Tips for Replacing throwout bearing in 40 Ford coupe

[auburnseeker]

I bought a 40 Ford coupe last year and it ran and drove around the block but the brakes were crusted up so it took me a year to finally get to them.   First time I got it going after finally getting the brakes all in and adjusted,  I drove it out of the garage and the throwout bearing suddenly became noisy.   I pulled all the floors out and got the inspection cover off.  The car was "restored 20 years ago and properly stored but probably not driven more than 100 miles since it was all done.  I did find the bearing occasionally hit a spot when spinning it by hand that seems to catch,  though that spot seems to be random so it must be a problem with the balls in it.  I tried to add a grease hole to grease it,  but that didn't work out.  Looks like it is going to need to be replaced.  (I know big job) Can I drop the rear end back and get the tranny out that way or is there not enough clearance for the mainshaft to get it out presumably through the interior of the car.  It's a shame because everything in the bell housing looks new.  The engine is the original style flathead. 

Looks pretty straight forward.   Any recommendations for a replacement bearing.  The bearing in it was an AETNA made in the USA. I've read later 46-48 Fords you can't get the tranny out by dropping the rear because of the crossmember.  I really don't want to pull the engine. 

Thanks for any help in advance. 

[19tom40]

You can get the trans out by pulling the rear end.

 

Jack up car and support it with jack stands under the frame.

Remove the rear wheels

Remove the shock links

Remove the seat from the car to protect the upholstery and to give you room to work inside the car.

Remove the floor mat and floor boards

Remove the rear motor mount bolts from the rear of the transmission

Jack up the transmission enough to get a socket with a long extension on the bolts that hold the universal joint cover to the transmission

Remove the bolts from the universal joint cover after taking a photo of how the cover is oriented for greasing.

Disconnect the emergency brake cable

Disconnect the flexible brake line from the torque tube

Place a jack under the differential housing and remove the nuts from the 2 U-bolts that hold the spring in the car

Lower the jack slowly while trying to pull the rear end back.

Remove the clutch actuator

remove the shift rods

Remove all of the bolts from the transmission to the motor

Slide the transmission backward, while keeping the rear of the trans up above the floor boards and bring the trans into the car.

 

When you re-install the motor mounts, make sure that the bolts are snug enough to prevent any part of the mount from turning, but not tight enough to make the cotter key useless.

 

If you can find a bearing supply source near you, buy a replacement from them. the other place that I would recommend is VanPelt sales.   http://vanpeltsales.com/

 

If this is the first time for you, I would take a lot of photos of the parts before dismantling them.

 

I may have forgotten a few steps, but you should be able to complete the job without them.

[auburnseeker]

Thanks for the tips.  It looked a little straightforward but I have heard in some 40's Ford's you can't get it out through the inside. Might be 41 and up.  I wanted to make sure it could be done,  before I tore everything apart then found out it had to come out the front instead. I just did the hand and hydraulic brakes over so that will all come apart with no trouble.  The rest looks pretty fresh as well as it had been an off frame restoration so hopefully everything comes apart.  The rear motor/ tranny mounts looks crusty though they look like they might have been replaced with NOS ones that weren't very good so I'll replace those while I'm in there. 

Not a job I'm looking forward to,  but looks easier than the EGR delete on my 6.0 Ford. 

[19tom40]

If you are going to replace the motor mounts, I suggest that you find some Bob Drake motor mounts. They seem to work the best in controlling clutch chatter. They were out of stock earlier this year, and I hope that he did not change the supplier, as some of the other vendors mounts will not tighten up at all or the cushions are too soft and you get clutch chatter.