Clutch help (1 Viewer)

[grich575]

Details:

1976 FJ40 with 327 SBC
I purchased the 40 in 2011 and the swap was already done

I have distinct whirring noise from the clutch when the clutch is out and it goes away when the clutch is pressed in.

The noise is new this week and started after crossing a deep mud hole.

There is no “mud” in the clutch that I can see

I’ve tried cleaning the area with brake cleaner and rinsing with water and it has done little to help. I drove it about 40 miles last night and the noise gets better once picking up RPM in gear but is pretty loud when not going down the road.

So today I’ve done a lot of reading and it sounds like my throw out bearing is failing.

I tried to spin the bearing with the vehicle in neutral and clutch out and there is no movement.

I also noticed that there is no return spring on the clutch arm are making me believe the bearing has been “dragging” all along

So this has me to wanting to replace the clutch set up...

And upon more research it seems to depend on the adapter used for the SBC conversion as to what clutch components to get

The pics below are of the bell housing adapter with hopes you guys can help me figure out what I have. I’m thinking this is an early Downey adapter before they were made out of aluminum but not sure

Insight and help appreciated

 

[grich575]

After posting this I realized I needed to check the setting of the slave to make sure it wasn’t too tight.

Found the tension on the clutch fork was too high to allow the bearing to completely release.

Now we have the noise figured out and a very loose throw out bearing If you watch closely in the video you can actually see it rattling around hear it bouncing off the clutch fork



So now back to the original question:
Can I go with the low profile clutch kits and stock FJ40 throw out bearing?

 

[pb4ugo]

1st, You can get a clutch return spring and try to get the bearing away from the pp plate. Downey will recommend one of his clutch kits because he has the p/p engineered so the slave cydrs throw will release the disc properly.

 

[Downey]

grich575, I answered the question you sent me in a private message, but now that I've looked at this general public post, and seen more pictures, I can now give you more information. You probably do have an early Downey adapter because you do have a Downey slave cylinder mounting bracket. No matter who's adapter you have you must use a stock Chevy "short" throw out bearing since you are using a Chevy shift fork, short T.O. bearing plentiful at any parts store. Then I'd use a couple spacer washers on the forward most slave cylinder mounting bolt (closest bolt to front of vehicle) to point the slave cylinder push rod inward, pointing to the most inboard slot in the shift fork. This will then give you more throw out bearing travel for better engage/disengage travel without having the bearing adjusted so close to the clutch fingers (not riding on the pressure plate fingers all the time).

 

[pbgbottle]

. Not a super big deal if your TO bearing touches once in a while just don’t rest your foot on the clutch pedal all day long while your flying down the road, leave your foot on the floor. ,, yep those washers Jim suggested help a lot. I have washers on my Downy slave adapter bracket also

 

[peesalot]

See the hole in the tab on the slave, return spring from there to end of arm.

 

[peesalot]

the nut that was on the back side of clutch fork fell off, mine has one there and works without a spring but having a spring is better IMO. I left the nut on the back and have a spring. I am not saying that the nut is needed or proper on the back just saying what I see. And my set up happens to be very similar.

 

[grich575]

the nut that was on the back side of clutch fork fell off, mine has one there and works without a spring but having a spring is better IMO. I left the nut on the back and have a spring. I am not saying that the nut is needed or proper on the back just saying what I see. And my set up happens to be very similar.

Thank you! I’ll attach a spring and not worry about the nut.

 

[pbgbottle]

I just have my spring hooked on the bleeder knipple and onto the hole on the end of the clutch fork. Also if you ever have a problem bleeding the slave you need to unbolt it and flip it over so bleeder is on the top.
With this setup it is technically upside down ,not to sure how much air would get trapped in there. But every bit of travel counts with this setup

 

[grich575]

I was looking at that as well. I haven’t been having a problem shifting but that was with the release bearing held tight to the fork and clutch.

