HELP!
I have replaced the clutch in my 1970 F-250 4x4 with a 390. I upgraded to the 11 1/2 inch clutch. I replaced clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, throw out bearing and pilot bearing. I have it all together and cannot get the clutch adjusted correctly. With the pedal down all the way the clutch does not release enough and I cannot get in gear. It grinds. If I continue to screw out the adjuster the throw out bearing will be engaging the pressure plate and spinning all of the time. That's not correct and will wear out the bearing in short time. Even with the adjuster out nearly all of the way it is still not enough.

What gives? Do you have to get different linkage or clutch fork when changing to the 11 1/2 inch clutch or what? Is there something I don't see in this? Never had this problem before.

Thanks,
Lee

 

Hi Lee: How much free travel does your pedal have? One inch is about right. If you have too much travel, the clutch will not release. I have had to extend the adjusting rod to compensate for wear in the linkage on some trucks. The throw-out bearing should not spin until the pedal is pushed enough for the bearing to make contact with the pressurs plate. Watch out for the pivot that the clutch fork rides on. I have had the rivets start to stretch. It uses up the free travel.

 

I'm having the same exact problem with my brand new clutch. I've adjusted it all the way out and it won't engage. I've even extended the linkage bolt by 1.5 inches and it still does the same thing.

I'll be watching this thread closely....

 

Well, I dropped the transmisson and pulled the clutch out. Took it back to Schucks for an exchange. When I compared the original to new Pressure plates I noticed some differences. With the plate flat on the ground the plate contacts the floor on the original one. The new has ~1/4 inch gap between the plate and floor. Also the 3 levers the throw out bearing push on are not sitting in the same position in relation to each other. Shucks is replacing it on warrentee.

I too tried every position of the adjuster and the clutch would not release enough. I could observe through the inspection cover that the pressure plate would release a small amount but then stop. The clutch disk would not free up.

Will be picking up the new one tomorrow and will update.

Lee

 

Thanks for the update... I'm anxiously awaiting the outcome of your new parts. Please post again once you have it all back together.

It just sucks to have all of that work into it and then have this crap happen. Fargin' parts suppliers!!

 

Hi Lee: Before you pick up the new clutch, consider this. I switched over to the diaphram type pressure plate in my 70 f250 a few years ago. The effort to push the pedal in is much less and it engages a lot smoother. My thinking is that the throw out bearing is pushing on more contact points compared to the 3 levers on the stock clutch. This may result in a more precise alignment of the pressure plate to the disc. I have seen wear on one or more of the contact points of the stock type. That would cause chatter on engagement. I put the diaphram clutch in a 71 Bronco and it also worked much better. I won't go back to the stock type. I once put a new clutch in a mustang and the pedal would not push in. I reved the engine once and it was ok. Thirty years ago, must have been a mis-alignment.

 

Well I installed the new clutch today it fit much better than the first. The pedal is not near as hard to push in. The troubling thing is that the clutch still will not release all the way. I took it back apart and just studied things alittle. What I did next was with the pressure plate off I put the clutch disk on the alignment tool and set it in the pilot bearing up against the flywheel. This is when I noticed that there is a gap between the disk and the flywheel. The coil springs on the clutch disk are touching the heads of the 6 flywheel bolts before the disk contacts the flywheel surface. In other words the heads of the bolts are sticking out far enough to prevent the disk from touching the flywheel.

The flywheel bolts are original and the flywheel is new. I wonfer if this is not the correct flywheel. Also the bolts have lock washers on them which makes the bolt heads stick up some. For the heck of it I took all the washers off of the bolts and tried the clutch disk again. It did not hit the bolt heads and rested on the flywheel surface. Hoorah! I then put the pressure plate and bell housing on. I had my son push the clutch and it will release now as I can spin the disk with my fingers. It does rub alittle on the flywheel though. I have the adjuster set as far in as I dare. The bearing is way close.

Now, if I leave the lock washers off the flywheel bolts will the bolts back out?

Also I wonder how long it will be before the disk wears down and the springs start hitting the bolt heads. ??

Or maybe I should take the whole nine yards back to the parts store and try somewhere else. ??

Comments are GREATLY apprieciated,
Lee

 

Update #3. Took clutch kit back to store and showed them what was not fitting. They confirmed numbers in the computer with my truck model. They show correct. They then used the ole fashion method to confirm numbers- "The Book". Well the book and the computer do not match. The book shows the clutch I received is for a 400M engine. Not a 390. In fact the books from 3 different vendors do NOT list an 11 1/2 inch clutch for my truck.

I then went across town to another parts store and asked them to look up a clutch kit for me. After much page flipping they found a 12 1/16 inch replacement clutch kit by Borg Warner. It's listed as a replacement for 11 1/2 clutch. Anyway, they had to order it and I will pick it up tomorrow morning. Only thing that concerns me is will this 12 1/16 fit my flywheel. Find out tomorrow. Will keep ya posted.

Lee

 

Hi Lee: I have never seen lockwashers on any Ford flywheel. The factory shop manual lists a 11.5 in for a F100-350 with a 390. All other engines list a 11 in. I measured the bolt hole recess in a 302 flywheel; its .550 in deep. A stock flywheel bolt head is .310 in. Even with a lockwasher, the bolt head should not be above the flywheel surface. Perhaps the flywheel is the wrong one?

 

Mike,

I may not have been clear enough in my last post. The heads of the bolts are not sticking out farther than the flywheel surface. They are .006 below. Without lockwashers they are .125 below surface. My problem is that the horizontal coil springs on the disk stick out farther than the disk surface. Just under .125 . First thing I thought was that I had put the disk on backwards but it's not. The clutch would work without the lockwashers on the bolts. Only problem would as soon as the disk gets a few 1/1000's of wear the springs will be hitting the bolt heads.

As for the lockwashers I honestly cannot remember if past engines I have worked on had them or not. This engine does, but they could have been added. I would like to use them for piece of mind. Interestingly they worked OK with the 11" clutch I removed.
Take care,
Lee

 

Update #4. I picked up the Borg Warner 12 1/16 clutch today. The disk is definitly different from the other 2. The springs do not hardly stick out at all. I took Mike's advice and got the diaphram type. Hope to pick up the flywheel soon and finally finish this project.

Lee

 

While i had the 400 out of my 77 f250 , i decided to replace the clutch , p.plate & throut bearing , needless to say there was never any question that i would go back with a centerforce double friction setup-(11 inch) , everything went back as it should and fit as it should----and , the amount of peddle pressure is much less than it was with the old clutch setup , it costs alittle more but it's worthit in my opinion!!!fd :-X11

 

Hi Lee; looks like you have it made now. The worst clutch I ever had was a lever type racing clutch in a 65 Mustang. Chatter was bad and it was so hard to push in the pedal; I thought the firewall was going to bend. Didn't keep that one in very long. Only other recommendation is to check the rivets that hold the clutch fork pivot on the bellhousing. If the pivot is even slightly loose, drill out the rivets and replace with 3/8 allen head capscrews. Regards, Mike

 

Being in the "computer business" my self, I am always leary when on the second trip for the same part, the counter guy looks at me and quotes" The computer says". Guys always remember the data in the computer was copied from 1 book most of the time and by some folks that really don't know anything about how a truck works. Hell, they all drive Honda's. Anyway, thank goodness the computers let us talk to each other so we can get good info here. If you find a good man in a well run store, support him. As the saying goes.. The sweet taste of a cheap price fades quickly, but the good feeling of a quality item and a perfect fit lasts a long time. Or something like that.