paul connor Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 (edited) Hi everyone, I have what I think is a potential issue, but I thought I would brainstorm here to see what you all think. I have a Dodge WC54 I am working on, and I have installed a new clutch. The flywheel was skimmed, as was the clutch pressure plate, but this was minimal, more to clean. After installation of the gearbox today, I rotated the output shaft at the rear of the gearbox with the gearbox in neutral and it rotates freely with no noises or resistance. However, when I depress the clutch and rotate the output shaft, it rotates but sounds as if the clutch is still binding and giving resistance. I furthermore adjusted the linkage and no change, so how would I go about removing this issue, which I guess is binding? To summarise New Bork & Beck clutch disc. Skimmed flywheel Skimmed pressure plate Original release bearing that appears in good order. Issue When gearbox is in neutral the output shaft rotates freely with no issues, no resistance or noise. When clutch pedal is depressed and the output shaft is rotated it sounds as if the clutch is binding slightly, slight resistance on the shaft. I have adjusted the linkage to both extents of its travel, but alas cannot stop the clutch from binding with pedal depressed? Any ideas? as I'm positive if it is driven with the issue the clutch will slip or glaze very fast. My initial hunch is the forks on the clutch plate, maybe they are not contacting the bearing enough to disengage the clutch plate? Hopefully tomorrow I will have an assistant so I can check through the inspection port on the bottom of the engine Edited April 6, 2019 by paul connor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMP-Phil Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Hi Paul Once had similar issue when overhauling a CMP, almost hate to say it but installed clutch disk backwards, are Dodge clutch disks clearly marked so this can't happen? Cheers Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 1 hour ago, paul connor said: I have a Dodge WC54 I am working on, and I have installed a new clutch. The flywheel was skimmed, as was the clutch pressure plate, but this was minimal, more to clean. After installation of the gearbox today, I rotated the output shaft at the rear of the gearbox with the gearbox in neutral and it rotates freely with no noises or resistance. However, when I depress the clutch and rotate the output shaft, it rotates but sounds as if the clutch is still binding and giving resistance. I furthermore adjusted the linkage and no change, so how would I go about removing this issue, which I guess is binding? Paul, You say that the pressure plate was skimmed, for this to be done on a Borg & Beck clutch cover, it has to be dismantled and therefore the clutch lever adjustments will have to be reset when the cover is reassembled. Another possibility is having a driven plate with a slightly different hub centre with it fouling the levers on their depression. regards, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul connor Posted April 6, 2019 Author Share Posted April 6, 2019 Hi Richard, thanks for the reply. The clutch plate was an original and an engineering friend skimmed it, yet he did not dismantle it, so not sure how? I have just popped back to the vehicle and had a look into the inspection plate. It appears the levers on the pressure plate do not sit evenly on the bearing. It would appear one nearly touches and the other two appear to have a gap of around 5mm. Do you know if the lever adjustment is possible without the specialist tool needed, which is some sort of jig? I also adjusted the maximum amount of movement possible for the pedal. So it appears that even with this tolerance the clutch still drags/doesn't release when pedal is depressed. I have also just been searching on the internet and on a Dodge forum it states that some people have added 1/8th washers behind the pressure plate screws to gain more travel? This sounds like a bad idea to me? What is annoying is I initially fitted the clutch with the engine on a stand, which now will mean any work will have to be undertaken on the vehicle, which means fighting through the inspection port! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Hi Paul, You have no other option than to remove the clutch and get the cover set up and adjust on a jig. The adjustment nuts are special and staked so as not to move once set. You will not be able to do this through the inspection hole. Full details are in the Dodge manual, TM10-1531 As regards the idea of fitting washers between cover and flywheel, not a good idea, better to do the job properly to ensure a good life of the clutch. regards, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul connor Posted April 6, 2019 Author Share Posted April 6, 2019 I have been offered a NOS clutch pressure plate, for pretty cheap, so that may be the better option. Having pondered this fault for a few hours now, you must be right. The only real moving parts are the clutch fork, which was not damaged, and the bearing and pressure plate. The uneven gap around the bearing I can see through the inspection hole furthermore suggests that. As the bearing pushing the plate operates the clutch, so as the clutch isn't disengaging it has to be those levers. The only adjustment is the linkage and that is at the most maximum setting, so the levers must be out of adjustment or the springs are shot. Thanks Richard, I shall also have a look in the right TM later on, and see if I feel purchase or tackling the plate is the best course. Of course, I was giving the original plate too much credit, as I have no idea if it worked before, it just appeared in good order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul connor Posted April 6, 2019 Author Share Posted April 6, 2019 Hi Phil, I did wonder that myself, but I was pretty careful to place the new clutch *Flywheel this side*, but I shall check again, as I swear the older I get the more I question what I am doing, as I do seem to make more mistakes when I was adamant I did it correctly! I guess I will find out; but it was clearly marked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Paul, when you remove and refit the gearbox make sure not to hang it on the centre plate, get a friend to help or use a transmission jack or a trolley jack to take the weight. Ensure the friction plate is an easy sliding fit on the splines and coat the splines with a mere suggestion of the recommended lubricant to prevent rust and seizure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beepbeep Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 I had a slightly dragging clutch on my Dodge when I bought it and on the advice of someone on the WW2 Dodge forum I adjusted the release arms and it did the trick. Just drop the clutch housing cover off underneath for access, the nuts are staked as already said but they moved easily enough and didn’t move any further despite not being staked again. Out of interest I’ve just totally rebuilt my clutch cover as part of a driveline refresh and made a jig out of 18mm ply and coach bolts with a dummy clutch plate made from mdf.......worked a treat! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul connor Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 Do you have any pictures of the jig? I have sourced a very cheap NOS pressure plate, so will see if that does the trick. I hope so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beepbeep Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 (edited) There you go, very simple but it worked. I made a dummy disc from MDF but it would be just as easy to jigsaw a hole in the board and use your disc. You say that with full adjustment of the free play you have one arm nearly touching the release bearing and two with about 5mm gap. When I adjusted my pedal free play to the factory spec (1 1/8”) I think that the travel on the release bearing was about 3/8”-1/2” before it touched the arms. You’ll need a digital calliper to set the arms and the spec including spring pressures, clearances etc is in TM9-1808A Chris Edited April 11, 2019 by beepbeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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