I am putting together a 28/29 roadster pickup to run at events like TROG or the RPM National, I'm, using a 226 Flathead Ford six with a 1952 Ford truck 3-speed transmission & rear axle. I intended to use a hydraulic clutch release system. However I found it required an extreme amount of pressure to depress the pressure plate. I can barley get any travel with a 24" crescent on the flat end of cross shaft. Have any of you had success using a slave cylinder to actuate the clutch shaft on these early Ford transmissions. I have checked the alignment of the parts involved and removed three springs from the pressure plate. I could sure us some help solving this problem.
What size pressure plate? And does it match the trans/throwout bearing you are using? Some later car plates had the fingers closer together which could be binding. But yeah, a truck clutch takes a bunch of force to move. If you used an F-1 truck pedal setup you wouldn't need hydralics
It's an 11" clutch which matches the fly wheel I have to work with. I currently have a brake,clutch, and throttle petal assembly like were used in dune buggies. To go to a mechanical set up I would have to replace all these. If I can't get the pressure multiplication with hydraulics I will have to go that route.
Slave Cyl 7/8 Master Cyl 3/4 I'm inquiring about a McLeod hydraulic throughout bearing, to see if they have one that would work for me.
I'm using a 3/4" master and 7/8" slave too. The question is do you get enough leverage with the pedal set up.
Maybe it's a bit of an optical illusion in your photo, but it looks like you have a a pretty short lever on the Z-arm where the clutch push rod attaches. Not much mechanical advantage there. Also, if the clutch is in the applied position (foot off pedal) in that photo, it looks like the lever is already well over-center in relation to the Z-arm shaft. When you depress the clutch pedal the Z-arm is going to run out of travel very quickly and things are going to start binding.
never liked the hyd clutch release. However you need matched componets. and the correct linkage geomerty.
Make yourself an adjustable lever arm to bolt to your TO pivot to allow you to experiment with the lever length. You could do that (as I did) by making a flat lever arm with a round notch at the end to fit the round pivot shaft. Then drill a series of holes radiating out from the center of the shaft which would allow you to select your mounting point at varying distances from the shaft center, effectively varying the lever length. Once you decide on the proper lever length, you can fancy it up as you see fit. Al Hook
Remember, you are using hydraulic leverage to stock move the clutch,, its not like your pedal is directly attached to the clutch shaft, you have the leverage of the pedal and the leverage of the z bar. On my 40 ford truck with a chevy trans, I cant move the arm back with just my arm strength. does it work with the hydraulic pedals? Then you are ok, if not, as mentioned you have a bind somewhere.
Thank you all for your input, I've had the pressure plate rechecked at clutch company and removed three springs to reduce the pressure . I measured the relationship of the throughout bearing to the clutch. It just seems to require to much torque to dis-in-gauge the pressure plate
The stock throw out finger cross shaft has a flat on the outside of the case, using a 24" crescent wrench I could not dis-in-gauge the clutch !!!
I would like to find someone who has used hydraulics to operate this early Ford cross shaft and made it work.
That is a Ram clutch & TH400 in a race transmission (clutch turbo). I think the 5/8ths bore with hydraulic TO is pretty standard.
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