seagull369

Hey guys. Just signed up.

Having a bit of a mystery involving the replacement of clutch on my 87 & was hoping someone could help. Put in new flywheel, clutch, pressure plate & TOB (all came as package). Mated trans back to engine but TOB doesn't begin to engage pressure plate springs until fork is about 1/2 to 3/4 along its travel length. I attached clutch cable and, after adjusting quadrant as far as it would go, there's too much slack in it. I looked inside fork window and visually compared pressure plate to one I took out and it appears spring fingers do protrude out as far on new one as much.

Is it possible I got sent the wrong pressure plate? It bolted up and aligned with the dowel pins without issue. I'm 99% sure I installed the clutch fork properly also..

Any thoughts?

dawson1112

your sure that the clutch fork did not slip off of the pivot ball?

seagull369

Hmm. I hadn't considered that.. It seemed pretty secure once I snapped the clip under the ball but I guess it's possible. I'll see if I can check it..

Thank you

dawson1112

Not sure how you went about reinstalling the trans, but I always separate the gear box from the bell housing to get it out and then put the bell housing back on the block first and reattach the gear box, so it makes it a bit tricky to line up the input shaft with the throw out bearing with out knocking the clutch fork off the pivot.

seagull369

I removed trans & bell housing as a unit (i.e. did not separate the 2). I can see how re-installing them separately, as you describe, could cause that problem.

seagull369

Wanted to say I made a typo in my original post. I should have said the spring fingers on the new pressure plate do NOT seem to protrude out as far as the old one.

Boss_Hotrod

The springs shouldnt protrude as much. As the clutch wears they will move further out. Why you have to loosen the cable as the clutch wears. Id check your cable adjustment again.

seagull369

Just so I understand, when the clutch is new, the fork will be closer to the front of the vehicle, and as it wears the fork will then move (as cable gets adjusted) further and further back.. Is that right?

Boss_Hotrod

Yes. The clutches use a belleville spring which is like a saucer looking spring. Thats why if you noticed as you tightened the clutch down the springs went inward (flattened out) As the clutch wears the opposite happens.

seagull369

Thank you. That helps a lot.