Clutch now hard to use

I broke the ball fitting at the tcase this weekend. I had the complete kit to repair (tube, ball fittings, spring, felt pads, etc). I replaced everything and now it takes a WHOLE LOT of effort to push the clutch in. My instinct is telling me that something else happened to cause the ball fitting to break. Not sure what I need to look at first. Any ideas would be helpful. TIA


Edit: Forgot to mention...when clutch is engaged fully now, there is a hum coming from it...

 

Dennis, Did you put in a new cross tube and rods? Does it feel "gritty" when working the pedal? How wallowed out wast the old holes in the old tube where the rod pivoted? If so, those two might be tight together until they break in. Obviously, make sure there's lubrication at all the friction points. You may also consider making up a heim joint or yoke fitted rod.

It's gotta be something.... HTH

 

I can move the tube easily by hand until I hook up the cable to the clutch fork. That's what makes me beieve something else 'gave' to cause the ball stud to brake. You know, like I put more pressure on the pedal and it broke... It just happened so fast, I don't know if I did or not

 

Here is a post from the Jeepsters Fourm about hard clutch pedal.

Here is the original post by Rich, It's got the same number.

1. Place the clutch cover face down on a flat surface (out of the vehicle.) Through the center hole measure the height of the
fingers from the flat surface. The "problem child" I had on mine was only 2". Every parts book called out for different covers
ranging from 2" to 2 5/16, except one, Cenferforce, it was about 2.5". Each little bit of height gets the fork closer to the right
angle. It's only a small amount, but it makes a huge difference.

2. The throwout bearing all the parts books call for is not the correct one, it's too short by about 1/4". All the books I
encountered called for the short one (N1178) that will bind against the fork.
The correct one (longer one) carries the number N1086SA, it's a standard Chevy truck bearing.
It's only a 1/4" difference, but it makes a world of difference.

3. The pivot ball the fork rides on should be replaced with a slightly longer one as well. This gets the fork angle in the right
position for best mechanical advantage. There are only 2 that fit the bellhousing, use the longer one. Again, the tiny 3/32"
change makes a huge difference.

The fork may or may not bind when new as long as 2 out of the three items I mentioned are used, but as the clutch disc
wears, it looks like it will bind soon. Using all three fixes looks like it won't bind, but time will tell.

Here are the parts numbers that worked for mine. CenterForce is a well known quality manufacturor of clutches. They make
several different hi-performance systems, I chose their "standard" Gold one. It still exceeds stock holding power by about
30%, so it's not a cheesy one.

Centerforce "cover" CenterForce # 361662 $ 128.98
Centerforce disc CenterForce # 383271 $ 60.92
Pilot bushing # 3752487 $ 2.36
Throwout bearing # N1086SA (standard Chevy truck) $ 27.90
Pivot ball (long) Link # 15592268 $ 11.52
Clutch fork # 1378486 $ 58

The first 3 items were obtained from 4West Four Wheel Drive in Colton, CA,
(909) 824-0024 or (800) 85-4WEST www.4West.com
Very knowledgable and helpful people. It's not just a chrome and bolt on "pink stuff" shop.

The next 2 items were from Clutch Masters in Rialto, CA
(909) 877-6800 www.clutchmasters.com
This is a huge place that only does clutches and related parts, including flywheels, starter ring gears, and custom systems.
They manufacture and rebuild on the premises. Again, experts.

The last one was from Harvey's Complete Jeepshop in Long Beach, but most everyone has this item, it's standard on
Jeepsters and CJ's..

 

I also have a word document with photos of a posting from the Jeepster fourm. I can email you or sendto Sparky for posting on this site??

 

Would these things just happen? Clutch was fine until Friday night.

 

sounds like it is binding up. when i replaced my linkages, i added about 1/2" to the height of the throws. it made a big difference.


have you greased the tube yet? might help.

 

Here was the problem...

The new tube had the flanges welded too close to the outside edge. When I compared to the old tube, there was 9/16" difference on the tcase side. I put the old tube back on and it made the cable pull the clutch fork straight-on as opposed to off to the side. It was binding itself because the leverage wasn't there Unbeliveable...

 

Jeep linkages... When I got mine the clutch was incredible to push. Next discovery was that the "tube" whatever was backwards. It was gearing it up, rather than gearing it down. Make sense? It would not fit the other way around until I torched off the levers (ears?) and welded them back where I liked them. Result was a clutch that is no harder than mothers Metro.

-Hill

 

This probably explains why the ears have been cut off and rewelded on my tube by a PO. I always wondered about that. Another mystery solved.

BTW - I put a grease zerk on the tube so I can pump grease inside the tube. It's messy but makes a big difference in clutch pedal effort and smoothness.

 

I plan on doing that this week. I can't hurt anything