Re: Clutch and Transmission Installation Tips and Tricks Wanted!!!

Posted by Packard 1948 On 2015/7/29 19:25:09

>Don't hurt yourself. Use a box or combination wrench over the clutch fingers. Pull the clutch finger down and put the nut in place using needle nose pliers. That way if you slip you won't be an amputee. This also can be done on the bench which makes putting the unit together easier.

Yes...I found that the clutch/pressure plate assembly will NOT slide up into the bell housing if the pressure plate clutch fingers were not moved down and a 3/8 inch tall spacer (nuts) was placed in the gap to hold the pressure plate springs compressed. The assembly would hit the fork pivot and simply would not allow it to be placed into the bell housing. They are REALLY STRONG springs and the technique we discovered by trial (and fortunately no error) was to have my brother in law push down on one pressure plate finger (using a wood stick) at a time while I (using needle nose pliers) would insert the spacer and then he would release the pressure. I also discovered that when the clutch/pressure plate assembly was installed and torqued down that there is no gap available for the spacer to slide out and therefore it would get stuck inside the clutch/pressure plate assembly and there is NO WAY to get it dislodged. The cure will be to use a magnet to hold the nut while the finger is pressed in thus preventing the nut from dropping into the assembly. Gee...no suck mention in the Service Manual.

>Make sure that clutch disk will slide onto the trans input shaft splines before u do anything.

Good call. The Service Manual also says to lubricate the transmission splines and "stone" the splines if necessary to ensure a easy sliding of the clutch.

>Assemble the pressure plate to the engine and align the clutch disk while the engine is out of the car.

The SM has a clutch alignment tool that is both the "stick" that slips into the pilot bearing (and then the clutch disc is slid over this stick) -AND- it also has a round spacer that slips into the round opening of the bell housing thus positively centering the clutch disc. Naturally there is no such round disc so my hope is that the expensive NAPA metal clutch centering tool I bought will fit the pilot bearing snugly enough to have the centering tool stick out strait enough.

>I always prefer to R&R engine with trans REMOVED. In some cases where all of the front sheet metal is removed then MAYBE R&R as a unit.

The grille and the upper radiator support are removed so my hope is that the engine and transmission will slip into the engine bay without issue.

THANKS AGAIN!!!