I am in the process of installing a TKO 5 spd and have a noise I cannot track down. I am using a reporoduction Z bar and frame bracket. I am also using the Speed Direct spherical push rods. The frame bracket is a POS as the holes were not in the proper location. It would mount the pivot ball at an angle relative to the Z bar. There is a thump or a snap when the clutch pedal is near the end of its travel. I can hear and feel it in the pedal. It is as it the linkage gets caught on something. I cannot see any interferance anywhere. Assuming it was the frame bracket being at a bad angle I removed it and drilled new holes and reinstalled it. Same noise. I am now wondering if the pilot bearing is somehow making the sound. I have not yet started the engine as I am still waiting for the my new driveshaft. Is it possible I have too much fork travel? After all, the noise is near the end of the pedal's travel.

Bill70...had a similar sound with mine...I know exactly what you are talking about..it's like a binding sound. I had to mess around with the attaching bolt from the z-bar to the frame mnounting bracket. As you'll note, the frame bracket has a slot to which the bolt from the z-bar attaches. You can move the bolt up and down the slot, which adjusts the angle of the z-bar. I needed to get it at the right angle, which effected the angle of where the clutch pedal push rod (bar) attached to the z-bar which was causing the binding sound.

How far did you have to adjust the bolt? Also, I am using spherical ends, not original linkage. Should that make a difference?

I had this problem for 2 years, I replaced everything including the trans. My clutch pedal was binding near the bottom of the stroke. After replacing everything I found the problem with the throwout bearing, I had replaced it 3 times but each time with the same brand. These have a sharp edge on the inner bearing surface that allowed them to dig into the bearing retainer on the front of the transmission. I bought a different brand bearing and no more problems.

Ron

BillI can't recall how much I had to adjust the bolt (hence angle) from the z-bar, but I kept adjusting it up and down the slot in the bracket and addtionally playing with the clutch rod free play until no binding...or more so that dreaded clicking feeling as it reached the end of the travel.

Sounds just like mine did. :waving:

Ron

Ron, a couple of questions. What brand of bearing were you using, and did you do any damage to the trans by driving it with the noise?

I dont know the brand but I was buying them from the local Napa store (made in the USA), The last one I bought from O'riellys (made in China) it's like night and day, the pedal is smoother than the hydraulic clutch in my 95 Z28.

The bearing retainer on the front of the trans was kind of gouged and grooved in about the 10:00 position, I polished it with 400 then 1200 grit sandpaper and all but a couple of the deeper grooves came out.
Remember, this was a brand new transmission so it was easy to see where the problem was. The old Muncie that I removed was pretty worn all the way around so it was hard to tell what was going on with it.
I know what you are going through, I replaced every piece of linkage and Z-bar, the pedal bushings under the the dash, the throwout fork, the pivot ball on block and bellhousing, the pilot bushing, the clutch and pressure plate and the transmission and STILL had the problem. Each time I pulled the trans I put a new throwout being in but they were all the same brand. Maybe you have a different problem but this something to look at.
Ron

I realize this is a very old thread, but I've done a heck of a lot of work with my Muncie 4-speed and I thought I'd share my two cents. Hopefully this will save somebody a big headache in the future.

If you're having trouble with the throwout bearing catching on the end of the front bearing retainer of your transmission, you likely have the clutch fork arm geometry wrong. The clutch fork arm must not exceed a certain angle relative to the bellhousing. All throwout bearings have little ridges in them; I'm not really sure why. If the pivot ball height is not correct, the throwout bearing can get hung on the end of the front bearing retainer, particularly at high RPM. I had this issue at one point. If I engaged the clutch above 5000 RPM, it would not disengage until the revs had dropped significantly. Then the pressure plate would snap back into place rather violently. Not very good for the 1/4 mile ET, as you can imagine. Probably not too easy on the engine or tranny either.

Anyway, the solution to this is to use an adjustable clutch fork pivot ball. With a stock flywheel thickness of 0.960 inches, the pivot ball must be 4.750 inches from the mounting surface on the back of the engine block. You'll need a dial indicator to get an accurate measurement. If you are using a block saver plate, you'll need to measure the distance from the back of the block saver plate (where it touches the engine block) to the tip of the pivot ball. If your flywheel has been resurfaced, you'll need to measure the thickness of the flywheel and calculate the distance that the pivot ball must be from the face of the engine block. To measure your flywheel thickness, you need to measure from the crankshaft flange mounting surface to the machined face of the flywheel. The best way to do this is to measure right through the center of the flywheel. You'll need a piece of plate glass or other perfectly flat surface to get an accurate reading. Once you know how thick your flywheel is, calculate the difference from stock thickness, then subtract that number from 4.750. For example, my flywheel is 0.760 inches thick, so it was 0.200 inches thinner than stock. That meant that the pivot ball had to be 4.750 - 0.200 = 4.550 inches from the face of the engine block. Not too complicated, right?

Lakewood and Mr. Gasket both make adjustable clutch fork pivot balls, but they won't work if you have a flywheel as thin as mine. In fact, I contend that they both suck in general. The best way to go is to get the (much more expensive) McLeod pivot ball, which is way longer than you could ever possibly need. It's also made of hardened steel that ate right through my sawsall blade. You'll have to use a cutoff wheel if you need to shorten it. Make sure you use thread locker when you're installing it. You don't want that thing self-adjusting while you're driving.