Lotsa wrenching in cold cold philadelphia lately. I finally had my slant truck dialed in pretty good, even stopped uphill at a light with a load- no problem, no need to abuse the clutch. Turned out to be less initial timing is what it wanted.

I lent out my '87 d150 (/6 225, a833od) to my girlfriend's friend (against my better judgement) This truck has been problem after problem but I had it running pretty well lately.

First I had to rescue her because the upper heater hose sprung a leak. The hoses were all new, except the heater hoses and the crossover and it got soft at the lowest point- probably where leaked oil likes to hang out. I cut it and choked up to good rubber- good roadside repair, gotta get new hoses this week. I told her I needed gas and to meet me back at my shop where she picked up the truck. When I finish pumping my gas I hear a commotion at the gas station exit.

It's her- revving to redline and grinding gears! She's stopped halfway off a busy road with traffic piling up, freaking out and trying to kill my beloved slant truck! "Oh fudge!" is not exactly what I said. "STOP STOP SHUT IT OFF STOP STOP" I yelled while running toward the truck. I could smell a burning clutch as I got closer.

"It won't go into first" she says. "Get out!" I said. I hopped in and tried it. The truck would indeed not go into first. I put it in second and slipped the clutch to get into a parking spot. The clutch action is now all at the bottom, near the floor. It used to barely drag at halfway up and mostly disengage near the top. It also has a jerky not smooth transition now and doesn't want to grab.

I find that with the truck off it will shift into all gears. This tells me that it is a clutch problem, not a shifter linkage problem. I was able to put it in first and tease it into moving then get a smidge of disengagement flooring the pedal and shifting by matching rpms to get home. Non synchro 1st is a b!tch to downshift into and at lights the clutch has a little drag stopped in 1st with the engine on clutch pressed. (not much just a little tug)

My first thought is that she smoked my clutch. I had her step on the pedal and the slave cyl seems to be moving the throwout arm ok. The master has fluid and the pedal stroke feels normal. If the clutch disc was toasted it would just slip and slip right? This seems to be maybe a pressure plate/ throwout bearing problem maybe? Once underway the clutch wasnt slipping.

I still gotta get underneath and see whats going on and how far the pressure plate retracts etc.

I was just starting to enjoy my truck as a daily driver and I took several big loads of furniture from my old apartment to my new house (rental) this week with no problems at all. She mentioned trouble getting into gear/ shifting. She had claimed to be an expert junk pilot, having driven a couple stickshift VW rabbits into the ground, but I had one of those, and its a totally different animal- precise 5 spd in a light car vs. sloppy wet noodle 3 spd with OD in a brick.

I'm really bummed because I was about to rework my raggedy swinger- new seats and no more Fred Flintstone holes in the floor. Oh well, I guess I'll have to keep using some Mopar Action magazines as my floor for a while...

Any predictions on what I'll find inside my bellhousing?

_________________

madam im adam

Make the person that talked you into lending your truck to a non-driving idiot,bench-press the 833 while you put the new clutch in

_________________
V8?? We don't need no stink'n V8!!

It's always best to never loan out tools or vehicles. The person doing the borrowing has no respect for the item borrowed. Why did the gal think that high-revving the engine would assist it into getting into gear? How long had she been abusing it like that before the day you happened to be there? The clutch is a small problem, the question is how much life did she remove from the transmission and possibly the engine???

_________________

Oh, ouch. Sometimes it's best to listen to those little voices, huh?
There are a small (very small) handful of people I know who actually treat their things as well as I treat mine, appreciate a stellar quality of workmanship, and are blessed with an uncanny ability to be a "Machinery Whisperer". Whenever I meet one, I can tell pretty quickly that I'll happily lend anything, anytime.

Otherwise, well... it's hard.

- Erik

_________________
Lots of early Valiants and Barracudas have crossed my path.
Also a handful of other toys for variety now and then.