Need Clutch Repl. Advice....

[Ala75Vette]

I have a '75 350 with 4-speed manual transmission. My brother-in-law, a mechanic specializing in transmissions, says my throwout bearing is going, so we're planning on taking some of Thanksgiving weekend to replace it, the clutch, and my rear main seal. I've looked in the Summit catalog, and they have GM kits for 10.5" 10-spline Borg & Beck, 10.5" 10-spline raised diaphragm, and 11" 10-spline raised diaphragm clutches by Zoom. I haven't called the parts store yet to find out which one is right for my car, but even if I had I'd still like the take on doing this job from some of my corvette friends. From looking in the GM shop manual, the actual clutch/throwout replacement doesn't look that bad, but I'm a little concerned about how tough it'll be to pull the transmission. Any advice would be appreciated....

 

[69MyWay]

Disconnect the battery
Jack up car
drain trans
remove the exhaust
pull the drive shaft
pull the bolts between trans and bellhousing
take shifter handle off
unbolt shifter from trans
drop shifter down the bottom
Pull clutch linkage loose/off
remove trans mount
wiggle, slide trans back. You will need to roll it to the passenger side and shove back until the trans just drops out of the bellhousing, then slide it down. It is a very tight fit, and will only go in and come out one way.

Take trans out back and clean it up nice and purdy.

Remove bellhousing, drop the clutch, pressure plate, etc.
Go ahead and at least take a DA sander to the flywheel to break the glaze if not have it turned.

Repeat the steps in reverse order.

*NOTE*, unless you have the whole history on the car, don't assume anything about the flywheel size, etc. There is no telling what the prior owner stuck in there.

On the rear main seal. Please do yourself a favor and buy either a G.M. seal, or a NAPA, Fel Pro brand. If you get an off the wall made in China seal, you will be redoing it again in the near future.

Have fun!

 

[Mpit69]

Just did this on Sat. Same advice as 69MyWay with a few other comments.

Only passenger side exhaust needs to come off if you have true dual. Shifter assembly can stay in place, just unbolt two bracket bolts, lift tranny while still connected to bellhousing, then slide bracket out back. While tranny is lifted, unbolt small crossmember that exhaust attaches too, and rotate to get out. Support engine at oil pan drain plug area keeping engine at position you started to get tranny in/out with no problem. If you had any clutch chatter get flywheel resurfaced, only about $25.

Small floor jack for tranny fwd end is all you really need if car is up on jacks. Make sure T/O brg is correct and clutch is same as pulled out otherwise new adjustable fork ball stud may be needed.

This was third time taking out in 4 weeks, 1st time = 5 hrs, 2nd = 3 hrs and 3rd = 1hr 45 min.

 

[Jack]

down home Zoom source

Chris has good info, procedure & warning ... trannys also came with 26 splines ... again ya never know.

I wanna throw in a plug for my friends at TADCO http://www.straightdrive.com/pages/824861/index.htm?gen_time=1029942299770 ... true mom & pop, father & son shop ... they've been in the clutch business for DECADES ... can build/rebuild or supply new a clutch for darn near anything ... recently an Alaskan had them build a special clutch for a snowcat. They also have some interesting solutions for those w/ dual-mass woes ... and go figure; a carbon-fiber pilot bearing

Tadco/Staightdrive also distributes Zoom. Zoom plant's just a few miles nearby; these folks are Very close both with & to Zoom (aka perfection-hytest). Ask for Adam & tell him corvette jack from RBI sent ya.

BTW, look for an upgraded-expanded Zoom line to make an overall resurgence ... and more of a presence in NASCAR 2003 season ... maybe more profile on Petty's teams.
JACK:gap

 

[mvftw]

Is there basic tranny service that can be done when it's out...like seals/gaskets, besides the rear main? Without bringing it to a shop. Also what's the hot clutch setup for a stock L82-ST10?:t

 

[JonM]

You may also want to buy some threaded stock the same size as your tranny to bell-housing bolts. Cut the stock about 2-3 inches longer then the bolts...thread them into the bell-housing and use them as a guide to line the tranny up. Once in...take the threaded stock out and put the bolts in.

 

[Ala75Vette]

wow, I knew I'd get some great advice if I just asked!
thanks for the help guys, and I'll take pics/post an update when we do the work.

 

[techrondon]

check the ball stud.........wish i had put an adjustable one in mine when i redid clutch....

 

[Stallion]

> I have a '75 350 with 4-speed manual transmission. <

I'm new to Corvettes and learning them, so excuse my ignorance but when you say "350", what number does that refer to? Thanks!

And, a '75 is what I have my eye on, too.

 

[vette-dude]

350 is the engine size in Cubic Inches. There is also a 350 Automatic Transmission. In addition there is a 454 cu. in. motor w/ a 400 turbo Auto trans and various other combo's. Study the knowledgebase site and the general spec site and you will find out more about vette development and what the numbers and words mean. Welcome to the site.

