[ChevJerico]

I didn't have the Centerforce instructions to confirm but from everything I could gather to measure ball height you measure from the flat section of the pivot ball ( the side facing the transmission ) through the rounded portion of the pivot ball to the front face of the bellhousing. To get the front face of the bellhousing lay a straight edge across the front edge of bellhousing. Naturally the bellhousing has to be removed from the vehicle to get this measurement. As I said before they call for a 4.75 inch measurement for those dimentions. At 4.75 inch mine did not have any freeplay and the throw out was wedged against the pressure plate fingers. At 5.25 inches I had disengage problems. I had to make small adjustments in the pivot ball, then install the bellhousing, check my throw out and fork position and remove bell housing again. I think it took three or four bell housing installations with pivot adjustments each time to get it right. As I searched through the archives I think people are taking pivot height measurements from different areas.The 4.75 measurement may have worked for me if I measured from the tip of the pivot ball to bellhousing face, but I don't believe that is where is is supposed to be taken from.

I set mine from top of ball to block side of plate to 4.75

 

[ChevJerico]

I got on the phone this morning and called Tech Support at CF and explained your problem.

We went through all the stuff you have done. I asked how much travel is needed to release the disk the required .030 after it engages the the fingers of the clutch, 3/8 of an inch. I also aked about the flywheel thickness, should be .960 when new measured from the clutch face to the back of the flange that bolts to the crank.

Couple of other things, no grease of any type on the bronze bushing and they said to use a special high temp grease made for disk brakes on the release bearing where it rides on the front bearing retainer.

I don't know what kind of flywheel you have but different brands are a different thickness, up to .100 different.

Well I have a Hays that measured 1.010, I asked CF tech about this and he said it shouldn't be an issue. I had the ball at 4.80", but last time I set it to 4.75" He didn't sound very confident in that determination, so I guess it could still be a problem area. I'm getting .030 air gap, but it's hard to measure because the disk will rock back and fourth a ton! Without forcing it, I'm getting .030 last time I checked. Sometimes the disc will separate from the flywheel but mostly from the PP.

If the disc stays flat against the flywheel , then I believe I'm getting a good reading measuring between the disc and PP.

I might try 4.5" ball stud height and the brake grease and see what happens.

Thanks

 

[ChevJerico]

Where did you get the throwout bearing? I had the same problems, I replaced EVERYTHING, clutch, all linkage, pedal bushings, throwout bearing 4 times, fork, balls and finally the transmission. It turned out to be the throw out bearings, they were all the same brand NAPA. I finally bought one at O'riellys and it fixed it completley. The front edge of the bearing was very sharp and was digging into the bearing retainer on the front of the transmission, it was obvious after I put the new transmission in. I fought this for 3 years.
Ron

I only know of the BCA part and believe the CF bearing to be the same. The one I have is from Southern Auto. The only other bearing I've seen was a cheap China part that didn't have the anti-rotation cam, I think at Kragen.

 

[ChevJerico]

Hello John,

Still having problems..............grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I looked at your 3rd picture and it seems you are not over the 90 degree angle which is needed for the proper geometry. Almost like your pivot ball height is too short. I am assuming you had the throw out bearing against the pressure plate fingers in the pic?

Regards, Jody

ARRRRGGGGGG!!!!! The drama continues, wish I had real problems in life so I could feel peachy about R&R'ing the tranny again

So my ball height might be off, wouldn't adjusting the snot out of the adjusting rod even past freeplay rule this out?????

 

[Guest]

I chased a problem like this in a 55 chevy I had, it was my first diaphragm clutch and I had the trans out 10 times before I changed the throwout bearing. There are three different lengths, I had the middle one and needed the short, the same one you should have the short one.

 

[blm]

HJ: Did you read the thread (Centerforce clutch release problem ) from December 03? sounds alot like yours and I believe he ended up having some bad parts from stock confirmed by Centerforce after a little persistance.

 

[JodysTransmissions]

ARRRRGGGGGG!!!!! The drama continues, wish I had real problems in life so I could feel peachy about R&R'ing the tranny again

So my ball height might be off, wouldn't adjusting the snot out of the adjusting rod even past freeplay rule this out?????

John,

Technically, if your flywheel measures 1.010" your pivot ball height should be 4.800". But, if you are using a scattershield with your blowproof, you need to measure the thickness of the scattershield for the pivot ball height too. Let's say your scattershield measures .125", now your pivotball height would be 4.675".

This would tilt your fork more towards the front like it should be. Shortening or lenghtening the adjuster rod will not correct the internal fork movement geometry.

Are you using a scattershield? If so, what is that thickness?

Regards, Jody

 

[ChevJerico]

HJ: Did you read the thread (Centerforce clutch release problem ) from December 03? sounds alot like yours and I believe he ended up having some bad parts from stock confirmed by Centerforce after a little persistance.

That's why I tried the NAPA clutch with the same results. When I removed it everything looked perfect!

Thanks though, appreciate any help or ideas:thumbsup:

 

[ChevJerico]

John,

Technically, if your flywheel measures 1.010" your pivot ball height should be 4.800". But, if you are using a scattershield with your blowproof, you need to measure the thickness of the scattershield for the pivot ball height too. Let's say your scattershield measures .125", now your pivotball height would be 4.675".

This would tilt your fork more towards the front like it should be. Shortening or lenghtening the adjuster rod will not correct the internal fork movement geometry.

Are you using a scattershield? If so, what is that thickness?

Regards, Jody

Yes on the Scattershied(block plate), it's .125".

I'll try the grease and unscrew the ball some and get back to you guys! Guess things could be worse, I can't imagine going through something like this say 10 years ago BTC..........(Before Team Chevelle).

Probably a few centuries worth of knowledge in this single thread!

Thanks for all the help:thumbsup:

 

[JodysTransmissions]

John,

You should use permanent "red" loctite on the adjustable pivot ball threads after you are finished with the height adjustment. A little insurance to keep her together for the long haul.

Keep me posted!..Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Regards, Jody

 

[ChevJerico]

Update: Clutch Release Problem Fixed!!!!

Well guys finally got her going a couple days ago:hurray: :hurray: :hurray:, ...........feels good! Found a nice empty street to bang some gears on last night

I reset the ball stud to 4.65, maybe this could be part of the problem others have had as well. Following CF instructions to a "T" @ 4.75 didn't work, guess I needed more leverage! .100 made a big difference in the fork angle!

One other thing I noticed is that the throwout bearing will rock quite a bit on the retainer collar possibly causing a jam. I'm also going to relocate my return spring. It was at a pretty aggressive angle twisting the fork.

Thanks to all!

 

[JodysTransmissions]

Re: Update: Clutch Release Problem Fixed!!!!

Well guys finally got her going a couple days ago:hurray: :hurray: :hurray:, ...........feels good! Found a nice empty street to bang some gears on last night

I reset the ball stud to 4.65, maybe this could be part of the problem others have had as well. Following CF instructions to a "T" @ 4.75 didn't work, guess I needed more leverage! .100 made a big difference in the fork angle!

One other thing I noticed is that the throwout bearing will rock quite a bit on the retainer collar possibly causing a jam. I'm also going to relocate my return spring. It was at a pretty aggressive angle twisting the fork.

Thanks to all!

WOO HOO John!...............Damn scattershields!....This is one of the most overlooked items on the height set-up. I'm surprised Centerforce didn't point that out to you. We see this a lot on customer vehicles where the scattersheild thickness is not figured in.

Happy Shifting!

Regards, Jody

 

[Bow_Tied]

Re: Update: Clutch Release Problem Fixed!!!!

Thanks for posting a follow-up!! Glad you got it figured out.