Finished most of my ZF swap today (from AOD). Went and started it and there was this horrible screeching noise, whether the clutch was in or not, in gear or not. And after running for about a minute or two, clutch smell filled the air.

Also, I noticed that when bleeding the system, the pedal would hesitate before trying to come back to the top, and it never came all the way on its own, there was a last 1/2" that had to be pulled up (probably shoulda been a clue huh)....Anyways, checked my Haynes manual, and it says:

Squeal or Rumber with clutch fully engaged (pedal released)
Release bearing binding on transmission bearing retainer. Remove clutch components and check bearing. Remove any burrs or nicks; clean and relubricate bearing before installing.

and

Clutch Pedal Stays on Floor when disengaged
Linkage or release bearing binding. Inspect the linkage or remove the clutch components as necessary.

What do these mean that it's "binding"?

 

binding = grinding together, not turning, mashed together, etc...

Whatever it means you did not get it together right. Time to take it apart.

 

Ok, put in some big pilot bolts today and slid it back, looked at everything and wiggled it all, thought everything looked good and felt right, so I put it back together.

I didnt think it was the air system, just grasping at straws. The slave cylinder is new, as is the throwout bearing, and i guess that it comes in its retainer, because i dont know what else it would be. Also, the pressure plate is new, clutch disc, which was put in the right way, and flywheel was used, but had been machined.

When I got the trans, it was not in good shape, as water had gotten inside.. I had a full rebuild done, as well as a new input shaft, all new brass and bearings, and the like. Yes, in neutral you can hold the back shaft and twist the front one. But when the engine is running, the output shaft does turn, but can be stopped with your hand; is this normal?

Something else I noticed today, that the pedal shaft and the clutch master cylinder pushrod were not in the right alignment, as the pedal had to be pushed in about an inch to get to the pushrod, so I went to re-spline it.

As I was doing that, and the clutch was disconnected at the pedal and the pushrod was all the way out, I started the truck to see if that was what it was, but it still made the noise. For laughs, since I took off the driveline and transfer case, i wanted to see if i could put it in gear. I could shift into 1,2,3,4,OD,and,R without the clutch, and in every gear it made that noise. Is this normal that I could shift into all gears with no grinding with no clutch??? I dont think so, but i was thinking that it might be able to since there was no load on it. Thanks for all the help.

So since its dark and back to 20 some degrees outside, I came in and started reading my manual, hoping that I've missed something, and it appears that I may have. It says that I should coat the face of the throwout bearing where it makes contact with the pressure plate fingers with high temp lithium grease. Since i didnt do this, is that where the scraping grinding noise coming from?

Finally found the inspection plug in the bottom of the bellhousing, and looked in there. My brand new slave cylinder is leaking, would this cause this problem?

Sorry for the lengthly post


For more information see https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...a-zf-swap.html

 

Yes. When in neutral the tranny fluid is thick enough that the gears turning in it will turn the output shaft.

Yes, it will go into gear and shift without using the clutch because you have nothing hooked to the back of the tranny to keep it from going into gear.

You might get some squeaking or chirping but not a scraping/grinding noise.

Not by itself but my guess is that it is somehow damaged. A leaking slave cylinder will cause you to lose your pedal but it will not not make noise. you indicated that you smelled burning clutch when you first started up the truck and that it does it no matter whether you are in neutral or a gear. That tells me that something is bound up and is keeping the clutch disk from turning.

Like torque1st said, time to take it apart. You've had enough trouble you need to re-check everything. Pull the trans completely out. Check the input shaft for excessive play and make sure it turns smoothly. Take the slave cylinder off and figure out why it is leaking. Look at the bearing retainer and make sure it is not gouged or damaged. Then look at the throwout bearing and see if there is a problem with it. Does it turn freely? Is it properly mounted onto the slave?

Don't stop just yet. Look at the pressure plate. Rotate the flywheel. Are all the contact points where the bolts go through touching on the flywheel? Take the pressure plate off and look at the clutch pressure plate and flywheel surface. Are they all in good condition with no scratches, gouges, excessive bluing? Finally check the pilot bearing in the end of the crank and make sure it is in good condition. Tell us what you find.

Everything in there is supposed to work smoothly. You shouldn't find evidence of scratches, gouges, etc. If you do find them, it can point you to the problem. I don't envy you working out in the cold. Dress warm, put cardboard on the concrete, and wear mechanic's gloves. The new trans will be worth all the effort you've put into it.

 

thanks man, going out into the wild blue to get started, will keep informed

 

hey could a pilot bearing be doing this?

 

It's one thing to look at. If one isn't in there the input shaft is going to be wobbling all over.

 

I am at a total loss here. took everything out today, from the trans to the flywheel....everything. Made sure that it all worked, and put it back in one piece at a time, making sure everything was torqued, greased, and so forth. Put in another new pilot bearing, broke the other one when I took the trans out. About ten minutes ago, started it up, and guess what......yep, same damn thing.

Have narrowed it down a bit though. With the inspection plug off and the engine running, made sure that the throwout bearing was disengaging all the way. It was, but just to be safe, I pulled it back so that it was a full half an inch away from the fingers of the diaphram with a screwdriver. Still made the noise. The starter is disengaging, and I looked for a wear line on the dust cover thinking that it was rubbing, but there was none.

Have narrowed the sound down to be coming from the bellhousing area, just dont know where else to look and what else to look at.....like I said, total loss.

 

I am at the end of my rope here.....I dont understand what else could make that noise.

I checked all that stuff, the pressure plate is in contact with the flywheel at all bolt points, nothing has any scratches or gouges in it yet, still looks like it came out of the box. The slave wasn't leaking, fluid had just run down it from when I was bleeding it. The throwout bearing is mounted right, with plenty of lube (slides back and forth with no problem). Input shaft doesnt wobble, and turns freely just fine.

Its wierd, everything works in there, there's just a horrible noise

 

could this be because im not using a clutch/pressure plate that fills up the whole flywheel? I'm using a 10 inch disk, but from the pressure plate out, theres at least another inch or so.

 

Ok, that got rid of the noise turned out it was the starter, thanks a lot everyone for the help. However, if its not one thing its another, and staying true to that law, THERES A NEW NOISE!!!!

Again, I appreciate everything you guys have said, so heres the new problem.

Everything works and sounds just fine-like, until the clutch is pressed. When you put the pedal down, it sounds like a machine gun is inside the bellhousing. Tick, tick, tick, tick, ratta-tat-tat and the like. Any ideas???

 

Oh oh-something's rubbing. Is it a loud noise?

 

Yes it is a loud noise