stallion11030

Well, i got up under the car today to screw around with it and i took off the access cover and the clutch fork is VERY loose. cable wise it is tight, but if i push side to side it prob can move about an inch from one side to the other. And, when i do move it in that direction, it makes the annoying squeaking noise that i always THOUGHT was a bad throwout bearing but it apparently is not. Is there any way to tighten the clutch fork without taking out the tranny?? and also, would a loose clutch fork cause the clutch pedal to stick when fully pressed down? bc it is doing that and that leads me to believe that there is some other problem...

Jazzer The Cat

Take a look at an old clutch replacement thread of mine that describes the issue I had and sounds to be similar to yours. I never had sticking while clutch was depressed, but had trouble disengaging and VERY hard to push at times. The link to pics are dead, but can find them and repost if you really need them.

All the movement you describe sounds like too much to me, but has been quite a while since I was in there. If you have pretty much anything up in there that is bad and in need of replacement, you are gonna have to pull the trans

Jazzer

EDIT: This was our trip to Disneyland and where the trouble really begain (see post #47)

stallion11030

well, is the fork supposed to be able to move at all from side to side?? like is it supposed to be very very tight?

Jazzer The Cat

I am not sure what the tolerances should be, but am sure it is not very much. I would guess no more than 1/2" either way of center, but am only guessing. If you push it inward (straight away from the opening toward the passenger side of the car), the fork should NOT move more than a VERY slight amount as it is on the pivot bolt in which it rests. The clutch fork works kinda like a teeter-totter and is fixed to the top of the pivot bolt. If the fork partially slides off, the fork will actully rub on the bell housing cover plate you remove to gain access. The fork then is "driven" into the side of the TO bearing sleeve and creates a lot of resistance when pressing on the clutch. This was a clue to how I figured out what was happening after I got it all apart.

Jazzer

Furinox

Your statement is actually kind of wrong. I had a binding pilot bearing causing the clutch to not disengage properly. The needle bearings inside the pilot bearing were falling out when I pulled the tranny. So yes, the pilot bearing can cause the clutch to not work correctly.

Jazzer The Cat

^ Boy.... I guess if the needle bearings fall out and get lodged in the clutch/pressure plate mechanism.

This was really a symantic issue between the description of the sleeve in which the throw-out bearing rides and the bearing at the end of the crankshaft in which the input shaft rides. I can see how one might describe the sleeve as a "pilot bearing" as this is not a bad description, just confusing as another part has that actual name.

Jazzer

johnr2001gt

other then the pilot bearing somehowe coming apart and and needle bearings getting lodged somewhere its not going to affect you clutch working. all it will do is make a noise.

My sons 98 had the same issues you are having and we replaced the clutch fork and new oem tob and all is great since.

you want to put some good high temp grease on the shaft where the tob rides and a thin coat on the face of the tob and you should be good to go. these clutch forks where out or get bent somethimes.

we bought a ford oem fork and tob for 65.00