Clutch Question

[my48stake]

My son and I pulled the clutch out of our '48 stake yesterday.  By way of background, this truck was bought new by my grandfather's cousin and he gave it to me.  It sat in his barn from '73 until about '86 when I got it and I've just started working on it in the past year.  

 

Over all it's in pretty great shape with only 45k miles and garage (barn) kept condition.  Of course it has all the usual "sitting for 40 years" issues of rubber decay, surface rust, varnish...

 

One problem the truck had from the time I got it was that the clutch would not disengage.  Back then we pulled it around the farm with the pedal down trying to get it to loosen up with no luck.  As stated above, we finally got the clutch out yesterday and everything looks nearly factory new.  No rust, nothing appears to be locked up, bearing spins free, friction surfaces show very little wear.  

 

Not sure why it wasn't disengaging in the first place but before I just put it back in and try again, any suggestions on other checks I should do?

 

[MBF]

Not an uncommon problem for something that sits for a long time.  Old timers used to block the clutch pedal to the floor when storing a vehicle for an extended period of time.  That way the clutch wouldn't stick when they were ready to use the vehicle.

What does the face of the flywheel look like?  If it were mine, I'd try to clean up the pressure plate and flywheel with a scotchbrite pad or very fine emery cloth/sand paper, replace the disk and throwout bearing and put it back together.   Be careful working around the dust on the clutch parts.  Those old clutches used a high asbestos content material.  Wear an approved respirator while you're cleaning the parts and do it in an open  environment.    Good project.  Mike

[seabee1950]

Not an expert but I kinda think that the Disk might of been stuck to the flywheel and you might of broke it lose by removing the inspection cover and hitting it while the clutch was depressed , but that's just my thinking on this. 

[Don Coatney]

Were it me I would replace the disc, replace the throw out bearing, send the pressure plate out for a rebuild, remove the flywheel and have it re-surfaced, and replace the pilot bushing. Much easier to do it now while it is apart and the cost is not that much. Several folks myself included have used Tennessee clutch for pressure plate rebuilds, replacement pilot bushings, and disc replacement. They are quick and inexpensive. These parts will fit into a USPS flat rate box so freight is cheep.

 

[P15-D24]

Agree with Don, you are in there now just refresh and be done with it. 

[B1B Keven]

Another source:

 

http://www.midwestmilitary.net/dodgewc16.html

 

Dodge Clutch Kit
Correct fit for all 1/2, 3/4, 1 & 1-1/2 Ton Dodge trucks.
Re-manufactured plate, new disc, pilot bushing, return spring, and throw-out bearing.
Core required.
Kit - $140.00

[my48stake]

Thanks everyone.  Rebuild/replacement sounds like a good idea.  Since we've already got everything out and since it's relatively inexpensive I'll likely go that route.

[squirebill]

I have a B1B that sat for a long time and once I got it running and tried to shift the gears it would grind a bit going into each and every gear. Seemed as though the clutch wasn't completely disengaging. Came to this forum with the problem. Type in "Clutch Installation" in the Search block at top of page. Upshot of my situation was the flywheel had been resurfaced and .200 inches was machined from the thickness. This meant the free play of the clutch pedal was about 3". If the pedal was then pushed to the floor I'm not sure there was enough travel of the throwout bearing to completely disengage the clutch. Measure the thickness of your flywheel from the clutch disc wear surface to the back of the flywheel at it's thickest section. It should be about 1.3" thick. Mine was 1.1" thick. Like recommended above I sent my components to Tennessee Clutch for disc resurface and clutch adjustment with the fingers adjusted .2" high to compensate for the .2" machined off the flywheel surface. They were just delivered to the clutch shop today. Once I get them back and installed will advise this forum. Good luck. Note that I'm dealing with a 1/2 ton B1B pickup. If your stake body is 1/2 ton, dimensions above probably apply. If your truck is a heavier tonnage, I'm not sure.

Edited July 20, 2013 by squirebill

[my48stake]

I have a B1B that sat for a long time and once I got it running and tried to shift the gears it would grind a bit going into each and every gear. Seemed as though the clutch wasn't completely disengaging. Came to this forum with the problem. Type in "Clutch Installation" in the Search block at top of page. Upshot of my situation was the flywheel had been resurfaced and .200 inches was machined from the thickness. This meant the free play of the clutch pedal was about 3". If the pedal was then pushed to the floor I'm not sure there was enough travel of the throwout bearing to completely disengage the clutch. Measure the thickness of your flywheel from the clutch disc wear surface to the back of the flywheel at it's thickest section. It should be about 1.3" thick. Mine was 1.1" thick. Like recommended above I sent my components to Tennessee Clutch for disc resurface and clutch adjustment with the fingers adjusted .2" high to compensate for the .2" machined off the flywheel surface. They were just delivered to the clutch shop today. Once I get them back and installed will advise this forum. Good luck. Note that I'm dealing with a 1/2 ton B1B pickup. If your stake body is 1/2 ton, dimensions above probably apply. If your truck is a heavier tonnage, I'm not sure.

