I checked my coil. Is it good?

[MarcDeSoto]

Yes, I seated both snap rings.  There is no grease nipple, but they are not greased for life.  I think the shop manual said to grease the joints every two years.  I am not sanding worn crosses, but the yoke.  If they are crenulated, they are trash.  I think I'm good on the u-joints now.  I will install the driveshaft tomorrow and hope the wobble is gone.  I wonder what the torque specification is for the bolts?  

[D35 Torpedo]

1 hour ago, MarcDeSoto said:

Yes, I seated both snap rings.  There is no grease nipple, but they are not greased for life.  I think the shop manual said to grease the joints every two years.  I am not sanding worn crosses, but the yoke.  If they are crenulated, they are trash.  I think I'm good on the u-joints now.  I will install the driveshaft tomorrow and hope the wobble is gone.  I wonder what the torque specification is for the bolts?  

You can't hang on every word in the shop manual...it's probably not the original u-joint the manual is refering to. Anyways, hope that fixes things... but really don't think it will. There was something else going on in that vid. Good luck. Edit I just saw that you are using NOS joints. Hard to believe the factory expects a mechanic to press them out to relube, but they did that kind of stuff back then. Greased for life is a modern thing. The grease is that good.

Edited April 7, 2023 by D35 Torpedo

[MarcDeSoto]

Yes, NOS u-joints.  And they are not making them anymore, which could be a problem for current and future restorers. I found out in the shop manual that the torque spec for the driveshaft nuts and bolts is 17 - 21 foot pounds.  Well, I'll see tomorrow if that driveshaft wobble is gone.  

[MarcDeSoto]

Well, the u-joint is turning great right now.  But I still have a problem with the transmission not shifting into gear with the engine running.  So I have to hold the shift lever on to get the driveshaft to spin.

 

 

 

 

[Los_Control]

driveshaft looks good now ... you ready to do mu u-joints? 

 

I'm thinking not engaged.

When mine was out of adjustment, I had to push it all the way to the floor.

I could feel the difference from just stretching out the spring & the very last 1" it got harder to press as it was engaging the clutch.

 

I'm just thinking you should be able to feel the difference in spring tension & when the pressure plate is actually engaging.

 

After adjusting mine, I can now feel a few inches of spring travel then the pressure plate is activated .... no longer need to push it all the way to the floor.

I feel like I adjusted it too much, now need to back it off a bit.

 

You should feel the 2 stages of tension when putting in the clutch.

[Jerry Roberts]

Can you push the clutch in farther ? 

[JerseyHarold]

Could the clutch disc be installed backwards, throwing off the geometry of engaging/ disengaging?

[MarcDeSoto]

Something's wrong.  I'll try pushing the clutch in further, but that would be below the where the floorboard would be.  I might have to pull the driveshaft and trans to look closer to what is happening with the clutch.  

[Dodgeb4ya]

So why was the driveshaft wobbling...

What exactly was the cause and what corrected that issue?

Was one of the inner cup circlips missing, one of the wing joint crosses not correctly seated down into the machined trans flange groove?

Maybe one of the wing clamps not positioned and holding one of the joint wings in place 100%....

The grease would not have caused your issue...just old dis-colored grease...

Others with these odd "Soto" U-joints might like to know as possibly others..?

As for the clutch dis-engagement issue you need to see the pressure plate separate (move away)  from the clutch disc as you fully depress the pedal.

And you do have 1" of top pedal free play?

Edited April 8, 2023 by Dodgeb4ya

[Dodgeb4ya]

3 minutes ago, MarcDeSoto said:

Something's wrong.  I'll try pushing the clutch in further, but that would be below the where the floorboard would be.  I might have to pull the driveshaft and trans to look closer to what is happening with the clutch.  

Just first remove the lower cast iron cover to look/see.

[MarcDeSoto]

I don't know for sure what caused the problem with the front u-joint.  With the new u-joint, I used new my old cross since the jounals were not rough and some NOS caps and blocks on it.  Since I had gained some experience and used the proper press tool to install it, it went on smoothly.  I had to press the cap on a bit more after installing the first snap ring to get the second one on.  That is a good idea to remove the bottom cover of the bell housing to see what's going on with the clutch.  As JerseyHarold said, I hope I didn't install the clutch disc in backwards!  I'm also dealing with a new problem: and oil leak from the timing case cover, so I ordered new gaskets and seal for that.  

Edited April 8, 2023 by MarcDeSoto

[D35 Torpedo]

7 hours ago, MarcDeSoto said:

I don't know for sure what caused the problem with the front u-joint.  With the new u-joint, I used new my old cross since the jounals were not rough and some NOS caps and blocks on it.  Since I had gained some experience and used the proper press tool to install it, it went on smoothly.  I had to press the cap on a bit more after installing the first snap ring to get the second one on.  That is a good idea to remove the bottom cover of the bell housing to see what's going on with the clutch.  As JerseyHarold said, I hope I didn't install the clutch disc in backwards!  I'm also dealing with a new problem: and oil leak from the timing case cover, so I ordered new gaskets and seal for that.  

Usually you can't install them backwards. Just because of physical constraints. If you somehow did, and there is enough room to do so, it wouldn't change how the clutch opperates. I think you have a linkage issue. Glad you sorted whatever it was out. Edit: In your vid, you shifted it without it grinding, so it's fine. Putting the clutch in while it's in gear will still spin the driveshaft because there is some frictional drag. The pilot bushing for instance. The wheels are free spinning so it's hard to tell. Can you shift into first?

Edited April 8, 2023 by D35 Torpedo

[soth122003]

Mark,

Check your back motor mounts. Are they compressed? If you can't tell, an easy check is to jack the engine/tranny area up about 1-2 inches and see if the shift is easier. If it is your motor mounts are mashed and need to be replaced.

 

Joe Lee

[Dodgeb4ya]

The clutch disc cannot be put in backwards on a Fluid Drive coupling.

The driven plate on the coupling is pretty much flat. It would be apparent the disc installs only one way. 

 

[MarcDeSoto]

My motor mounts are newly installed with the correct soft rubber.  I'm going to take the clutch pan off and slide under there to see if the clutch is disengaging from the driven plate.  But right now I'm working on repairing the oil leak coming from the timing case cover.  

[MarcDeSoto]

I rented a harmonic balancer puller today from O'Reillys.  The kit doesn't come with right size bolts for the crankshaft hub, which are 5/16 X 18, so you have look through your cans of bolts for the right size, or use the bolts you took out, but they are only 3/4" long.  I pulled out the hub, so now I guess the next step is to support the front end of the engine and remove the front engine mount.  Then I can remove the timing chain cover and proceed from there with cleaning, new gaskets, and new oil seal at the hub hole.  

[Sniper]

Does the hub have a groove worn in it where the seal rides?

[Dodgeb4ya]

Are you sure the hub bolts are 18 tpi?

Originally all 1946-54 Chrysler DeSoto six hub bolts were 5/16" X 24 fine thread.

Doesn't really matter but have never seen one in course thread.

Just took two off last week.

[MarcDeSoto]

Yes, you are right.  Someone must have screwed two or three 18 thread bolts in there and messed up the threads.  I will tap those threads for 24 tpi.  Also the Parts List gives the length as only 5/8", not 3/4".  It's the camshaft plate bolts that are 18 thread.  Since I'm planning on pulling the oil pan and putting a new oil pan gasket in, I guess I should do that first, while the engine is stil supported by the motor mount.  Then mount a couple of two by fours on jack stands to hold the block.  Install the timing cover gaskets and seal, then the front motor mount.  Then, remove the two by fours and install the oil pan.