ot 1983 c-30 chevy clutch, going overboard

ericlb

Well-known Member
i need help, on this truck after fighting this same problem for 3 years spending over a grand on a 200 dollar clutch replacement im out of ideas, the last thing is installing a new big spring under the dash on the 2 pins, my truck didnt have one,it broke some years ago and i never got it replaced ,got the dash and instrument panel back out for the 100th time now ,how in the heck do you get this spring on the 2 pins??? brake spring pliers,and the biggest bar i can fit under there wont even move it and i need 4 inches, i have the pedal piece disconnected from the piece that had the bushings on it that the spring attaches to to get more movement but it dont help much, tired of fighting this problem, and ive had this truck its whole life, found another truck but im going overboard, its an ex fire truck showing 22000, good, and like most fire trucks its in decent shape sort of, its been parked for 20 years that i know of, its a c-60, tandem axle with a 5 +4 transmission, [ yes i know how to drive one] but this sucker is a gas job and its engine at least from ground level makes my 454 look like a lawn mower have no idea how big it is i thought they put 427's in those trucks, probably 2 mpg if that, really done want to go there but its all i can afford , any ideas how to fix what ive got? the problem is a binding clutch pedal every single part of the pedal assembly is now brand new, as is the clutch and flywheel, linkage, and bell crank and the ball studs that rides on,
 
also replaced the clutch fork and ball, literally every piece on the truck that is related to the clutch is new now, even the bolt that runs thru the clutch pedal and brake pedal, still have the same problem i started with maybe a little less, you cant hardly push the pedal all the way down, motor mounts and cab mnounts are good so its not in a bind there, not going to throw any more money at this truck, this spring gets it driveable or it gets cut up and used to build the c-60
 
How did this come to be... has it ever worked right since you've had it? Did the "binding" start when the spring broke?

As far as to installing a replacement spring, I've done it.

Make a loop of STRONG wire and hook it in the spring and stick a big prybar or tire iron in the loop and find something tough enough to hook the bar on and stretch the spring into place, then cut the wire of.

May as well wear tough leather gloves and eye protection, as well. Oh, say, and a little swearing will likely help, as well!
 
yes the clutch always worked fine even after the spring broke, up to about 3 years ago when it started getting a little stiff, i figured the bushings were shot on the pedal its a long time since i bought it in 1983, took time and replaced them but its just got worse as time went on finally shut it down last year,i took it apart , its a dump and i use the thing on the farm a lot, replaced the clutch all the way, all 4 pieces, new flywheel, fork and ball, and put it back together, after i got mission creep and repainted the whole truck, no change, its still getting worse as time went on finally i refuse to drive it at all its dangerous, dont know if you can depress the pedal enough to disengage the clutch and its impossible to start up normaly,everything is new on this truck,it is better, but still not like it should be, but im about done with it i need the 12 foot dump, so if i cant get it going, the dump body is going on something else
 
Hi I'm kinda confused here, Have you disconnected the linkages and tried to find whats binding by elimination since this problem got worse , or is it that something is wrong internally with clearances between the clutch disc and flywheel bolts or something in the cover and it catches, maybe even the disc is in the wrong way/ bent. Then when you press the clutch the disc catches something and drags instead of releasing properly.Maybe something happened to the pilot bearing and it's binding now and not releasing the input shaft. I'm thinking right out the box for you problem and the info we got to work with.

I have seen these things with a few different tractors over the years, and the fun it causes, i even had one guy left the lever locks in a new cover and burn out 2 clutch discs plowing as it wasn't releasing properly to drive. I put the 3rd clutch in for him and found his problem, he was just to cheap to pay me the first and second time he did it, and saved nothing in the end L.O.L..
Regards Robert
 
Don't know about your clutch problem and I can't remember how that spring hooks up ? 4" to go to hook it up ? is there a link that takes up some of that your missing ?
I can tell you some about the c60 gas engine. Those are a tall block. 366 was most popular. not sure but I guess depending on the year a 427 and 454 may be options. These engines have a taller block than the pickup truck or car engines but I think most stuff interchanges ?
Thing about fire trucks is they have LOW miles but hard and fast on a cold engine and that wears out the rod bearings quick that's what the fire truck guys tell me.
 
I don't know much about your spring, but will offer this.

I think the 70 series Case tractors may have a similar problem. To replace the spring on those clutch pedals you need a bunch of nickels. Insert a nickel between every coil on the spring. You have to make two rows of nickels, one on each side of the spring. It takes awhile and sometimes you wish you had four hands. After the nickels are inserted the spring is long enough to reach both mounting pins. Then you just step on the clutch pedal and all the nickles fall out of the spring.

Maybe this trick would work on your truck.
 