 

Thanks,  My truck is a 1 ton but I'll check that.  I ended up sending my clutch to Tennessee Clutch.  Randall did a fantastic job!!  Still need to have the flywheel resurfaced and then we'll put her back together.

[my48stake]

Okay, flywheel is resurfaced and we're ready to put her back together today.  Any tips/tricks to removing the old pilot bushing before we dive in?

[squirebill]

Last time I did a pilot bushing I borrowed a dent puller type slide hammer that had a set of internal bearing puller jaws.  As mentioned in another forum here, pay attention to the material of the new pilot bushing.  If it's bearin bronze it is recommended it be lubed with a few drops of oil since it alreadty comes impregnated with oil in it's pores and grease will clog them up and prevent the oil from coming out of the pores.  If it is any other material I would lube it per the manual with a bit of short fiber grease.  Do you know how much material was removed when you had the flywheel resurfaced?  Did Randall at Tennessee Clutch know that dimension when he set up your pressure plate?  Point being, the clutch assembly will now be farther away from the throwout bearing when the clutch pedal is in the full up position.  That will require the pedal to be pushed farther towards the floor to get the throwout bearing to engage the clutch fingers.  This results in excessive freeplay of the clutch pedal and it may not be possible to adjust for the recommended 1" pedal freeplay. Also, when the pedal is pushed fully to the floor there may not be enough stroke left to fully disengage the clutch. This problem can be remedied by making an adjustment to the height of the clutch fingers using the adjusting nuts but you have to know how much was machined off the flywheel. If it was a few thousanths of an inch, probably no problem.  Mine had .200" machined off and it was a problem.

[Don Coatney]

Pack the hole with grease. Find a bolt that fits snugly in the hole. Tap the bolt in and the hydraulic pressure will drive the pilot bushing out.

[my48stake]

Last time I did a pilot bushing I borrowed a dent puller type slide hammer that had a set of internal bearing puller jaws.  As mentioned in another forum here, pay attention to the material of the new pilot bushing.  If it's bearin bronze it is recommended it be lubed with a few drops of oil since it alreadty comes impregnated with oil in it's pores and grease will clog them up and prevent the oil from coming out of the pores.  If it is any other material I would lube it per the manual with a bit of short fiber grease.  Do you know how much material was removed when you had the flywheel resurfaced?  Did Randall at Tennessee Clutch know that dimension when he set up your pressure plate?  Point being, the clutch assembly will now be farther away from the throwout bearing when the clutch pedal is in the full up position.  That will require the pedal to be pushed farther towards the floor to get the throwout bearing to engage the clutch fingers.  This results in excessive freeplay of the clutch pedal and it may not be possible to adjust for the recommended 1" pedal freeplay. Also, when the pedal is pushed fully to the floor there may not be enough stroke left to fully disengage the clutch. This problem can be remedied by making an adjustment to the height of the clutch fingers using the adjusting nuts but you have to know how much was machined off the flywheel. If it was a few thousanths of an inch, probably no problem.  Mine had .200" machined off and it was a problem.

 

Thanks, there was a few thousandths taken off the flywheel.  It was not pitted so it was just a light grind to take off glaze and some surface rust.  The new pilot came from Tennessee Clutch and looks to be the oil impregnated type so I'll oil rather than grease.

 

@Don:  Great idea to hydraulic out the old bushing!!

[my48stake]

Okay, hydraulicing out the old bushing and using a slide hammer didn't work.  I put a washer behind the bushing to help the slide hammer and all it managed to do is fold the washer without budging the bushing.

 

I'm thinking I'll either need to reuse the old one or drill it out.  Any other suggestions?  

 

If I drill it out then it looks like I need a 15/16 drill by my measurement.  Can anyone confirm this?

[Dodgeb4ya]

To hydraulic the bushing out the drift must fit the bushing very accurately and should be a solid steel driver (trans countershaftect) for the best results. Pack the cavity 100% with out air any excessive pockets,pack 3/4 of the cavity and pilot bushing. Otherwise rent a professional pilot bearing removal tool. I'll post a pic later.

You could carefully use a small saw blade and carefully saw through one side of the bushing and cave it in to remove it too.

Bob

[Plymouthy Adams]

oilite chips easily..a small groove cut into the side of the bushing with a chisel point..then use a very small device of your choice the go between the two surfaces..wha-la..the bushing is scarified...breaks right out

[my48stake]

Small groove and puller did the trick.  Thanks for the advice.  

 

Any tricks to putting the whole thing back together that I should watch out for?