H55F and V8 Clutch options

[rover67]

I have a Centerforce Clutch that I got from Advance Adapters in the truck now and am not pleased with it. Any suggestions on alternate routes?

Truck has a Mark's Adapter in it, and the Advance Adapters Flywheel for the 5.3L Vortec. I am also currently running the stock Master cylinder and Slave cylinder.

 

[90FJ62]

Rover
I dont know much about the different clutches as I have a 62 but was reading this thread the other day and orangefj45 was talking about the centerforce cluthc and how he prefered to use a different one. May want to take a look and see if the brand he recommends will work in your application.

Here is link to thread:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/125194-fj62-out-auto-crawler.html


Dave

 

[ginericLC]

I blew up 2 centerforce clutches in my V8j60 and then wrecked a disc when my Ranger Underdrive started leaking. I eventually went to a Sachs clutch and had no problems. Another thing that is critical is having an adjustable clutch slave rod. A lot of 60 series did not have adjustable slaves (later model ones) and this causes problems as the conversion requires clutch slave adjustment. If you don't have an adjustable slave I'd try that first before tearing into it.

 

[Downey]

Rover, if you go back to the early days of Chevotas, Chevy clutches took more travel to disengage than was built into the Toyota hydralics. For that reason AA and Downey built clutches that took less travel to disengage. Somewhere along the line Chevy and/or aftermarket clutch companies must have converted to something similar to what AA and Downey have been selling because there are so many IH8MUD posters claiming to be using something other than AA or Downey clutches with great satisfaction. This begs the question; is there really no need for special Chevota clutches, or are some people merely getting by with a highly questionable clutch adjustment?????

 

[inkpot]

Rover, if you go back to the early days of Chevotas, Chevy clutches took more travel to disengage than was built into the Toyota hydralics. For that reason AA and Downey built clutches that took less travel to disengage. Somewhere along the line Chevy and/or aftermarket clutch companies must have converted to something similar to what AA and Downey have been selling because there are so many IH8MUD posters claiming to be using something other than AA or Downey clutches with great satisfaction. This begs the question; is there really no need for special Chevota clutches, or are some people merely getting by with a highly questionable clutch adjustment?????

Howdy! There are Centerforces for Chevys, and Centerforces for Chevota, which do have the shorter throw. When I used a stock Chevy clutch assembly in my 72 Chevota, I used the cast iron clutch fork and put the push rod into the inner hole, giving it a little extra throw. That seemed to work fine. I make my own adjustable push rods from grade 8 all-thread with a lug nut against the clutch fork. Fits nice, and infinite adjustment. John

 

[rover67]

Thanks for all the input guys..

The current setupis in fact a short throw setup from AA. It releases fine, and has plenty of travel, and the marks adapter has an adjustable extension on the throw-out bearing so I was able to get my clutch fork angle the same as stock.

I am looking for something different because the Centerforce Clutch dosen't grab very well, and slips easily. I have TOASTED it a few times and figure that since I am pulling the trans I now have an easy opportunity to go ahead and at least replace it. This past weekend it actually slipped so much i had to wait for it to cool before I was able to climb over a fairly decent obstacle. I know that m 3.73's, 35's and V8 really stress it, but in 4 low it really seems like it should grab better. But yeah, in general it just acts funky... dump the clutch, it slips... a few miles later, dump the clutch and it grabs. Pedal feel changes also.

just not pleased in general thats all.

I'd like to stick with a short throw option, and will replace it with another centerforce if I have to, but I just figured i'd ask to see what others are running. It may be worth trying to convert it to a standard chevy clutch with a standard throw to increase my options (like John has done), but I'd like to stick with stock hydraulics if I can since I know I had that setup working reasonably well. I know I could get more throw out of it as it stands to set it up for a standard clutch, but am tempted to not experiment..

ginericLC... what clutch are you running (what pn or for what application) and what slave/master/throwout fork combo are you running?

Also, I know i have not treated it nicely, but I would still expect it to do better. I also may turbo the truck and I really don't want to have to worry about the clutch then.

I forgot what horsepower/torque this centerforce was supposed ot hold, but it seemed like it would be enough when i got it.

Jim, I may be calling you soon to order another... thanks for the VSS BTW.. the truck runs GREAT with it now.

-Marco Capote

 

[inkpot]

Howdy! Too bad your having a slippage problem. I've had pretty good luck with mine, but I have heated it up pretty seriously a couple of times. I've got over 12 years out of it so far. My first setup in my FJ40 was a 12" stock setup for a K30. It was a little grabby, but it worked pretty good. I couldn't have smoked it if I had wanted to. It darn near killed my left leg, though. That one bent the stock push rod, so I went oversized with the all thread. Grind off one end to match the point on the stocker, and I used double lug nuts on both sides of the clutch fork so I could adjust it either way, but the second nut was a jammer so it wouldn't slip. Plus, I had a couple of trail spares. John