New 1982 F250 I6 4.9L owner with a question about a hydraulic clutch conversion kit. Has anyone installed a hydraulic clutch into a lever T-19 stock transmission, or know if its possible???

 

You can swap the bellhousing on a T-19 for one that is post '83.
But finding a good pedal assembly may be a challenge.
I would recommend installing the small firewall reinforcement plate while you have the dash apart.

Paul (Rogue Wulff) is doing something similar on his diesel conversion.
You may find some tips in his thread.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-question.html

Gary Lewis is putting a ZF-5 in his father's truck, and after much consternation with the mechanical linkage he has decided to go hydraulic too.

So, it's definitely possible!

 

Make sure you get a 86-dwn hydraulic pedal assembly. The 87-up doesn't fit correctly under the dash on a earlier truck

 

First, welcome to FTE! Jim and Dave are right with what they said. But the reason I'm converting is because I couldn't find the correct tranny-side mount for the Z-bar and the one I have puts the Z-bar at an angle. And I suspect that angle is what is causing the clunk I get when shifting.

Having said that, otherwise my mechanical linkage worked perfectly and there was no other reason to replace it. However, I had gone to great lengths to refurbish it, including replacing the worn out plastic bushings with sintered bronze bushings, replacing worn pins with new ones, and building up via welding some damaged spots. In other words, the mechanical linkage works but it has lots of wear points.

As for why the reinforcement plate Jim suggested, these cabs were designed for the mechanical linkage, not hydraulic. The difference is that the mechanical linkage puts the force in the vertical plane whereas the hydraulic puts it in the horizontal plan. And that causes the firewall to flex and ultimately crack. Ford discovered that soon after converting to hydraulic and developed a reinforcement plate to fix it. That plate is no longer available but two others are. There's the smaller one Jim mentioned, which is adequate on a virgin firewall, and the larger that can be used on any firewall. I don't know the source on the smaller one, but Terrapin Mfg makes the larger one.

 

At some point in 82 Ford added the stamping for the clutch master mounting to the firewall so you just need to drill the holes. I used part of an 86 firewall to make a jig when I did my 81.
The hard part will be finding the pedals and bell housing.

 

Yes, some 82 models do have the firewall marked for the clutch master location, as well as all 83+ that were equipped with an auto.

The firewall reinforcement plate is a good idea when converting to hydraulic clutch, particularly when using a trans that has an external slave. The throwout bearing has to slide on the front bearing retainer, and if it gets a little too dry it can start to bind. When this happens, the firewall sees a lot more strain than it it can handle, so it can crack or rip apart, depending on just how bad the TOB is binding.
Using a trans with an internal (concentric) slave, makes the plate less likely to be needed.

I just ordered one of these plates from Terrapin mfg. They were on back order for a while, and just got in a fresh shipment. Only had 3 extra pieces when I placed my order, the rest were already spoke for. They may still have a couple available, since my order was placed just a couple days back.

I would reccommend adding this to the list, and installing it while swapping out the pedal assembly, since it goes behind the pedals and steering column where they meet the firewall.

While I am positive this type of conversion can be done using universal aftermarket parts, the best way would be to find the correct factory pieces (pedal assembly, bellhousing, master/slave and line) from an 83-86. Ford already did all the engineering, and the master/slave are sized perfectly to work together. Plus, should either of these items fail in the future, most any parts store either has them in stock, or can get them within a few hours, at a reasonable price.

 

You don't need the large $$$$ reinforcement if your firewall is not already damaged.


Do a search for "Ford e3tz7k509-a bracket" and you will find the small one all over the web for less than $15.

 

While true, I'm not taking any chances on my build. Plus, my firewall isn't marked, so the large plate will insure I get the master in the exact spot it needs to be.
I'll be pushing a 12.25" clutch, so I just want to be 200% positive that my firewall never has the chance to flex.......

 

... mine started to tear back around 2001.
I got it in time and it hasn't been an issue with a stock 12" 460 clutch.

I'm not sure about the pressures and ratios of your Dodge clutch RW, but I can't see it being an issue for his 300.

 

My 89 already had the holes punched out, with a cover plate and gasket over it. All I had to do was unbolt the plate and bolt the master in place. I don't know when they started doing it this, but it was nice and easy.

 

Just for grins, here's a link to where I prepped Dad's cab for the plate and the master cylinder.

 

Was that the original cab? Looks like it may have already been stamped where the holes for the master go. I thought that didn't start happening until sometime during the 82 model year.......

The plate cannot be fun to install in a truck that is fully assembled. That's why I have been waiting to get it before even attempting to set the engine/trans into place.

 

Well-spotted, RW. No, that's not the original cab. That's an 82 cab - Brownie specifically that you helped part out. Dad's was so far gone I had to get another.

 

Here's a link to some info about the re-enforcement plate.

Clutch problems due to cracked Firewall? Here's what to do.... PART1


Clutch problems due to cracked Firewall? Here's what to do.... PART1

 

I just did a hydraulic conversion recently (for ZF swap) and the hardest part of the job was just getting my hands on a set of pedals. I didn't have much time to compare the two sets of pedals side-by-side, but it seems the only difference between the two is the position and angle of the lever (that connects to the master cyl./mech. linkage)

My question, is that the only difference between the two styles of pedals? Are the castings different, or anything else?

For others doing the same thing, it might be easier to just make up a lever for the hydraulic system and attach it to the existing mechanical pedal set-up.
Maybe it's been done already?