[DML] Clutch Installation Questions

["content22207" <brobertson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Could someone with a manual transmission on the ground measure the
distance from the bellhousing mating surface to the end of the input
shaft? I am beginning to wonder if my input shaft does not protrude
far enough into the pilot bearing, among other things.

Clutch splines on my input shaft are 2" long. 1 1/8" on the pilot
bearing end are shiny bare metal. Final 7/8" have what looks like a
black oxide coating. Appears to pre-date these failed clutch
installations (can be scraped off with a knife, but requires fair
effort). Is this not where the original clutch disc was riding (that's
where the rust was), and is this not too close to the end of the shaft? 

Have had two replacements fail at about that exact same point (right
before input shaft splines begin to emerge from the clutch disc on the
pilot bearing side). 

Latest clutch disc test fit fine on the input shaft, all the way to
the end of the splines. I used the input shaft itself as an alignment
tool (before bellhousing reinstalled on the transmission). Yet during
installation the disc bound again.

Is the female coupler between the input shaft and the primary shaft
supposed to be permanently attached to the input shaft? Mine is, and
is seated all the way to the end of the input shaft splines. The
primary shaft roll pin only moves it 1/8" or so closer to the
bellhousing than it would be with the two shafts abutting. Is this
proper placement of that coupler?

This was my installation method, if anyone notices any flaws:
- Car was raised on jack stands under the crossmember
- A bottle jack on top of a jack stand was used on the pulley end of
the engine to keep it in line with the vehicle (without weight of the
transmission it tips towards the rear)
- Clutch disc was located with an alignment tool (first failed
installation) or the input shaft itself (second failed installation)
- Pressure plate was loaded by tightening bolts until resistance felt,
then finishing with multiple turns in trangular pattern, alternating
triangles between bolts on either side of the locating pins
- Alignment was checked again by removing and re-inserting the tool or
shaft
- Transmission was raised horizontally on a floor jack (easier said
that done!)
- Transmission was tipped so long threaded rods could be inserted
through the bellhousing into the block mounting holes (release bearing
was positioned on the clutch fork at this time)
- Transmission was slid forward on the rods as far as it would go
using muscle power alone. I simply could not get it flush with the
block this way. I slid it back and forth several times (so obviously
it wasn't bound on the clutch disc yet), but 3/16" to 1/4" was as
close as I could get. Rotating the engine with a socket wrench at this
point turned the final drive, so the input shaft had at least started
into the clutch disc splines
- Rods were removed and replaced with actual mounting bolts
- Bolts were used to pull transmission the rest of the way to the
block, alternating them to keep it moving true. This is obviously
where the discs bound. My dual exhaust conversion allows me to see all
four sides of the bellhousing. I checked the gap between the engine
and bellhousing repeatedly. No bolt was turned more than 1 full
revolution before the others. No bolts put up significant resistance.
Yet the stupid clutch disc bound anyway.

I've rolled the input shaft on a flat surface like a pushrod, and it
sure looks straight to me.

The engine does not run as if the flywheel is warped.

Is is possible to install one of these 28 spline clutch discs like an
old fashioned Ford disc (10 spline?). Has anyone on the List done it
successfully with a floor jack and the car on jack stands? 
 
I won't be at Mid Atlantic BTW.

Bill Robertson
#5939







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