The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Clutch problem ??

Let me start with my brother bought a almost all original 1950 Chevy 3100 ½ ton 5-window 216ci 3 speed on the column with 51,000 miles.
FYI my brother has no automotive mechanical ability & a little understanding. I have worked on my cars & trucks (& family & friends) for over 40 years.
Anyhow long story:
He was driving the other day and said it didn't want to go into gear but was able to double clutch it to shift. He also thought the clutch was maybe slipping. So yesterday he was driving to the DMV for vin verification for new title & plate and on the way back he could only drive in first gear (I think he said it was slipping badly). He was going down a large hill so he put in in neutral so he could go faster and at the bottom of the hill he put in the clutch and the pedal went to the floor (he heard a pop). He never got it into gear as there was no clutch (pedal stayed on the floor).
I went to tow him and the shifter would not move so I crawled under and pushed & pulled on the linkages and then the shifter was able to move. The clutch pedal has no pressure up or down. I put it neutral and towed it 3 miles to his house with a strap (never over 20 mph). I didn't have time to check it out as I had to get back to work.
I told him to order a shop service manual (I know it's online) but what him to have it in the truck for reference for the next problem. My problem is I have never changed a clutch with a torque tube. I've read the online shop manual but thought I'd ask for any help as to what steps I need to start with & to do the job at hand. I'm not sure if it's the pressure plate, clutch fork, throw out bearing or linkage. If I have to pull the transmission I will put everything in new and have the flywheel resurfaced.

I'd start by checking the linkage from the clutch pedal to the clutch fork. If all that is ok you will need to pull the transmission. You will want to take the floor plate out in the cab and that will give you plenty of access. The shop manual has good instructions to take things apart, the torque tube is not as hard as it seems in the manual. Just take your time. The worst is the bolts for the u-joint. Make sure to use a good fitting wrench so you don't round the heads on those bolts.

Could be the clutch spring was on the way to failure(stretching) and would not disengage the clutch, until it failed completely and then there was no possibility of shifting. If you check what Don has said, I'll bet a new spring will fix it.
If not, the torque tube really isn't a big deal.
Enjoy
Mark

Could be the clutch fork popped off the pivot ball, retainer broke. There should be an inspection cover on bottom of bell housing....there is on the 4 spd.

If you end up taking it apart I found that loosening the rear motor/bell housing mounts and putting a jack under the engine gave me more room to move things around when taking it apart or putting it back together. Not a hard job, just something new/ different.

My bet is on the clutch fork or pivot ball. PLEASE get back with us when you find out what it is! So many folks don't. This would be good info for the next one of us who gets stranded with this scenario.

I just talked to my brother again and we went thru how this happened and he didn't put the trans in neutral as I first stated. He just pushed in the clutch and coasted down the hill. Letting out the clutch as he was almost stopped going up the hill he heard the pop sound. And then he noticed the clutch was stuck down on thee floor.

I'm hope to check it out tomorrow between my jobs. I let you guys know what I find.

Only had a little time to check it out and found out I'm a little to big to fit under the truck without lifting up the truck. Jacked it up and was able to look things over, everything out side is hooked up & working. There is zero pressure at the clutch fork

Time to pull the trans.

What size are the 2 transmission guide pins ?? Something like 3/8"-16 x 3" ?? On other trans jobs I've used bolts that I cut the heads off.

Is it easier to pull tranny thru floor or to remove trans cross member ? Whats a 3-speed trans weigh 100# ?

Anyone have any better steps on removing the trans & clutch, besides the shop manual way?

Thanks

Take it out thru the floor, it is maybe 50#

Anybody ??

What size & length are the 2 transmission guide pins ?? Something like 3/8"-16 x 3" ?? On other trans jobs I've used bolts that I cut the heads off.

Thanks

Brent

If it is a stock 3 speed, you will not need guide pins, support the trans with a floor jack, once it is free, you can handle the small trans by hand.

It weighs less than 40 pounds.

Thanks Now I need to make time to pull the trans & see what we got.

Well we pulled the trans & removed the clutch. I've replaced half dozen clutch sets before but never seen a clutch disc like this one Check out the pic
Clutch disc
We pulled a large pile of mouse stuff from the flywheel under pan and around the pressure plate.
Pressure plate

Things needed, where to buy:

Best clutch set ? NAPA ??
Transmission rubber tale mount or should I rebuild old one ?
2-Trunnion cap nut lock clamp brackets
Gasket for ball collar housing to trans
Ball gasket-seal-shims
Drive Shaft Torque Tube Seal
Felt packing for slip joint nut

Any other parts you guys think we should replace ??

That just might be the most worn-destroyed clutch I have ever seen. Is the flywheel as bad? Classic and NAPA should have the parts you need. But I would pull the flywheel and see if it can be re-surfaced or not. Good luck. You have the worst part done. You know what is bad. Now all you have to do is fix it.

I would go local for as much as possible. That can eliminate a problem with wrong parts, phone calls, shipping time/cost etc. All the ball collar items and packing come in 1 set. Mount can be rebuilt (less expensive) Be sure to take clutch/pressure plate to parts store to match, a new pilot bushing/bearing would be in order. If tranny oil isn't migrating to differential your torque tube seal is probably good. An "okie" bushing is normally used to replace the seal& bushing at the same time. That said some items may need to be sourced on-line. Here's a link:
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/index.htm

Well all parts had to be ordered but all were in stock Hope to put truck back together sometime next week

Judging from your pics, somebody got every last mile out of THAT clutch. I have a bad habit of doing that with tires. I'm better than I used to be back when I was broke. I would count the layers of belts worn through and subtract that number from how many belts the tire came with and then buy "new" used tires when I got down to the last belt (too often I had a blow out before I swapped out tires). Hey, I said I was broke back then.

And I thought I was the only one who did that. Broke was a way of life. I made the best of it!

I feel sorry for the folks who were never poor. So many life lessons from which they will never learn, like how to drive a manual steered car at 70 MPH with a blown front
tire. You pretty much head directly toward the crash site thirty minutes prior to the arrival of the ambulance.

:), Still laughing!

All the parts came today so it's time to put humpty dumpty back together again

Got to work on the clutch for a little bit last night. Put in pilot bearing, clutch assembly, shift fork, throw out bearing. Rebuilt trans mount, checked & shimmed ball joint. Installed trans, bolted trunnion bearing, installed universal ball joint, bolted trans mount.
Now I think we need to replace engine mounts I think the rear mounts are both tore.

Well yesterday afternoon we finished Took it for a short 2 mile test trip (expired 30 day tag) everything works great and no leaks.

Next projects:
Change front & rear engine mounts.
Take out front seat to clean under (still smells, mice?)
Handle spring - saggy drivers door handle.
Test and rebuild the original Chevrolet radio.
Try to find factory heater (someone took out old one)