Simple question..does a z bar wear out?Not talking about anything else..just the basic z bar itself.Why would one replace a z bar?Only if it is bent,broken,etc?

 

If you don't grease the cross shaft regularly, they wear where they ride on the ball studs. Then you get the familiar cogging effect, where you push the clutch and it's hard to push, then it suddenly goes in a little and stops, then you push some more, and the same thing happens in reverse on engagement..... kind of like a badly adjusted door hinge with no lube or something. It's why I hate mechanical clutch linkages and will never own another again if I can help it.

 

Gets greased at every oil change.I swapped out the original for a new GM one 5 years ago when this motor was installed.I was just curious if the original was junk or not..shows no wear signs or anything anywhere.

 

Good... not many people put a grease fitting into them. Why the factory didn't, is a mystery to me. I found (back in the 70s, long before I got this 83 car) that it helped alot to add one and keep them greased, but it just postpones the inevitable failure.

 

Mine had it from the factory!Even the new one I bought had one.

 

Even if the z-bar wears out you should be able to rebuild it. It's a couple of simple parts and then put a new ball stud on one end and a new frame side ball on the other. You may not be able to get the rebuild parts seperately for the 3rd gens, but they are commonplace for older musclecars. They definately need grease though. The factory arrangment is a little mickey mouse I must admit. I like the feel of a properly working mechanical linkage a lot better than a hydraulic, but there's something to be said for a zero maintenence part.

 

I guess you're just lucky!!!

Mine didn't. It had a hole though. But I had to add the Zerk.

My older cars, anything from 50s cars & trucks to 69 Chevelles, I had to even drill the hole in some of them. I can't recall any more which ones. I've got this problem with "recall" sometimes. It's like they say, when you get old, your memory is the 2nd thing you lose; problem is, I forget what the first one was supposed to be. Oh well, I guess it's too late to worry about it now, it's already gone, whatever it was.

I got real sick of dealing with sticky mechanical linkages a long time ago. I swapped that crap out of my 83 back in about 86 or so. Haven't missed it for one instant since then.

 

Quick question, what is the z-bar?

 

Us old guys used to call it a bell crank. It's part of the clutch linkage.

http://www.nastyz28.com/tech/e-clutchp.jpg

It's Find No. 9 in the drawing.

In my experience, it doesn't wear out so much as the arms get bent or the arm welds fatigue, crack and then they bend.

 

So, this is part of the mech clutch system and not a hydraulic system like I have.

 

Yup

 

the "clutch cross shaft" is the proper term. They can bend and you won't notice it until you compare with a new one. Grease it!! very good advice. Mine was worn out at the holes, so I welded them up, redrilled them and then made heim-joint ends for the rods. Not a huge amount of work, and well worth it. there is some room there for added bracing as well. They are really very trouble free with a little maintenance.

 

I actually broke mine... from what I've heard from RB and Five7, thats not uncommon either. It actually cracked on the top 'arm' of the Z-bar, the arm that connects to the pushrod from the pedal. It cracked about 3/4" above the bottom of the arm, where its welded to the shaft. I just put it in a vise, pinched it back together and welded it up. Haven't had a problem since (this was summer 2003).

For the record, I took the opportunity to grease it while it was out, and it worked much better afterwards.

 

Best advice anyone can give for a mechanical set up.I myself also built spherical rod ended linkage for mine around 6 years ago.Braced each arm of the new Z bar I purchased and have had zero problems to date.Nice thing is I have a spare (the original) if ever...

"They are really very trouble free with a little maintenance"...much like any other system on an automobile..maintenance is key!

Add some bracing to that arm and never worry about it again.Like anything else on a hi performance car..there is ALWAYS room for improvement.Think about it..these cars came with 140hp 305's and mushy clutches..not exactly hi po.Clutch linkage falls along these same lines.

Again we come back to the "grease it" advice..

 

Yup... I don't care about the T5 Z-bar too much anymore, so I won't bother with that one. I will be beefing up the Z-bar for my T10 though, before it gets installed in the spring.

 

I too have seen a fair number of Z-bars fail on older musclecars. I think that it was mainly due to the old Borg&Beck and Long style clutches. These suckers had astronomical clamp loads that really put a lot of stress on the linkage (and your left foot!). The typical solution is to weld up and cracks and then add a kicker brace betweent he arms and the body. The usually hold up well like that. Eliminating the wear points by using spherical rod ends is also a good idea. There are companies that now sell linkages with rod ends specifically for popular older musclecars.

Z-bar stress is less of a problem with the newer diaphragm style pressure plates. It still isn't a bad idea to reinforce the Z-bar if it's out of the car and you're handy with a welder.