Im having problems with my Z-Bar. After having someone press the clutch while I looked at it, my guess is that either the pivot ball mount on the truck is flexing. The nylon bushings in the Z-Bar are bad. Or my floor is flexing where the pivot ball mounts to it. I can't get a good video to post what im saying but I was interested if anyone else has had this problem and what they did to fix it. Im thinking I will have to weld a support plate to the cab floor or make a new pivot ball bracket. But I dont know........

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~Nic

Well I no longer have a working clutch linkage. I can press the pettle to the floor there is no back pressure from the pressure plate. I crawled under and inspected the clutch and there is plenty of disk left. Its almost like the arm is not moving far enough. Did they make different sized adjustment bars? I havent measured mine but Im guessing its 4-6 inches long. I have the adjusting nut maxed out and the throw out bearing is not flush with the pressure plate. Its about 2 inches a way. Any ideas? Anyone else have this problem?

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~Nic

time to pull the clips, pull the linkage and bar and see what is missing...

Does your linkage have a disk with a rubber washer that sits in the throwout arm pocket, or is it a metal looking ball that the rod slips through that sits against the arm?

it has the metal ball with a nut on the back side as an adjuster.

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~Nic

PING!!!

Any help would be nice. Im stuck what to do.....

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~Nic

well i pulled the z bar out and replaced the bushings and seals. This dident help the problem so I decided to look at the clutch again and BINGO. I found that the clutch fork had broken off the "ears" of the throw out bearing. So the bearing would move until it reached the pressure plate but then the fork would push past the bearing..... I feel so dumb.

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~Nic

Don't feel too bad, I wouldn't have guessed that failure mode in a hundred tries.

I thought I would post an update. I replaced the throw out bearing and found out the old one was made out of pot metal. The new one is a timken bearing with a steel housing. Here is some pics I took.

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~Nic

Wow.

I have never seen a tob do that!!

That would have been the last thing a thought of...
That's why they make inspection plates.


Of course the first time I installed a manual trans into a car I wrecked the clutch disc as I didnt understand how to get the splines to align.. I felt dumb then, trashed a brand new clutch disc but I learned how to do it correctly.


Greg

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http://www.youtube.com/hyperpack

Do you still have the pieces? This curious idea popped into my mind ......

From the pictures, it looks to me to've had a piece of some sort of tubing cast in the body (note the odd smooth spots behind where the ears broke off).

Perhaps intended to strengthen the barrel portion of an inferior material and/or casting process, but resulting in thinner actual wall behind the ears, and thus the breakage.

Does this look reasonable from your "hands on" perspective?

Of course those could be simple lamination, from bad casting procedures as well. Hard to tell just from pictures.

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Sex, drags, and rock & roll.
Dick, 225% crazy.
Hobby (cars, that is) Photos link

There is a metal "pipe/sleeve" on the inside. I dont know if it is for casting the metal around it or to act as a bushing to slide on the input shaft. I know its called a "self aliening" bearing. So It is a bushing....

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~Nic

Any markings on the old TOB to clue us into who made it? That breakage is very unexpected.....

This made me look a a new one in a clutch kit from O-Reilly's.... it had a sold casting, thank goodness.

LOL It doesent have any markings but I know very well it came as a kit from O-Reillys because I bought it there a little over a year ago. I still have the receipt as well.

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~Nic

Where did you get the nylon bushings? My truck started grinding going into reverse. Clutch has plenty of meat left, but on closer inspection those nylon bushings are, well, sticking out. At least pieces of them are. Looks like I have to replace them before I can drive it (thankfully I have a back up vehicle, but it won't haul what I need to haul- it's a Taurus).

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If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.

I ordered them from classic industrys.
http://www.classicindustries.com/produc ... d2517.html

As well as these....
http://www.classicindustries.com/produc ... d2518.html
http://www.classicindustries.com/produc ... d2523.html
They even have the retaining spring for the Zbar.

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~Nic