Clutch baffler

[TexasJackKin]

When I got my ’56 CJ-5, the clutch would not disengage, it appeared all the external linkage was worn out, and the lost motion would not allow the clutch to disengage. I replaced all the external linkage and all seemed well, I drove it around the yard a few laps, and was quite happy with how it was working.

Then I got a “Flapping noise” when I pressed on the clutch pedal, and now I can’t disengage the clutch again. I’m guessing part of the clutch lining is coming off the clutch disk, but I’m hoping it’s something simpler. I’ve got about 1 inch of pedal free play before the clutch fork starts resisting movement.

I’m shooting in a match this weekend, so won’t get a chance to look at it until Monday, I’ve have out of state grandkids coming for a visit, in a couple of weeks “chomping at the bit to go for a jeep ride” and I hope to be able to accommodate them. If I need to replace the clutch, I’m going to have to “go though” the transmission and transfer case, at least bearings and seals, and the grandkids, will have to wait another year. :(

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[LarrBeard]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Well, welcome to the Forum. It's hard to diagnose something from a thousand miles away peering into a keyboard - but my two guesses are not good news for the GrandKids:

A. Yep, it's the clutch lining itself - pieces coming off and getting caught. The old down home trick was to butt its nose up against a handy tree or the barn and see if it stayed stuck (fully engaged and going to stay there) or if there was just a little piece there that you could break off with a little effort - or:

B. Bad throw out bearing.

Either one means you have to get into the bell housing, which means you have to pull the transmission and all that involves ...

It hurts to see the disappointment on their little faces.

Let us know what you find out.

[TexasJackKin]

Yeah, that pretty much what I thought. I can still give tractor rides, but not nearly as much fun, plus, that means only one at a time. We’ll shoot for next year!

[TexasJackKin]

On a side note, the engine gives the illusion of being fresher, than the rest of the Jeep, it has a nice Ford blue paint job, and now that I’ve got the floorboards out, and pressure washed what I could get to, the transmission and transfer case have the same Ford blue paint.

However, while under the vehicle, wiggling the rear drive line, there was some up and down movement, in the emergency brake assembly, which leads me to believe, there’s trouble in the transfer case….. That’s why, if it’s coming apart for the clutch, I expect I’ll need at least bearings and seals……

[TexasJackKin]

I ended up replacing the clutch, and all that goes with it. The old one was in pieces…. I put the new clutch cross shaft in exactly the way the old one came out, when I got it all back together, I still couldn’t get the clutch to disengage. I thought I had warped the new clutch, even though I was very careful with the installation.

The cross shaft has two different lengths of “ears” one connected to the clutch pedal, and the other connected to the cable going t the clutch fork. (those of you familiar with this know where this is going) I figured out if the short arm was connected to the clutch pedal, and the long arm was connected to the clutch fork, I’d get more throw. Checked the shop manual, and yep. It was in backwards when I got it, and I had copied the mistake. Works great now!

Now I’ve got an intermittent engine stalling problem. It feels like a vapor lock, but I haven’t started trouble shooting yet.

[TexasJackKin]

Well, not a vapor lock, there was so much rust in the gas tank, it would plug the filter after about 2 miles......I took the tank out, and pressure washed what I could get to, then soaked it with vinegar, for 24 hours, pressure washed again, rinsed it out with water and baking soda, treated the interior with Red-Kote. It looks good, but now I'm waiting on parts....

[gmwillys]

Good deal! RedKote is great stuff!

[TexasJackKin]

Well, it turns into a long story, you may find it interesting…..

So, I bought a gas gauge locally, however, and while testing it before installation, I found that it worked backwards. I.E. it showed full when empty, and empty when full. I was getting desperate to get this together before the grandkids (from Switzerland) showed up for a visit. So, I figured I could bend the float wire the opposite way and make it work. SNAP, the float wire broke, so I silver soldered it back together backwards (On purpose) and now it works fairly well. Shows about 7/8 when full, but more importantly shows empty when empty.

The sending unit that was installed, fell apart when I removed it from the tank, to clean the tank out as it was full of rust and bad gas. This jeep is new to me (about 2 months now) and I knew it was a rolling wreck when I bought it. It’s had its challenges, but I’m thinking it’s drivable at this point, and will make for some good times with the grandkids…..

[gmwillys]

Barnyard Engineering at its best!

Enjoy the fall by driving it now, then fix what you want when it cools off.