Randy
PS: WhenI was 16 I had a 62 FI 327cu in conv. vette w/ a close ratio 4-speed and a 4:56 Posi rear end.

 

[JonM]

350 refers to a GM 350 cubic Inch Small Block
Engine.

Some of the common GM small blocks were/are

262 265 267283 293 302 305
307 325 327 346 350 364 383 400

 

[JHL]

Hi,

Just a quick comment, I don`t know if you already have a clutch but you should give some consideration to what type you buy. When mine needed replacing I was talked into a fancy twin plate set up, it looks the part, cost plenty but ultimately useless for the street, stick with a good quality standard plate and disc. As for the actual job of relacing it unless you have access to a lift like I did it is probably worth the extra few bucks to get it done at a shop, the do it for a living and have all the tools. Two jobs I will gladly pay someone else to do , clutches and motor mounts, both gave bleeding knuckles and sore arms.

Have fun
J.

 

[Ala75Vette]

Thanks for the continuing advice. techrondon, what advantage does an adjustable ball stud give you (I'll probably understand after next weekend....)?

And JHL, nice pic of the vette on a lift! As much work as I seem to be doing on mine, it'd probably pay to just go ahead and buy one for the garage!

....more later, but for now, cheers!

 

[JHL]

You have a garage that is big enough and tall enough for a lift.

:eek

I have to leave one of the roof panels off my car to be able to climb in and out of it in my garage. The lift belongs to a friend and I can have the use of it. A handy tool.

That`s what I like about America - everthing is "BIG"

J.

 

[Mpit69]

The adjustable ball stud is needed if you get a non stock new clutch setup or use different Throwout brg size. Make sure to check for free play in clutch fork after tranny is pushed in. Otherwise you'll have to adjust ball stud to get right amount of play.

 

[Ala75Vette]

Well, 'phase 1' of the clutch replacement is done. Brother-in-law and I pulled all the old stuff out, and started putting it back together again only to discover that my clutch fork bearing retainer clip is broke on one side (see attached photo). This probably 'helped' my throwout bearing go bad. So, unfortunately, until I can get a suitable replacement (sometime this week, Zip corvette seems to have the best price), the car's still up on jack stands in the garage. We'll resume the put-it-back-together phase next weekend. And "thanks!" so far for all the advice... the job's gone relatively smoothly, not in small part due to words from 'those that have been there...'

 

[Ala75Vette]

Ugghhh. Car's still in the garage, wife's unhappy about the amount of time this particular repair is taking me away from the kids (although I've got to say I'm none too happy about missing road time in the car, either). Two problems remaining:

1) When we removed the exhaust Y-pipe from the manifolds, we broke a stud on one side. Someday I'll actually get the sucker out so I can reassemble the exhaust (with a new stud). Although this was a 'show stopper' for completion of work on the car, it's just a matter of time 'til I get the thing out, even if I have to drill it out. I'm avoiding removing the manifold at all cost until I get ready to install headers, because they're old, rusty, I'd need a new gasket, and the PITA factor would just escalate enormously.

2) Ahhhh, the shifter assembly. And gear shift adjustments on the tranny. And clutch free play (let me now become a champion for adjustable clutch fork pivot bolts, which I did NOT get, unfortunately). My reverse gear locking mechanism isn't working correctly (um, at all). The steering column part seems to work fine, but the shifter itself shifts easily into and out of reverse, without the T-handle being lifted. I think I may have allowed the lockout clip to rotate out of position, or something, when I put the shifter back in. Anyway, I read the Hanes manual plus the shop manual for how to adjust such things, and the Hanes wants you to fabricate some sort of tool from a putty knife. :crazy

Help!!!! I'll be trying to sneak out in the garage and tinker a little a couple of evenings this week, any troubleshooting & other advice would be greatly appreciated! ;help

 

[69MyWay]

Those exhaust studs are a pain in the butt. I feel for you.

Drilling them out is not easy either because the shavings fall on you while you push up from the bottom (doing it on the car)

You might contact Tzracer here on the site. I think he has a stock shifter in perfect shape he would sell you cheap.

Good luck.

 

[Stallion]

69myway, (a little off topic, but I'm curious) what block do you have in your '69 Vette? Just curious.

My book specs say that the L71 is 435 bhp, and the L88 is 430 bhp, but I also heard that the L88 is much more than that, but they couldn't advertise the power. Is this true?

 

[69MyWay]

69myway, (a little off topic, but I'm curious) what block do you have in your '69 Vette? Just curious.

My book specs say that the L71 is 435 bhp, and the L88 is 430 bhp, but I also heard that the L88 is much more than that, but they couldn't advertise the power. Is this true?

Yep, it is off topic so I will just PM you with my response.