John_Mc 91 Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Well, I have my overdrive transmission back from rebuilding and it’s time for reinstalling the thing. I took it out so I’m pretty familiar with how it’s supposed to go, but any tips? For instance, the rebuilder told me to put it in gear prior to mating it to the flywheel. I have a new throw out bearing and hub and a new clutch face. Any tips will be viewed as helpful. Link to post Share on other sites
Ray500 27 Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Make sure you have the flywheel 'trued' and refaced so the clutch plate will fit tightly or you might have some jerky operations! A good machine ship can resurface it for you! You'll be glad you did!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
19tom40 97 Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Make sure that you place shims under the release arms on the pressure plate before you start to install it. You do not want any pressure on the clutch disc until the pressure plate is secure. Failure to do this can warp the pressure plate. Then remove the shims followed by the alignment shaft. If you removed the flywheel, make sure that you have the correct thin head bolts to re-install it. Incorrect bolts may cause a lot of noise when you start the engine and drive the car. Tighten the bolts to 65 - 70 FtLbs and safety wire them. Check for run out of less than .005". If it is more than that, remove the flywheel and rotate 180 degrees and recheck. I always mark the end of the crankshaft and the flywheel to make sure that I put them back the same way that I removed them. Link to post Share on other sites
John_Mc 91 Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 6 hours ago, 19tom40 said: Make sure that you place shims under the release arms on the pressure plate before you start to install it. You do not want any pressure on the clutch disc until the pressure plate is secure. Failure to do this can warp the pressure plate. Then remove the shims followed by the alignment shaft. If you removed the flywheel, make sure that you have the correct thin head bolts to re-install it. Incorrect bolts may cause a lot of noise when you start the engine and drive the car. Tighten the bolts to 65 - 70 FtLbs and safety wire them. Check for run out of less than .005". If it is more than that, remove the flywheel and rotate 180 degrees and recheck. I always mark the end of the crankshaft and the flywheel to make sure that I put them back the same way that I removed them. Hi Tom, what type or thickness should I use underneath the release arms? Not sure where they are used. The 1948 shop manual does call for “wedges” under the arms, but I spoke to my trans rebuild and he said he’s never used them, just torque up the bolts evenly around the flywheel. Also Tom, should I use a thread locker? Thanks in advance, sure don’t want to do this twice and how’s the time for any corrections. Link to post Share on other sites
abelincoln 16 Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 John: Carefully remove the solenoid, remove bolts and turn to pull out. Reinstall solenoid after trans is in place. I use a couple of rods screwed into side mounting holes on the engine block to guide the trans in place lining up the input with the clutch disk, sometimes have to rotate in gear a bit to mesh. If clutch has been out, need to center disk with an old transmission input shaft or make a dowel. You might also need to raise the rear of the engine a bit to make everything line up. It is easier to install motor mount with trans out of car. Funny, I'm about to do the same thing with rehabbed transmission. Abe Link to post Share on other sites
John_Mc 91 Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 (edited) 29 minutes ago, abelincoln said: John: Carefully remove the solenoid, remove bolts and turn to pull out. Reinstall solenoid after trans is in place. I use a couple of rods screwed into side mounting holes on the engine block to guide the trans in place lining up the input with the clutch disk, sometimes have to rotate in gear a bit to mesh. If clutch has been out, need to center disk with an old transmission input shaft or make a dowel. You might also need to raise the rear of the engine a bit to make everything line up. It is easier to install motor mount with trans out of car. Funny, I'm about to do the same thing with rehabbed transmission. Abe Thanks Abe, I’ve got a disc centering tool and I will for sure put some threaded rods intro the bell housing to act as dowels. Also, yes I have a new clutch disc. Since I had just a tiny amount of shimmy before removing the trans, I’ve left the flywheel alone except for mailing it hospital clean and roughing it up a bit. My question above to Tom was how and where to place shims on the pressure plate arms. After many years of playing with these cars, I’ve never used shims when installing a clutch and I really want to do this right. Thanks for the input. Edited February 23 by John_Mc (see edit history) Link to post Share on other sites