I also am confused to your actual problem,but your later posts down below seem to say your problem is that you can't depress the pedal to get the clutch to release.I don't know what the spring under the dash does-if it is a return spring it's not going to help;BUT-if it is an over center spring set up for the pedal,it would make the clutch easier to depress.That said,can the whole pedal assembly be removed to install the spring?What Bob said sounds like something to try first.4 inches seems like too far for the spring to have to stretch-is it the proper spring?Also-are the the 2 pins as close as they are supposed to be?Look at your donor truck and see how it works,and how it is hooked up.Have someone depress the pedal on the donor,while you observe everything.And robert major has some good points.If the clutch is for sure installed properly,have someone try to depress the the pedal while you observe everything for interference.Compare to the donor.If there is no interference anywhere,disconnect linkage pieces and try to release the clutch using a pipe wrench(or something suitable)to operate the linkage.Also-is every piece of linkage square,straight,and at right angles as it should be?No flexing of the firewall or other linkage attachment points?
I have been as frustrated as you seem to be,and sometimes have had to take a break away from it.Maybe another set eyes can help-I have had to do that before.Don't cut up an otherwise good truck,until you are sure.Good luck,Mark
 
Since the problem is getting worse independent of the spring, are you sure the cab is not sagging down and causing alignment problems?
 
Forget about the spring for now. It's not the problem, as you even admit. Is the new clutch a lever style or diaphragm? Lever style pressure plates take more effort to disengage. Is the throwout bearing sliding freely on the input shaft housing?
 
Is this the big spring under the dash ? If so I am familiar with it, as I converted a '80 K10 to a standard transmission, back in '93 or '94. I had the steering column out when I did this.

That spring was a formidable task to get connected. What I did was wedge it one section at a time and then was able to finally hook it together. At first I thought it would be a problem, but I was able to think of a solution.

I did the same thing with the linkage all the way through to the clutch, flywheel and so on, all of it new, flywheel surfaced etc.
 
Sounds to me like your pressure plate adjusting screws for the fingers are slowly backing out. I have a tractor doing the same thing. kept adjusting free play until it was all gone and could not depress the clutch enough to stop. I went in through the inspection hole on the bottom and adjusted the fingers after I moved the free play adjustment all the way up again. That fixed the problem. I think your fingers have backed off enough that the pedal cannot push in enough to release the clutch.
 
Just a thought. Have you replaced the front bearing retainer on the transmission. If it is worn it will not allow the throw-out bearing to move back and forth freely and can make the clutch stiff while allowing the throw-out bearing bind up.
The other thing I have learned is I very much dislike the three fingered style pressure plates. A diaphragm style is smoother and makes a nice soft peddle that doesn't require much effort to operate. LUKE makes a nice pressure plate. I have installed several of them and never a problem. Those three fingered things were stiff and chattered a little.

Greg
 
yes on the cab mounts, they were replaces around 3 years ago and lifting on the cab with a jack shows no movement, also motor mounts which could cause the problem too,
 
io hadnt thought of that its sure possible, the pressure plate is the 12 inch 3 finger thats what it had and i went with a brand new unit, this truck hauls as well as pulls heavy loads,so i wanted the best possible clutch i could get short of going with a ceramic disc, with what those do to a flywheel, i figure there for people who cant drive a standard, lol
 
disconnecting the linkage under the truck still cause a binding both pressing the pedal down and releasing, at this point im in the process of removing the whole pedal assembly from the cab, got rained out today, there is something very strange going on with this truck that doesn't normal become an issue so once i get the whole thing out of the cab, ill let you all know what i find, thanks for the help
 
Shim shingles driven into the coils (wedging as noted below) making it longer will help. When near long enough, a piece of tubing can be used to pry it over the last bit. Jim
 
I had that problem in a 84 model someone had put a finger type pressure plate in, Broke the collar off that throw out bearing rides on in front of transmission. Was a pain till I notice it and replace with a dick type after pulling trans out several time to fix it.
 
(quoted from post at 08:17:58 06/25/16) I had that problem in a 84 model someone had put a finger type pressure plate in, Broke the collar off that throw out bearing rides on in front of transmission. Was a pain till I notice it and replace with a dick type after pulling trans out several time to fix it.

I had the same problem with a truck of the same vintage when I replaced the original style clutch with the coil spring and lever type. In my case it was not only much harder to push the clutch pedal but it also broke the adjusting linkage a couple of times until I went back to the original style clutch.
 
(quoted from post at 21:17:09 06/24/16) Just a thought. Have you replaced the front bearing retainer on the transmission. If it is worn it will not allow the throw-out bearing to move back and forth freely and can make the clutch stiff while allowing the throw-out bearing bind up.
The other thing I have learned is I very much dislike the three fingered style pressure plates. A diaphragm style is smoother and makes a nice soft peddle that doesn't require much effort to operate. LUKE makes a nice pressure plate. I have installed several of them and never a problem. Those three fingered things were stiff and chattered a little.

Greg

Me too on the front bearing retainer. It'll have wear grooves on it that bind the throwout bearing.
 

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