Customs I need help with my clutch.

I haven't posted anything in awhile but I need some help! I've been slowly putting a new drive train in my Chevy. Nothing fancy. Just a SBC with a Saginaw 3 speed. I thought I had the cluch mechanism all sorted out but now it's not disengaging. No matter how much force I put on the clutch fork it doesn't move. Like I said, it was working but now it isn't. The car hasn't been driven. The motor hasn't even run.
Thanks for you help.

 

pictures?

Does the pedal have free play?

 

The throw out bearing could be binding on the transmission output shaft.

Bones

 

Not much to take pics of. The pedal assembly is original and the mechanism is all home made and all works smoothly. The problem seems to be in the transmission. Even with a steel bar for leverage and pushing with my foot I can't get the clutch fork to move.

 

I'm afraid it might be something like that. I really don't want to have to pull out the trans but I might need to.

 

I have replaced two clutch assemblies in the last year that had a spring fall out of the disc, landing in the pressure plate so the clutch wouldn't disengage. Two years ago I repaired another one that had the snout on the bearing retainer break off, causing the same issue. Be happy that it's not a 4 speed 4wd Ford from the '70's.

 

Bones, I do see you are an Oakie from Muskogee, but you did mean input shaft, did you not?

Ben

 

When making the homemade part of the clutch set up did you replicate the lengths and sizes and direction of a stock set up? I made my own clutch linkage set up one time and couldn't push my clutch down with 2 feet! There is a ratio of pedal height to length of throw and pressure required that I had messed up. Plus I was doing a pull type set up as opposed to a stock push type. Was a weird problem as the linkage all moved very freely when not connected. Had to change my set up from a pull type set up to a push type set up using reconfigured stock parts and it now works very well.

 

Could be the pedal ratio. I put my Ford together and moved the clutch rod pivot about 2" lower on the arm, took 2 people to push the pedal. Re-located the pivot and clutch master to the stock position, problem solved.

How long has it been sitting, any possibility of the disc being stuck to the flywheel, did it ever work?

 

I'm going to have a look for that. I might need to pull the motor out. I don't think I can undo the bell house with it in the car.

 

I'm 98% sure it is not the linkage as I did have it working. Didn't have the car running but I did have the clutch working.
Everything is new but it has been sitting for about a year and a half.
Any ideas how to free it up if it is the stuck to the flywheel?

 

Pull the rod from Z bar to clutch fork to see if binding is hidden below or above then go from there.

 

could you look up under the inspection cover?

 

Yeah, never post when you’re at the club! I must have been looking at it from the back side of the transmission. Lol


Bones

 

I figured it out. Thanks for your help guys. A couple whacks with a hammer on the clutch fork and it started moving again. The linkage did need a little more work. I reinforced a few things, changed a couple brackets, adjusted the threaded parts of my linkage to the right length and it all works now.

 

Love me a good BFH ending.

 

Good deal! BFH best tool in the tool box!