Pulling The Engine

[1955cj5]

Now this may be old hat for some, but it's new to me, with Model A's anyway...

I went to a small club get together Friday and though it was only about 5 miles away, there are two small hills.....I wasn't sure I was going to make it up the second hill because the clutch was slipping so badly...so no more excuses....out it comes...

The manifold droops a little....I've got a new one....

[Mitch//pa]

use fender covers

[Tom Wesenberg]

Did your clutch have the right freeplay?
Back in the 60's I had a driveshaft seal leaking on my Corvair Spyder and the oil made the clutch slip. I haven't seen a slipping clutch on the Model A's, but have seen a lot of clutch chatter, including my 29 Tudor when I first bought it.

Your coolant return pipe is the 30-1 style. If you get the 28-9 style it will line up better and will put less pressure on the bottom radiator outlet. The bottom outlet angles slightly down and outward.

[1955cj5]

Thanks Tom,

I wondered the same thing so I took the inspection plate off the bell housing to be sure..no doubt the TO bearing was free of the pressure plate fingers..had about 2" of pedal travel and about 1/2" of TO bearing movement before it touched.....This clutch has been an issue from day one so it's time to get in there and see what is going on...I have a new clutch plate and rebuilt pressure plate..

Mostly I have that oil leak from the rear cam opening so that needs a new gasket...

I knew about the water return pipe....the truck came with a box of parts that included another return pipe but that one is also a 30-31....I may order a pipe that will accept a temperature gauge sender....

[Tom Wesenberg]

When I fixed my bad clutch chatter I used a new clutch disc and good used pressure plate, both purchased from a swap meet. I also used a quarter sheet palm sander on my flywheel, and I dialed in the flywheel cover. I'm not sure which action corrected the problem, but I did all 4 because I didn't want to do the job twice. The clutch went from a paint shaker to smooth as an automatic, so the job was well worth it.

[1955cj5]

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Mine was smooth, it just didn't work very well!

So far I've found a well worn clutch disc and a frozen pilot bearing.....pictures soon.....

[1955cj5]

So here we go....clutch is glazed and worn...it's a 9 3/4" plate that's probably been in there since the transmission swap..50+ years....probably more...

Pilot bearing is not completely frozen but is very difficult to turn. Main gear shaft on the transmission still measures .668 or so and that is good...

Timing gear is old and there is about .040 lash..new gear for sure...

NO gasket between the flywheel housing and the block..and no shims either...that explains the 4-5" puddle every time it was parked...

And of course the pan sludge....not as bad as expected though...

Bore look good to me..no grooves or obvious damage....more to follow...

[1955cj5]

This is kinda fun..I'm learning plenty...

I've gone through the bearings a couple of times, as I learn something with each bearing I do. You must look carefully at the shims and measure to determine how many are in a stack...often two look like one...

Plastigauge is interesting stuff...I put a piece in between before touching the shims to see where the clearance was, and then adjust to get as close to .001 as I can...often taking several measurements...lots of tightening and removing of the caps...

This is not something I would want to do while under the truck....for me pulling the engine was the best route...

[Brendan]

I don't see how guys can do a good job with the motor in the car, I can have it out in a hour and a half

[1937pickup]

1955cj5- I do not know what people's experience has been with re-popped or off the shelf clutch and pressure plates for the Model A. There have been a lot of problems with early V8 clutch and pressure plates that are re-popped. It appears you have an early or original clutch and pressure plate. I would consider sending it to Ft. Wayne Clutch for a rebuild. They have a great reputation on their work for the early V8 folks. May save you some aggravation down the road. Being anal retentive I would have the fly wheel resurfaced and the entire assembly balanced as a unit. It is easy for me to spend your money. Just some things to think about.

[1955cj5]

I bought a rebuilt pressure plate from Bert's, along with a clutch disc. The PP looks exactly like my old one except the contact surface/ring is about .040" thicker. I will keep the old parts though and consider having them rebuilt....

I need to look at the flywheel. I think there is a recommended dimension between the ring the PP mounts on and the surface where the clutch disc rides...i hope it within spec, as the flywheel is pretty smooth...There is a fellow here who will turn it and balance the unit..I'm going to call him on Monday.

Everything on this truck is well worn. Here is the oil pump drive..

[1955cj5]

Made quite a bit of progress today..mostly cleaning but i did remove the bell housing from the transmission, I was able to easily drive the old clutch shaft bushings out with a Mac 17mm socket, and the fork and arm pins were tapered so they just drove out too...the bushings were real thin but not worn through.

I also changed the mainshaft pilot bearing in the transmission and also the main gear (front) bearing...everything else feels good...you can see that the main shaft pilot bearing was nearly done for....

[sethkestenbaum]

impressive.

[1955cj5]

Thanks!

I just looked at your web site..great pictures and information........I should have looked at it Before I started! But I have seen some of the videos through searches....

[Mitch//pa]

I would pull the trans and go thru it. Replace the rest of the bearings install the shafts with orings and ck the u joint
Your basically there as the trans is already apart

[1955cj5]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

I would pull the trans and go thru it. Replace the rest of the bearings install the shafts with orings and ck the u joint
Your basically there as the trans is already apart

I eventually plan to put a 3-speed back in the truck...I have an A bell housing and a core A transmission that needs to be rebuilt..so I don't want to spend any more on this 4-speed...

Countershafts don't seem to be available for the 4-speed....

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by 1955cj5

I eventually plan to put a 3-speed back in the truck...I have an A bell housing and a core A transmission that needs to be rebuilt..so I don't want to spend any more on this 4-speed...

Countershafts don't seem to be available for the 4-speed....

Gotcha

[CarlG]

FWIW There's a 4-speed on the swap meet right now.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173806

[Tom Wesenberg]

In the 4th picture it looks like the speedometer cable bracket might be fastened to the bottom frame rail. My 28 Phaeton had the same thing, but I moved it to the top rail where it belongs. This will keep it away from the muffler and excess heat.

[1955cj5]

Doesn't look like he'll ship.....I'm sure there are some around here...finding them is the trick..

Here is a pic of the two bell housings...