vbMike

iTrader: (2)

Here is what I’ve got.
87 Iroc 350
94 LT1 style T56
Hayes Street/Strip clutch
New factory hydraulics
3rd gen pedal set

Well I’m doing the 700R4 to T56 swap. Things have been going well, I was almost done and then I ran into a problem. Hopefully someone that has done the swap will know what I am talking about. I had the new tranny & crossmember installed and just bolted up the slave cylinder. I figured it would be a good time to try the clutch to see if it would disengage. The car wasn’t ready to start so I put the drive shaft in the tranny and left the other end disconnected to see if my father could turn it while I pushed in the clutch pedal. The tranny was in gear obviously. I pushed the pedal 1/3 of the way down and I heard a pop but continued to push until it was 2/3rds of the way to the floor and then I heard another pop that didn’t sound good. I let the clutch back up and tried to push it again and it was very stiff and wouldn’t budge. During this time my father never was able to turn the drive shaft. I took the slave cylinder & aluminum spacer back off and found that the fork was wedged up against the bellhousing. The picture shows what I mean. After feeling around I also found that the little metal fingers that go around the fork pivot point were broke off. So now I need to figure out what caused this.

The questions:
1. Is the end of the clutch fork (where the slave attaches) supposed to go inside the bellhousing when the clutch pedal is pressed? I’m wondering if the fork pivot point broke because the end of the fork hit the bellhousing or because something else was binding it up.

2. It appears that the fork will not work properly with the pivot point fingers broke off. Is that correct? Is there anyway to fix the clutch fork or will I have to buy a new one?

3. Is there any clutch installation guide out there I can read? I found one on the hays website but it wasn’t very good. This is my first time installing a clutch and want to make sure I didn’t screw anything up. Yes I used a alignment tool.

4. When I had the clutch apart the diaphragm fingers were bent toward the flywheel. As I tightened the two together the fingers slowly started to bend toward the transmission. Once the clutch was on and torqued to spec, the clutch housing (the part that contains the pressure plate and springs) was touching the flywheel and the fingers were now level with the pressure plate and flywheel. Does this sound correct? Sorry I don’t have a picture to better explain.

5. What sould I do to fix this? I'll probably have to take the tranny back off, right?

Answers to any of these questions will be greatly appreciated.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like you don't have something assembled correctly.

Here's a pic of one that's put together partly right. Note that the fork is BEHIND the arms of the T-shaped thing, and the fingers of that little spring would grab onto the FRONT of the T piece. In this pic, it was taken all apart, and somebody just sort of stuck the fork and the pivot back on, and they're obvisouly rotated wrong by about 150° (the 2 sides of the fork should be "around" the clutch gear bearing retainer); but they're at least put on in the right order.

IIRC the end of the fork where the slave cyl goes, should be sticking up out of the BH by some amount; it should go down about level, like in your pic, when the clutch is fully disengaged (pedal pressed).

Your description of the diaphragm behavior is correct. That's what those fingers should do.

I can't guess exactly how yours is wrongly assembled; but it definitely is.

vbMike

iTrader: (2)

Well I think I got the fork on right. The fork was in between the tranny and the t-nut. The pivot point fingers were also between the t-nut & tranny and the t-nut was in the cradle of the fingers.

I’m wondering if the clutch disc was not in perfect alignment so that it was binding up when I tried to push the clutch pedal and broke the pivot point fork fingers. When I put the tranny in the car the top was touching the bellhousing & the bottom had a small 1/8 inch gap. I figured it was close enough so I got it the rest of the way in by tightening the bolts.

1989CamaroLT4

When your fork is down that far it means it isn't/wasn't over the release bearing portion of your pressure plate. Very common issue, many people have struggled to figure this out, but it is very simple. Just take your fork, and push it inward over the release bearing on the pressure plate. You will feel and hear it snap over the release bearing. Use a flashlight if you have to, and if you don't understand what I'm saying you should pull the tranny back so you can see for yourself how the fork engages the pressure plate. No way your fork is down that far if it is over the release bearing.

vbMike

iTrader: (2)

I definatly had the fork on the throwout berring and the pivot point connected correctly. I know how it's supposed to go and I double & triple checked it. I could hear & feel the click when it snapped onto the T nut. I pushed on it with my hand and could see and feel that it was engagued. The reason it looks wrong in the picture is because when I pushed the pedal it broke the pivot fingers on the fork causing it to hit the bellhousing. I'm just trying to figure out what caused it to break. I'm going to take it appart tomorrow and have a look. This might be the last post for 2006. Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Tony89GTA

iTrader: (7)

I found this to be true when I had the stock clutch in but when I went with a aftermarket clutch it was sitting level with the bellhousing.

Sounds like you have your pressure plate installed correctly but not sure how you could have broken your fork like that.

vbMike

iTrader: (2)

I have 3rd gen pedals. Is it possible that the pedal throw is too far for the T56 hydraulics causing the fork to hit the bellhousing and break? Has this happened to anyone else?

vbMike

iTrader: (2)

Well you guys were right! I had the fork on wrong. I figured out what I did. I'm going to try to get it back together now. I'll post picture later so someone else doesn't make the same mistake.

vbMike

iTrader: (2)

The first time I installed the fork I put the retaining clip underneath the T nut. At the time it look right but was obviously wrong. It caused the fork to hit the bellhousing which then broke the retaining clip/spring. Attached is a picture of the correct way to install the fork. The retaining clip may look a little strange cuz part of it broke off but you get the idea. Everything seems to be working now.

vbMike

iTrader: (2)

Since were talking about the clutch here is a picture of the Hays clutch after I installed it. I just need to get a shifter & do some wiring and the car should be ready to go. All of the swap articles I read on here were great!!!

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Glad to hear that!!!

Even though it sucks big-time when something goes wrong, it's great to get it figured out and going right. I'm glad it worked out for you.

1989CamaroLT4

I'm curious - was it noticeably harder to slide your fork back and forth over the release bearing when the clip was under the t-nut?