# Clutch question



## firecatsrt (Sep 15, 2008)

Been working on the car here and there all summer. Got a ton done, was planning on pulling the car out of the garage to clean up some. Got some new tires on once I got the wheels sand blasted and primed and dropped the car off the jack stands it has called home for the last year. 

On to my problem. Clutch won't disengage, car wants to creep in neutral if I don't press the brake. The clutch pedal goes VERY easily to the floor. It appears as though the rod is all the way out so I can't adjust that any more. This is a new crate 383 sbc with a centerforce clutch on an M21. Motor came with pilot bearing and flywheel installed. When I installed it I used the alignment tool and torqued to spec, this is the first time the car has been off the jackstands, so when I was testing everything on the stands I noticed the soft clutch but just figured it was because it was off the ground with no wheels on it. I basically need to know what to check and where to go from here. I am learning as I go, was very excited to be able to pull the car out today and this just dropped a roadblock on that parade... :confused 

and a gratuitous pic to try to bring a smile back to my face after this frustrating day.


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## Too Many Projects (Nov 15, 2008)

Since you're dealing with a motor swap to an sbc, the rod may need to be lengthened to work properly. How much "free" play does the pedal have before you start to feel resistance ? If it is more than 1 1/2-2 inches, the rod needs to be longer. Also, some aftermarket clutch forks need an adjustable pivot ball to get the correct geometry for the fork to travel far enough for full disengagement.


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## firecatsrt (Sep 15, 2008)

Well the car had a sbc in it before, that is why I stuck with one, but changing out the clutch may have done it, if that is the case I will have to take a look. I don't feel any resistance other than the return spring until about an inch off the floor. I'll see if I can find a longer rod (man that sounds bad, haha), if that don't work I'll move to the fork. Thanks


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## Too Many Projects (Nov 15, 2008)

Did you change the throwout bearing too ?? There are different lengths of them as well and you may have a short one in there. Looking up at the fork from underneath, it should be slightly forward of perpendicular with the bellhousing. If it is set to the rear much, it is loosing travel and could either be the bearing or pivot ball. How much of all this was in the car when you got it and did it work before ?


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## Too Many Projects (Nov 15, 2008)

One more thing....when you put the throwout bearing on the fork, did you place the fork and spring in the slot or did you slide the rear flange of the bearing in between the fork and spring ? If you did the later (which is common) then you are extending the spring before the fork contacts the bearing and using up all the travel too.


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## firecatsrt (Sep 15, 2008)

new throwout bearing too. I honestly don't remember which direction I put it in there. So if I got one that is too short, basically no matter what I do with the rod it will never fully compress the springs on the clutch? The car had a 400 sbc in it with a diff clutch, same trans. I pulled the motor, changed the clutch and throwout bearing, reused everything else (fork, linkages, transmission) so everything behind the clutch is what was on the car, everything in front, including the clutch, motor, etc, is new.


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## Too Many Projects (Nov 15, 2008)

Yeah, if the throwout bearing is the short and it needs the long, you will need to replace it. You should be able to see that from under the car. Were the 2 pressure plates of different design;i.e. 3 finger Borg and Beck style and diaphragm ? Since everything else is the same, I would focus on that and the location of the fork on the bearing. Again, you may be able to see from underneath before taking anything apart.


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## firecatsrt (Sep 15, 2008)

TMP, just wanted to update on this, finally got to the clutch issue this weekend. 

FYI, it is a centerforce dual friction clutch... Been working on other things avoiding it because I was so frustrated. Turned out to be an easy fix. From the looks of it the clutch rod was out all the way. Upon actually getting under there and checking things out, it went through the pivot from the pedal farther than I thought. I adjusted it out a full 1 1/4" and it works perfectly now. Got to pull the car out of the garage under its own power for the first time in over a year. Such a great feeling! Have the winter to figure out the front end geometry and get the body panels to fit properly, re-bleed the brakes because they are very soft, paint the wheels (did the spare today, turned out well) and get it ready for the road. Paint hopefully next summer if I have the cash. 

pic of the finished spare rim... gotta clear it still.


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## Too Many Projects (Nov 15, 2008)

Cool, that was a lot easier than pulling everything out again....:cheers
Nice wheel. I have 5 of them to do this winter...


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## firecatsrt (Sep 15, 2008)

thanks, I have 4 more to do, thought I would practice with the spare to make sure I could do it without screwing up. masking it took about a half hour, didn't turn out bad, i'm happy with it. Used duplicolor #229 and #318, colors I found on another site that seem to match great.


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