'55 Bellhousing Removal with Engine Still in Truck

[JasonT1124]

The clutch went out in my 1955 1st series... its got the original 235 and SM420 4 speed. So i pulled it all apart to discover just how really gross the bellhousing is inside... It would kill me to not clean that out completely, and being this close- I'd like to get at the back of the motor and clean and seal anything I can get at.

That said... I can't seem to figure a good way to get the bellhousing out! Am I missing something or is it always expected to come in and out with the motor only? The clutch and flywheel are removed from the bottom, so this would make some sense...

I'm ready to cut a hole in the floor or remove that cross memeber if theres no better way!!

[dwcsr]

My two cents,,, unless you plan on having cook outs in there don't remove it to clean it.. Just get some brake clean or degreaser and clean it as best you can, Removing the bell is a project in it self, and you may have to re index it once it pulled out. It has alignment pins but that doesn't insure its lined up after you put it back in. There's nothing behind it to reseal. and if the rear main isn't leaking leave it alone. Too many times I've seen the while I'm in here thing and it leaks like a sieve afterword's. Don't fix what ain't broke.

if your dead set on removing it follow these instructions
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...55ctsm0633.htm

[dsraven]

if you just wanna clean it up cheap try an el cheapo deluxe garden sprayer with varsol or paint thinner or some other degreaser. wet it all down, let it set for a bit, then wet it again and use an old paint brush to loosen stuff up as you hit it with the sprayer occasionally. hit it again with the sprayer when done and let it air dry. lube the rear main seal of possible after that before you install the flywheel.
remember the varsol/paint thinner/degreaser is a fire hazard. no smoking and do this in a well ventilated area.
remember the clutch friction material is possibly an asbestos based material so when it wore down the dust that flew off, that you are concerned about cleaning, is possibly asbestos dust or some other carcinogen. wear protective respiratory equipment and gloves etc. I always use a hand pump sprayer, like an old windex bottle or the like, full of water, to spray down the area before I do clutch or brake work. use a mist at first to control the dust and then when it is all wet use the straight stream to get rid of the larger collections.

[JasonT1124]

Great info guys. The reason I seek to remove it is because I believe this truck was driven on a dirt road (or field) for many many years while leaking heavily... There is well over 1" of caked on dirt over most of the trans, and INSIDE the bellhousing (it was actually surprising how dry the clutch and flywheel were). I guess I'm going to have to go at it with the scraper/degreaser method and end up wearing most it.
At least it waited until is was 110 degrees outside to crap out on me......

It it wasn't for this cleaning step.... i'd have it back on the road already!

[whitedog76]

Sounds like you are opening a can of worms. On a 235, you have to remove the flywheel to get to the remaining bellhousing bolts. Not to mention, your bell is also you're engine mount. It may be easier to just pull the whole drivetrain.

[dsraven]

like whitedog says, flywheel comes off to access the bolts. really, flywheel should come out anyway because the clutch surface is probably heat checked anyway and any new clutch should be running against a machined (ground) flywheel. the heat checks are actually hot spots from clutch slippage, like when starting out from a light etc, and they are hard spots that wear at a different rate than the rest of the surface does. if the flywheel is not resurfaced with a grinder, not a cutter, then the high spots remain and your clutch will wear faster to "break in" to the not flat surface and will also possibly chatter.
anyway, your truck so do what you want but if the flywheel is out anyway then access is better. like said earlier, the bellhousing also holds the rear of the engine up so be carefull you don't wear the engine.

[OrrieG]

Any crud you loosen has the potential to get between your brand new disc and flywheel. Somethings are better just left alone. Get the big chucks and make sure the bottom cover plate is nice and tight. then do not worry about it for another 60K miles or so.

[mr48chev]

To pull it out you would have to remove the mount bolts lift and support the back of the engine and unbolt it from the back of the block. You would also have to remove the rear mounts from the crossmember. It's still going to be tight an that sucker weighs about 40 lbs or close to it. You also have to take the starter off before you do any of the other steps. Add to that you still have to figure out how to jockey it out of there. That probably means rotating it so the bottom goes back and the top goes down as you move it back. Then you have the fun of putting it back all cleaned up and painted nice.

As you already have the flywheel out (some guys don't read the whole question before answering obviously) it's just unbolt about six bolts. On if you would or wouldn't disturb the rear main I have no idea but I don't think that the bellhousing offers any support to the rear main on that engine.

[dsraven]

for an oil leak in the rear area on a 235 check the valve cover gasket, the rear of the original steel shim style head gasket, the oil pan gasket, rear main seal, the cam plug behind the flywheel and also the 3 dowels that align the flywheel on the crankshaft (they have to be all in place or oil will be allowed to go through the hole and out into the clutch area).
if I were you I would leave the bellhousing in there and just clean it as good as possible with brake cleaner, a garden sprayer or whatever method you have or just yank the engine out and do it right. like dwsr says, the bellhousing has to be aligned, centered, with the crank centerline when put back together so the transmission input shaft is inline with the crank. there is a tool for this to allow a dial indicator guage to be mounted on the crank and rotate with the indicator needle resting on the trans mounting bore of the bellhousing. ya, I know, there are backyard guys who throw it back in there and it works just fine. just saying.
on the rear main seal, if you decide to replace it, there are 2 types. a rope seal and a neoprene or silicone rubber seal. the rope can be a bear to get in without the chinese finger tool to draw it along but would possibly be the better choice due to so many leakage issues guys have with the rubber seals. the rubber seals can require a copper shim behind the seal to make it tighter against the crank. if doing the seal from underneath you can gain a little wiggle room by loosening the next main bearing cap so the crank is allowed to drop a bit. if using the rubber try to stagger the joints so they are not on the centerline of the bearing cap, less chance of leaking that way. might as well check the bearings while you are in there. this could be another can of worms when you start down the garden path.
in my opinion, not really worth much but given anyway, there is no use to clean the area unless you deal with the leak as well. for all the work it would be I would just pull the engine and do it right the first time.the trans is already off anyway for clutch removal so the job just got easier.regasket the whole thing while it is out.
your truck, your time, your money. so do what you wanna do. it would be nice if you posted the outcome and had a few pics to back it all up, haha

[greg_h]

The special tool for bellhousing removal for 54 or later (when the angled mounts made the bellhousing the rear engine mount points) was a bar that hooked over the frame rails and supported the rear of the engine at the rear oil pan rail area. It still seems like a "weak solution" to hold the rear of the engine while the bellhousing is taken loose. If you are that determined to clean the bellhousing, it would not be that much more work to go ahead and pull the engine. (in my opinion)