Clutch issues

[hoknod]

Need a little advice. 69 C-10 with a 350 and 4 speed Saginaw (Hurst floor shift). I had the motor and trans out, fixing oil leaks and just cleaning up. Pulled the trans and bell housing off to mount motor on to stand. Put everything back together, dropped it back in the truck and have been driving for a few years (clutch was done prior to pulling motor, maybe 2,000 soft miles on it). Went to drive it the other day, 1st gear-ok, 2nd gear-ok, fought like heck to get it into third. Took her back home, with engine off- runs through gears no sweat. Engine on, not so good, hard as heck to change. With the clutch pedal pressed, there is not much release movement before the clutch grabs. Could this just be an adjustment problem? If so, do I want to get more length out of the adjustment rod or less? Or do you think I have more deep rooted problems? Im hoping I dont have to pull the trans, but if I do, is a clutch job do-able with the engine in the truck?

Any help is appreciated. Also, any pics of how the linkage should look.

Thanks

[Bus Ted Knuckle]

I suspect the problem may lie in your floor shifter, especially since it is aftermarket. Probably is an adjustment issue. I'd get a helper to run through the gears wile you watched from underside (engine off, wheels blocked...be safe!) When you get to the trouble gears, see if the shifter is engaging them all the way, if not, see if there is a way to lengthen the shift throw on that particular arm.

Adjusting the clutch couldn't hurt wither.

[airdale94]

You need to put some slack in your clutch by adjusting the clutch pushrod underneath the truck. You want less length in the rod. But not to much. just a little slack. A good rule of thumb is one inch of pedal freeplay befor the throwout bearing makes contact with the clutch. You don't want your throwout bearing riding on the clutch all the time. It will wear it out. This comes from having your clutch adjusted to tight (to much length in the pushrod).

[70rs/ss]

I think he is too short on the rod as he says the clutch engages almost right off the floor. Lengthen the rod a couple of threads at a time and see if you to the sweet spot, but as said above do not go too long as the throwout bearing will not disengage off the pressureplate and it will wear out fast.

For the shifter, mine anyways, has a plastic dowel that goes all the way through the forks to ensure the forks are aligned, you then adjust the rods until they slide into the forks, and the adjustment is done and perfect. If one rod is too long or short the forks will not line up and shifting will be hard or impossible. If you think it is in the shifter, a local hotrod shop will have a track pack and it'll come with bushing, springs and the plastic dowel to redo all the rod connections and the shifter will be nice and tight.

I do think this is more a clutch wear/adjustment issue than the shifter, as the OP said it shifts fine with motor off, which hints that with motor running the clutch isn't fully disengaging and that is because the rod needs to be adjusted out to increase the throw and therefor disengage the clutch more. Good Luck!!

[airdale94]

Originally Posted by 70rs/ss

For the shifter, mine anyways, has a plastic dowel that goes all the way through the forks to ensure the forks are aligned, you then adjust the rods until they slide into the forks, and the adjustment is done and perfect. If one rod is too long or short the forks will not line up and shifting will be hard or impossible. If you think it is in the shifter, a local hotrod shop will have a track pack and it'll come with bushing, springs and the plastic dowel to redo all the rod connections and the shifter will be nice and tight.

Yes you unhook the rods, put the trans. in neutral, put the little rod in the bottom of the shifter. Then adjust the rods for a perfect fit to the shift ears.

Not to disagree, but it still sounds like he has to much length in his clutch pushrod. The important thing "as you said is you want a little "slack" between the cluth fork and the Z-Bar.

[70rs/ss]

No problem, I was thinking if he had it too long clutch would slip, in his case it sounds as though engaging the clutch doesn't push it in enough to completely release it therefore the trans can't shift between gears? It is one or the other, so hopefully he can get it fixed.

[hoknod]

Thanks for the replies. Played around last night and found a few things. The first was my fork was not properly seated on to the little ball thingy thats attached to the bell housing. Messed around a little with that, and it seems OK now. I also played around with the length of the rod. Ended up lengthening it a little. Now I have about 1/2" to 3/4" inch of clutch release, before it engages. I will look at it with someone else operating the clutch and make sure Im not riding the throwout on the pressure plate, as you guys recomended. I think Im going to be OK, just need to get her out and lump on it a little, get 'er warmed up and see what happens. Again, thanks for the recomendations.

[hoknod]

I forgot. Does anyone carry a complete rebuild kit (z-bar, linkage, ball connectors...) for this? Or would I be better off piece by piece or scrap yard?

Thanks.

[airdale94]

I'm in the middle of hunting these parts down myself. Some of them are available new. And it seems all are different. I have a mixture of used, different styles of each, and new. In the end I'm sure I'll be settling for what fits. You can "build up" worn rod ends and mounting holes, with a welder. I've been pretty successfull doing this in the past.

[steelhorse]

If you had a bunch of oil leaks make sure your motor/trans mounts are still in good shape.If they are worn it could cause a missalignment issue