19tom40 97 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 (edited) John: The shims that I wrote about are the same wedges that the shop manual calls for. They need to be about 1/4" to 1/2" thick and are used to relieve the pressure on the disc as you install the pressure plate. Your transmission guy may not use them, but several people that had clutch chatter on their Fords used them on the replacement pressure plate and found that the clutch chatter was gone. The way that I install them is to place the pressure plate on a flat surface, secure it so it won't slip around and then apply force to one finger and slip the wedge in place between the finger and the cover. It takes about 100lbs of force to get enough space to put the wedge in. You might need a helper for the third hand. An arbor press comes in handy when doing it. I alternate tightening the bolts to make sure that the pressure plate does not warp. I have not used used a thread locker on the pressure plate bolts. The lock washers and 25 ft lbs torque seem to be sufficient to hold them in place. I cannot think of a reason to say that a thread locker should not be used, so if it makes you feel better to use the temporary type, go ahead. Edited February 24 by 19tom40 (see edit history) Link to post Share on other sites
John_Mc 91 Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 10 hours ago, 19tom40 said: John: The shims that I wrote about are the same wedges that the shop manual calls for. They need to be about 1/4" to 1/2" thick and are used to relieve the pressure on the disc as you install the pressure plate. Your transmission guy may not use them, but several people that had clutch chatter on their Fords used them on the replacement pressure plate and found that the clutch chatter was gone. The way that I install them is to place the pressure plate on a flat surface, secure it so it won't slip around and then apply force to one finger and slip the wedge in place between the finger and the cover. It takes about 100lbs of force to get enough space to put the wedge in. You might need a helper for the third hand. An arbor press comes in handy when doing it. I alternate tightening the bolts to make sure that the pressure plate does not warp. I have not used used a thread locker on the pressure plate bolts. The lock washers and 25 ft lbs torque seem to be sufficient to hold them in place. I cannot think of a reason to say that a thread locker should not be used, so if it makes you feel better to use the temporary type, go ahead. Tom, excellent as always. Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites
John_Mc 91 Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 Hi Tom, I used rubber shims and they seemed to work just fine. Here are some pictures, and thanks again for the advice and insights. Next step - installing the trans once properly painted. Link to post Share on other sites
19tom40 97 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Glad to see that you are making progress. I hope that we can get our cars out and drive them on a tour soon. Link to post Share on other sites
John_Mc 91 Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 Yep, that would be great...............IF I EVER get my Covid shot! 😞 Link to post Share on other sites
19tom40 97 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 I just got my second shot Wednesday. It's too bad that you don't live in Lake county, they have a hot line to help people 65 and older find a place for a shot. Your best bet is the United Center mega shot site. Watch for a phone number to sign up. Other than that, get up and get online early in the morning to look for shots in your county. Link to post Share on other sites
John_Mc 91 Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 19 minutes ago, 19tom40 said: I just got my second shot Wednesday. It's too bad that you don't live in Lake county, they have a hot line to help people 65 and older find a place for a shot. Your best bet is the United Center mega shot site. Watch for a phone number to sign up. Other than that, get up and get online early in the morning to look for shots in your county. Great tips, will do Link to post Share on other sites
John_Mc 91 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 11 hours ago, 19tom40 said: Looking good, John. Thanks Tom..........and I’m finally getting first shot this Tuesday! Link to post Share on other sites
DSpringer 3 Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 John, I'm considering this for my '41 Zephyr if I can find the parts. Do you need to enlarge the tunnel to get it to fit? Seems like a fairly major undertaking. Dave Link to post Share on other sites
John_Mc 91 Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 On 3/20/2021 at 3:24 PM, DSpringer said: John, I'm considering this for my '41 Zephyr if I can find the parts. Do you need to enlarge the tunnel to get it to fit? Seems like a fairly major undertaking. Dave Dave, not sure of the ‘41 but once the seat and carpet are removed, two panels can be removed exposing the entire transmission. No it’s not a fun job but remember the spring and axle must be removed and pushed back about 8” to allow clearance to pull back and remove the trans, good luck. Link to post Share on other sites
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