strange throwout bearing problem

[CobraV8]

I have a toploader 4 speed in my car, with a master and slave cylinder setup.

The problem is as folllows: the clutch fork moves a little towards the throwout bearing when you engage the clutch:



This causes the small clips on the throwout bearing to break off after some time or even pulls out the rivets that hold the clips:



The clutch fork is not secured radially in any way. It only rests on a pivot like this:



How is this supposed to work without damaging the bearing?




I also noticed that many clutch forks have a metal clip riveted to the underside like this one:


The one that's in my car doesn't have no clip or holes for rivets at all. But it has holes through the side rails of the fork, just below the pivot point. Looks like they were ment to bolt something through:






Will this fork and pivot not work together? All parts are Ford OEM. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Simon

[mj_duell]

Are you running a Lakewood Bellhousing, not sure from picture? Is it aligned? Not sure if that is a problem, but it is a good place to start.

--Mike / Turn Ten Racing, Inc.

[CobraV8]

Mike you are right, it is a lakewood bellhousing. I recently had a starter problem and suspected the bellhousing alignment to be the cause, however it turned out the brand new starter itself was defective.
If the alignment was so far off to break the clips on the throwout bearing I think there would be some real problems with the transmission input shaft.
But you're right, you never know with these aftermarket bellhousings.

What about the clip on the clutch fork? Did Ford produce several styles of pivots and forks?

[mj_duell]

Originally Posted by CobraV8

Mike you are right, it is a lakewood bellhousing. I recently had a starter problem and suspected the bellhousing alignment to be the cause, however it turned out the brand new starter itself was defective.
If the alignment was so far off to break the clips on the throwout bearing I think there would be some real problems with the transmission input shaft.
But you're right, you never know with these aftermarket bellhousings.

What about the clip on the clutch fork? Did Ford produce several styles of pivots and forks?

I am not sure if Ford made different versions of the clips. You have the same set-up I had on my 428FE and toploader. Is it possible the arm is over extending or pivoting incorrectly? My fork did not have the metal clip attached to it, but was the same shape and style as yours. I think you should contact http://www.4speedtoploaders.com/ and ask David. He would know about the fork and clips.



--Mike / Turn Ten Racing, Inc.

[CobraV8]

The clutch works just like it should, no other problems besides the one with the throwout bearing.

There is no interference between the fork and the cutout in the bellhousing.I checked the whole setup several times from under the car while I had a friend depress the clutch pedal.



I found one interesting thing on Davids homepage:

he sells this part as a "Bellhousing clutch fork pivot for 1968 and newer forks"



This is the kind of pivot I have installed.
My transmission is the older- style 1964 narrow housing Toploader. Chances are the fork is also pre- '68.

What pivot was used before 1968?

[Burgs]

I would say you need to use the fork, with the clip, to use the pivot you have.

[Wayne Maybury]

I ran a similar setup in a '65 HiPo Mustang and the only problem I ever had was that pivot kept braking so a friend welded in a triangular support. No problem after that.

If your fork is going in too far and hitting those clips, there seems to be an alignment problem of some sort. If everything else works well and you have all of the correct parts, the holes in the pivot could be modified so that it could be moved outwards slightly or I guess you could grind an 1/8" off of the ends of the fork. However, I would start by checking the alignment and making sure that you have the correct fork and/or correct pivot for that bellhousing before modifying anything.

Wayne

[Rick Parker]

There is a wire sping type clip that hooks into the holes on the side of the clutch fork and attaches to the pivot from under the fork also, it is an Anti-rattle clip. It is a universal part to many of the Ford manual Transmission setups from the 60's-70's before the introduction of the cable actuated clutches found in the 5.0 Mustang. Check the surface of the fork that stradles the input shaft and contacts the throw out bearing under the riveted clips, the face of the fork should be smooth so it does not attempt to force the bearing sideways (which it cannot do) while bottoming on the clips on the bearing assembly as it moves through its range of motion, put a small amount of grease on the fork ends where they contact the bearing and on the lever pivot where it contacts the lever itself. I think these clips are universal, but check with Dave Kee or similar authority. The clip on the rusty lever is intended to slip in the rectangular slot of the Pivot that you are illustrating, it accomplishes the same thing. You may have a mismatched pivot and lever?
Good luck

http://www.scottdrake.net/prod_detai...Clutch+related

[CobraV8]

Rick, thanks a bunch! This information is really helpfull.

I'll get one of the newer style clutch forks that matches the pivot.

Hopefully this will solve the problem.