Search the Community

Well, after a long hiatus, both from the forum and the '47 Plymouth, we are getting things going again. We 'blew up' a clutch a while back and experienced a some problems trying to replace it. Not sure if I brought the first set of problems on to myself . . . In looking at the flywheel, there are two sets of bolt holes: the 'inner' set matches up to my original Borg & Beck 9-1/8" Clutch and Pressure Plate, rebuilt by TN Clutch in 2005. The 'outer' set of holes match up to the 10" 6-Spring Borg & Beck Clutch I had on my shelf. (Clutch Pat. No. 2.277.555-2.448.079; 9-Spring Pressure Plate Pat. No. 1889939-1880590-2104982). I believe these came out of an early 50's auto. With a son in 3-On-The-Tree learning mode, I thought the 10" would be a good drop in. My Clutch alignment tool fit fine, the clutch splines matched up with the trani shaft splines, but was a bit of a tight fit. We tried multiple times to mount the clutch, pressure plate and trani and things sort of hung there. Last week we pulled the 10" clutch/pressure plate out and installed a spare 9-1/8" Borg & Beck that appeared to have some life left in it. Doing some reading, I realized that there was a gasket missing between the bell housing and trani - never had one there that I'm aware of. We made a gasket for that interface , got everything lined up with a little difficulty and installed. Possible problem - with parts lying on the garage floor for over a year, there was a possibility of the propeller shaft getting flipped end for end . . . any problem there? We've pulled it back out and reversed it without any change. Oh, that brings me to the problem I'm having, starting out in 1st or reverse or downshifting 3rd into 2nd, there is a horrible shuddering and clanging; actually shakes the front end. It is almost impossible to get a smooth start. Pulling the floor and watching while moving the car, you can feel the shuddering, but the bouncing of the engine on the mounts I expected was not there. Engine mounts are probably original. Looking at the propeller shaft during movement I can see it 'bouncing' back and forth as it turns. I have a video I'll post shortly that will demonstrate that better than my writing. Maybe this movement is normal, as I've never looked at the propeller shaft during start up . . . Any suggestions on locating the source of the vibration? I know this is hard when you can't put hands, eyes and ears on the car! John