clutch inop after engine drop

[anp abrams]

rebuilt tranny ,reinstalled motor,now clutch does not engage.did not touch clutch, bearing,fork,etc.pedal non existent for 3 inches then extremely hard after that.any ideas?

[Zeke]

What year? Sure sounds like a cable or TO bearing problem, but knowing which knid you have would help.

I know, you're thinking well duh, where else could the problem be? But, to nail it specifically, give some more info.

[john walker's workshop]

did you watch the fork engage with the throwout bearing as you mated the engine and trans together, or did you just bolt them together?

[anp abrams]

just bolted together john

[anp abrams]

zeke,sorry it,s a 1980 sc,3.0 with 915 tranny.I think john walkers is on the right track.hope it doesn't entail another engine drop

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

John is dead on, as per usual ;-)

Please do not try and stomp on the clutch! take them apart, verify that your fork is in spec before re-using.

[klaucke]

I agree w/ JW. As you mate the engine and tranny, you need to engage the clutch fork w/ the throw out bearing. Right now you aren't actually disengaging the clutch, rather, you're just swinging the fork (where you said it was easy) and then just bending/flexing stuff in the system once the fork bottoms out inside the bellhousing (where you said it was very stiff). You'll need to drop again to fix it, or perhaps if you're crafty you could get away with just a partial engine drop, slide the motor back, do your work, then slide it forward and reinstall fully. I think it's easier to install the motor w/ the tranny though, and wasn't a fan of putting hte motor in w/ the tranny already up there.

[Neilk]

BTDT unfortunately

BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE...Step 2 after bolting the engine to the car should be to reconnect the clutch mechanism and check the clutch's engagement and travel. If you screw up, it's really easy to fix at that point.

[Bobboloo]

You can probably do a partial engine drop to fix this problem.

1. Drain the oil into a large clean container.

2. Unhook the shift rod, accelerator linkage, and clutch cable.

3. You might be able to get away with just removing the oil line hoses, oil breather hoses, and electrical. Just check and make sure you have enough slack in the fuel lines when you start lowering the motor.

4. Then loosen the tranny mount bolts so that there is plenty of slack but still screwed in.

5. Place jack under motor and remove the engine mount bolts.

6. Start lowering the motor and make sure there's enough slack left in the fuel lines.

7. Once the motor is low enough (about 30 degrees to the car) you should be able to look in the window at the top of the tranny bell housing and see if the fork is engaged to the TO bearing (flashlight may be needed).

8. Now just un-bolt the motor from the tranny and slide it back just far enough to get the fork onto the TO bearing. You do not need to completely seperate them and it's best that you don't.

It may take two people to get them together again. One person guides the fork and the other pushes on the motor to mate it with the tranny. One person can do it but it would involve inspection, push, inspection, push.

Good Luck and of course use common sense safety guidelines (don't push the car off the stands when someone is under there).

[Walt Fricke]

You may be able to get away with a little less removing of things than Bobby has on his very comprehensive list (assuming you hooked everything up). I do this all the time with my race motor because I usually leave the tranny in place (one of the pros of pulling the engine and tranny is that it is much easier to get the fork and TOB to mate with the two out on your garage floor where the looking is easy). You'd think I would have learned how to get it right first try, but noooo. I am able, however, to do this myself, tugging the engine on the jack to and fro while under the car, though help from my spouse is appreciated (and tends to tone my language down).

I think you may be able to avoid the "partial drop" part. You only need to slide the engine back far enough so that you can slip the fork finger tips over the first (and smaller diameter) lip of the TOB, and that's not too far. You can almost get a feel for this, and when things are properly seated you should be able to turn the vertical splined end throwout rod with your fingers and feel just the slightest play from the clearance of the finger ends in their groove in the TOB. If you remove the engine sheet metal at the rear this may give you the room you need before the alternator or the motor mount or something bumps into an unmoving chassis part (my race car has a few less chassis parts back there, which is why I say you may be able to do this without some engine lowering). Sliding straight back will avoid having to undo as many umbilicals as dropping and sliding (of course, I have learned not to start hooking things up until I have verified the clutch action, and now you have also), and that is a plus. I don't suppose the large rubber line from the tank to the pump will allow the movement you need backward, though.

When you can't get the engine to slide toward the tranny to close the gap, chances are you got the fork too far the other way and it is pressing against the diaphragm spring.

The partial drop will facilitate looking in the hole in the tranny case, but it is awkward however you do it with the tranny in the car. A mirror helps once you get your bearings on what looks like what and where it is. A flashlight with an optical extension you can poke down in there can help even more as long as it doesn't get in the way of looking.

At whatever angle you decide to use, I'd think of giving the tranny some support. In my race car with solid mounts the tranny stays basically level even with no engine attached. With rubber mounts you can use the tranny mounts to hold the tranny at a maximum down angle, though I don't recall just what that is. And as long as the back and forth sliding does not exceed the longest of the studs holding the engine and tranny together, and the input shaft sliding in the splines of the clutch plate, the engine and tranny should stay coaxial. But it shouldn't be too hard to stick some kind of prop in to lessen the binding forces.

Just keep trying until you get it. Eventually you will.

Walt Fricke

[john walker's workshop]

you lean over the top of the engine and hold a mirror and flashlight so you can actually see the fork engaging the t/o bearing through the hole in the bellhousing.

[anp abrams]

THXS TO ALL!!!!WILL GIVE IT A SHOT WHEN TIME PERMITS AND WILL LET YOU KNOW THE OUTCOME.THXS AGAIN.PHIL