Clutch Question
 

Hello All, I just bought a 1960 F100 with the 223 Inline 6 and the standard 3 Speed Trans.

The clutch is slipping really bad. I kept asking the PO during the test drive if he had his foot on the clutch but he didn't it's just slipping that bad.

It has a hydraulic clutch and before I go and buy a new clutch I was wondering if there is any adjustment or bleeding that might fix this issue.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

I doubt it. Usually if there is a problem with hydraulic clutch setups, it's that they won't completly disengage the clutch. Just the oppsite of your problem.

That's what I was thinking too but I figured I would ask before buying a new one.

The hydraulics only release the clutch and have nothing to do with the "holding part". Changing the clutch is not that big of deal and the parts are about $100.

Clutch
 

Is there any free travel ?? If the clutch has no free travel it can slip. There is an adjustment at the slave cylinder, the rod from the slave to the throw out arm is adjustable. Make sure the throwout bearing is not in contact with the pressure plate fingers, if it is the clutch needs adjusted. If you have any Questions let me know.


Have A Great Day -------Hotwrench}>

Yeh, to build on what HotWrench said, there is quite a bit of adjustment. Once you get down on the ground and crawl under there you will see that there is a rod with an adjusting nut and a lock nut coming out of the rear of the slave cylinder and pushing on the release lever that is protruding from the clutch housing (often referred to as bell housing).

The best thing to do is to get yourself a shop manual. It is very clear on the adjustment proceedure and repairs if needed. They can be found on ebay fairly reasonable.

if you do put a clutch in and decide to have the flywheel turned down you might want to mark it before you take it off. if i recall years ago when i put a clutch in my 292-4 speed i took the flywheel off and then got to spin it one bolt hole at a time till it lined up with the crank holes. NOT FUN as it weighs more than a few pounds. thats how i recall it anyway.........but it was 15 years ago. good luck :-X22

There is a lot of travel in the pedal and it engages at the very top. I suspect it needs a clutch so I ordered a new clutch kit from JCWhit's for 158.00 that includes everything.

I haven't replaced a clutch before so hopefully I won't run into any issues. If I do I will be heading here for some help for sure.

Call me sick, but I kind of like doing a clutch job. Maybe it's that new clutch feeling you get afterwards. Years ago, while raising a young family, all truck repairs were done in the gravel driveway. Now I'm happy to have a shop with a concrete floor. I'm hoping you won't be doing it in the snow. The fridge era trucks are about the easiest vehicles to work on. No enclosed driveline, no crazy stuff, and the 223 gives you an amazing amount of access. :-jammin

Yeh, what he said! I must have the same sickness cause after wrestling around outside in the driveway for years and now to have a decent place to work it truly makes working on something as old as a Fridge a real treat!

The fridge trucks don't really seem all that old, but I was 4 when they came out, and tonight I'm on the road in a motel having just worked my second 12 hour day after starting out with a ferry on Monday night, driving six hours and crossing a mountain pass in blizzard conditions. I'm feeling really old. Now I know how our trucks feel......:-jammin

I know what you mean, I was 15 when my 59 fridge was built! I feel old and tired just reading your post!!

I finally got around to this project this last weekend and pulled everything apart to find out that I ordered the wrong clutch. I didn't realize there are two different size clutches since only one if offered at most auto parts stores. I ordered the clutch off of JCWhit which is an 11 inch clutch but after pulling mine out of the truck I quickly noticed that the new one was much bigger. I was finally able to find the right one which is actually the 10 inch clutch.

Now I can't decide if I should resurface the flywheel or not. It doesn't looked cracked it only looks like it has heat spots. I plan on putting a straight edge on it to see if its flat.

If I do decide to have the flywheel resurfaced will it drop out of the access in the clutch housing or do I need to remove that to get the flywheel off?

Luckily no snow here and plenty of concrete.

Just my opinion but if the old clutch wasn't worn to the point of the rivets making grooves in the flywheel I wouldn't surface it. I just hit them good with a course sandpaper to knock the glaze down.

I use the random orbit sander from my cabinet shop. 80 grit... leaves a fine swirly pattern. Just like he said, just enough to remove the glaze.