Help: Clutch not fully disengaging

[Pranav]

I'm baffled by this one on my LT1 t56 car.

Replaced the motor.

Flywheel, PP, clutch disk, throwout bearing, clutch fork, and trans were all 100% OK and untouched when I swapped the motor, didn't even resurface the flywheel. I put the engine/trans package together on the garage floor and put it all in the car, noticed the pedal was stiff but still had full travel.

The clutch fork just sits loose in there (after clipping it on to the TO bearing) but tightens up once I get the slave cylinder bolted in place. On stands I cannot easily get the car into gear, and once I do with the clutch all the way in, the driveshaft/wheels spin. I notice if I take the big aluminum clutch slave/fork cover/spacer/block out from between the slave and the bellhousing and simply tighten the slave cylinder down further, I get full engagement.

I did also go ahead and pull the trans and took the clutch/pp/to apart and put it back together again, it is all torqued on straight. I've tried bleeding the slave/master multiple times, might try swap the pair out with a spare that I have on hand to see if that does anything. Driveline is also not making any funny noises...

Do I just need to find a longer clutch rod? I've also heard of removing the pivot T bolt and shortening it as being a solution. Not thrilled about pulling the trans a 2nd time but I gotta do what I gotta do. Thoughts? Any of you LT1 guys run into this on clutch swaps?

[GlennCMC70]

Call me.

[AllZWay]

Bleed the clutch/master cylinder. Take the slave loose at the transmission. Open the cap on your resevoir and from under the car....by hand push the rod in and out several times with the slave raised as high up next to the transmission as possible. I usually push the rod against one of the lips on the side of the transmission.

[Pranav]

Glenn I'll call you when I get back home and with the car, you around 4pm?

James thanks, I was pushing the rod against the ground downwards to try bleed it, will try that.

Before I left for work I took a quick look, turns out the existing slave cylinder stops about 1/4" short at the end, when compared to a new spare I have on hand. Coincidentally the entire problem appears to be me lacking that last 1/4" of travel.

The clutch fork, however, is suspect, just feels loose as hell when I clip it in.

[AllZWay]

The clutch fork, however, is suspect, just feels loose as hell when I clip it in.

Are you sure you have it pushed back up in place within the pressure plate? It will have a little slack, but not much.

[Pranav]

Yeah, its in the big collar that surrounds the throwout bearing. When I leave the big block/cover out and put the cylinder into position, I had someone else step on the clutch and could see the TO bearing pulling the PP back, just not all the way.

[Casey_SS]

Is the fork contacting the pressure plate?

[Pranav]

The backside of the fork against the PP shell? No.

Headed home in a little bit to swap out the cylinders.

[y5e06]

Are you sure you have it pushed back up in place within the pressure plate? It will have a little slack, but not much.

I suspect a similar issue. the arm doesn't actually 'clip' or 'detent onto the TB instead that felt detent is the retaining bolt w/ that partially rounded bar and a spring clip on the arm. I suspect you just didn't push the arm far enough to clip it into place. so although the arm is pushing against the flange of the TB you aren't leveraging the TB far enough w/ the change in fulcrum location.

[Casey_SS]

Reference point - the LT4 pressure plate has a notch on the T/O bearing which needs to be facing down to fully engage the fork. The LT1 pressure plate does not have the notched T/O bearing - fork should go all the way on no matter what position it's in.