywheel. The outer edge of the plate is larger which means when it engages it is going faster than the smaller inside edge. When the clutch grabs the larger part wears quicker than the inside so they have the green springs force the outer rim apart as it wears. If the clutch plate fits inside the pressure plate and is splined to fir the transmission it should work. Look closely at the flywheel to see if you should have it machined. Be sure to replace the throw out bearing and check your yoke to see if it needs replacing. I tried skipping the throw out bearing, Learned abont the yoke a few months later. There were 2 different throw out bearings a long one and a short one. If you clutch starts slippin after a few days and wont adjust you need the short throw out bearing. This is blood, sweat, tears and $ info. Check your linkage, it wears out also. Lots of stuff to a clutch.

The new speedometer from Classic Parts is well worth while. I have my old one if you want. The magic wore out of it and it would not show fast enough.

 

[shankamoto]

Clutch

Maybe this will help.
The pie piece design is called a 'DIAPHRAGM TYPE' and the 3 finger design is called a 'COIL SPRING' type. The diaphragm type uses the long t/o brg and the coil spring type uses the short t/o brg.
47-53 pass and 1/2 ton 3spd uses the 9 " disc.
54-58 pass and 1/2 ton 3spd uses the 9 1/2" disc.
The green springs are called 'chatter springs'.
The coil spring type is used on v/8's.

Gene

 

[vwnate1]

Beat Me To It !

And GM was WAYYYY ahead in 1941 when they began installing diaphragm typ clutch covers in light duty trucks .

The three finger typ is correctly called a " Rockford " clutch cover .

So , now you know , button that sucker up and go for a drive .