The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline 1953 3100 clutch adjustment

Hi guys need some advice on my clutch adjustment for my 1953 3100 with a 235/3 on the tree. The clutch and throw out bearing are new and were installed with the new engine a few months back. I adjusted the clutch per the manual, and I had 1 inch of Freeplay. After driving the truck a few times during the engine break in I felt like the clutch was slipping a little until the truck warmed up. I re checked the Freeplay and saw I had just a hair over one inch. I readjusted the Freeplay and now have 1 inch exactly. I am still getting the slippage until the truck warms up. After that I can actually start out in second or third gear without stalling. The trans shifts good with no grinding and downshifts without issues as well. I am a little lost on which way to go with this so any advice would be appreciated.

Deegs

A question...did you have the flywheel re-surfaced or did you leave it as it was? If you didn't resurface it, did you scuff it pretty well with sandpaper and a sanding block? Is the pressure plate new or did you re-use the old one? I've had it happen where if the flywheel wasn't re-surfaced or roughed up notably and the pressure plate also wasn't scuffed or replaced with a new one a new clutch disc would slip somewhat.

Jon
Yes I had the flywheel resurfaced. All clutch parts are new as well.

Deegs

Trucks + new parts are different. Manuals from the day may not apply. At least what I`ve encountered.
Try 3/4 play.

Well, here are two very long shot ideas, Deegs: 1. you haven't mentioned a hydraulic clutch but if you have one, cold fluid or a cold slave cylinder can cause some delay in releasing the throwout bearing until the fluid/cylinder gets warm (if that is happening, the spring returns the pedal to its normal spot so you might not see any difference). 2. If your clutch pedal is hanging up on the floor sheet metal (the hole through which it passes or the leather/jute pad that seals the rod), I suppose that is a possibility but you would see the pedal sitting lower than normal and I don't know that warming up would change much. Maybe it could expand the hole's diameter but as I said...a long shot.

It sounds like all inside the clutch should be okay.

The only time I have seen an all newly done clutch slip was when the pressure plate was faulty. It did not sit parallel to the flywheel. Three of the 8 rivets holding it did not get correctly attached to the spring assembly (two failed to get attached at all and one was just barely attached) so as a result one side of the plate sat closer to the flywheel. I would eliminate that possibility because warming up had no effect and it slipped all the time.

Thanks guys I will re adjust the free play to 3/4 of an inch and check to make sure I am not hanging up anywhere when I check for free play. I will post my results...hopefully positive.

Deegs

Unfortunately I doubt that adjusting the free play will solve the issue. Jon's thought about the pedal hanging up and not coming all the way up is a possibility, or maybe the throwout bearing is hanging up on the transmission input bearing retainer. Maybe a stronger pedal return spring would help.

Made the adjustment to 3/4 of an inch Freeplay. Before I made the adjustment, I moved the floor mat and insulation mat completely out of the way. Not sure it was hanging up here but wanted to be certain. After the adjustment it seemed a little better but still seems to slip a bit until warmed up. I have a new return spring installed and I pulled the panel on the bottom of the bell housing and had my wife cycle the clutch. Hard to see even with an inspection mirror but best I can tell the throw-out bearing is not hanging up at all. For now, I think I will just drive it and when the winter sets in I will pull the tranny again (I got really good at this last year while putting the truck back together) for a much closer inspection of what is going on. Thanks for all the suggestions I really appreciate your inputs and insight on what I am dealing with.

Deegs

I found out that once you get close on the adjustment, it does not take much if any complete turns of the
nut (AB) to get it set where its right. Make sure those are tight. I cut a 19mm wrench in half just for this adjustment.
Could not bring myself to cut a 3/4 wrench. I need those.

If you have one inch of free peddle and the clutch completely disengages with the peddle to the floor, try adjusting MORE free play. The less free play you have, the more likely it is to have a slipping clutch.

The clutch was definitely completely disengaging with one inch of free play with the peddle on the floor. Thanks I will give this a try.

Deegs