I’ll see what happens when I put in the new clutch and will flip the slave to get things set up properly

 

[Downey]

That is exactly 1,000% what happens when a Chevota guy tries to use a stock Chevy pressure plate; your Toyota slave system does not have enough travel to disengage a Chevy clutch, so guys merely adjust the T.O. bearing up until it is riding on the pressure plate fingers so that less travel is now needed to fully disengage the clutch. This will waste the T.O. bearing in a hurry.

 

[pbgbottle]

No way who would do that. Adjust the free play insided the cab on the clutch pedaL rod and then set up the free play on the TO bearing so that it is not spinning when pedal released and you will be fine. You most likely
Will have to leave your slave upside down. It’s fine that way. Mines been like yours is for 20 years also been using the same fenco brand low profile pressure plate for that many years also. If you don’t check your free play inside the cab also your pedal may be hitting the floor before you have used up the full travel of your slave.

 

[grich575]

No way who would do that. Adjust the free play insided the cab on the clutch pedaL rod and then set up the free play on the TO bearing so that it is not spinning when pedal released and you will be fine. You most likely
Will have to leave your slave upside down. It’s fine that way. Mines been like yours is for 20 years also been using the same fenco brand low profile pressure plate for that many years also. If you don’t check your free play inside the cab also your pedal may be hitting the floor before you have used up the full travel of your slave.

Thank you! I’ll adjust that as well

 

[grich575]

So I grabbed a new throw out bearing and slid it on the retainer sleeve to verify if that needed replaced as well and there is a lot of slop between the bearing and sleeve.

This leads to a new question:
Do the Toyota 4 speed bearing retainers need to be turned down to fit the Chevy throw out bearing?

If they need to be turned down, is there someone here that does this?

 

[Downey]

I assumed all along that you were using a Chevy throw out bearing since you are using a Chevy shift fork, Toyota throw out bearing hub does not work with the Chevy shift fork. Perhaps the tube the throw out bearing rides on had already been machined down for the Chevy throw out bearing, and your photos do not show any abnormal wear on the bearing retainer tube????

 

[grich575]

It is a Chevy throw out bearing

Maybe I’m overthinking this but the bearing has about 1/16 of slop between it and the sleeve. It’ll rock slightly before it slides

It’s hard to see from the pics but you can feel a “groove” in the sleeve. Not like a huge gouge but it is definite

I know there are multiple ways to do these conversions but what is normal practice for using a Chevy throw out bearing on a Toyota 4 speed?

 

[Downey]

I believe we (Downey Off Road Mfg.) machined down that throw out bearing retainer tube to take the Chevy T.O. bearing, and a stock Chevy T.O. bearing should be a good fit, not with 1/16" of slop, but the photos of the tube do not make it look too worn. I'd say just grease up the tube slightly and run the new bearing you bought ???

 

[grich575]

When I get back in town and go to install the clutch I’ll take an actual measurement and shoot a video

 

[pbgbottle]

My bearing retainer was turned down from what I remember ,it was a pretty good fit to the bearing . Also if your TO bearing has been dragging it may have worn your clutch fork tips,you may need a new clutch fork also ,any wear here will also affect your travel. And the clutch fork pivot ball it may have wear on it also affecting your clutch travel , a bit tuff to replace the pivot ball if you can’t remove the bolts that hold the plate to the bellhousing. Mine was a pita To change. U need such a small Allen key to get those bolts out. The Allen key will flex or bend. Just something else to check for wear.

 

[grich575]

My bearing retainer was turned down from what I remember ,it was a pretty good fit to the bearing . Also if your TO bearing has been dragging it may have worn your clutch fork tips,you may need a new clutch fork also ,any wear here will also affect your travel. And the clutch fork pivot ball it may have wear on it also affecting your clutch travel , a bit tuff to replace the pivot ball if you can’t remove the bolts that hold the plate to the bellhousing. Mine was a pita To change. U need such a small Allen key to get those bolts out. The Allen key will flex or bend. Just something else to check for wear.

I will check both of those as well.

I haven’t tried to remove the bolts that hold the mounting plate but the seem to be big enough that a larger head allen could be used. Do you remember if there would be a technical reason to use a bolt with such small allen slot? Would a larger allen reduce strength of the surface area of the countersunk style bolt?