[Guest]

I have an 85 CJ7, 258, T-5 tranny. I am having problems with my clutch linkage. This is the second time in about 2 years that I am having to replace all of the mechanical linkage from the shift fork that comes out of the tranny all the way up to the rod the is attached to the clutch pedal. I am wondering if there is any better than factory linkage that I can purchase. The first time it broke, the little ball sheered off that the pivoting tube pivots on. I just gutted out everything due to it all being worn at all pivoting points. This time, the pivot tube came off of the pivot ball which is mounted to the tranny. Most of the pivoting points were worn again. I'm wondering why the tube came off of the pivoting ball. Is my engine torking too much, maybe a worn motor mount? Is my tranny mount worn, allowing too much twist? Does anyone have any suggestions or referrals for upgraded parts? Any ideas or help is appreciated!

Dave-85'CJ7 six banger with torque and speed!

 

[CJ7Taz]

This could be several things the first that comes to mind is the springs being too heavy in the pressure
plate. It could be a case of the wrong clutch fork or the fork has slipped off or the ball in the bellhousing
loosing leverage and requiring too much pressure to disengage. Is the bellcrank tube square to the
engine? Doesn't one pivot mount to the body and the other to bellhousing plate? If the body is moved
forward or rearward or a body lift has been done, it would change the angle. Is the tube and/or it's arms
bent? Really reaching, is the sheet metal solid at the tube pivot ball mount?

If you think the problem is an engine or tranny mount, you should be able to determine this by shift lever.
If it moves around a lot during axcel or decel, you need to look at the mounts.

In answer to your other question. Yes, there are better parts with ball socket ends for the linkage, this
will help the rod pivot points but would not help your bellcrank tube pivot problem.

 

[CJDave]

/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif This problem sounds SO familiar/wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif.....except in my case it was my GMC 3/4 ton 350 V8 w/ four speed tranny. FIRST the linkage to the clutch arm broke...then the bellcrank arm...then a fulcrum pin on the pressure plate(Which of course meant dumping the clutch out)...then the pedal broke off...FINALLY the pressure plate broke AGAIN. THIS TIME I wised up and before I put in a replacement 12" Borg and Beck 12-spring pressure plate, I laid that sucker on the back deck of the service truck and torch cut one spring out of each of the three groups. Guess what? Yep...never broke again; AND I could actually sit at a stop with my clutch depressed and not have my leg start shaking. A 100% beef(all springs in)12" B&B clutch is what we used to hold big Hemi Chryslers for cat's sake! TOTALLY overkill on a dinky GM 350. With the 75% beef clutch(9 out of 12 springs in) I could still hang the loaded pickup on a vertical ramp with no sweat! PLUS...I wasn't wearing out that dinky little thrust surface on the one main bearing that holds the crank in the same county as the rods./wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif GET LESS CLUTCH!! /wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif

CJDave

 

[Guest]

I don't think the bellcrank tube is perpendicular to the tranny. I did have a 3" body lift on when I had 35" tires. I took it off. I also do remember having trouble getting the body to mount up properly to the frame. What was telling me this was the fact that my hood wasn't sitting flush on the fenders on both sides. I ended up having to weld a new bracket for the passenger side body mount that is just behind the tire. I was thinking my frame was a bit out of shape. As far as the engine twisting too much, at idle, the stick shift taps the body on the floor sometimes. This hasn't always done this. As far as the clutch itself, The clutch is about 2 years old, and it's not any upgraded clutch. As a side note, I replaced the factory plastic valve cover with an aluminum one. In doing this, I notice that the valve cover is maybe a 16th of an inch from the fire wall. This made me think that the engine mounts have gotten lazy, and the engine is sitting closer to the fire wall. Looking at the motor mounts, it seems that if they were to ever go bad, the engine would shift to the rear, or closer to the fire wall. Any tidbits of suggestions would be helpful. Also, if anyone knows of some links to purchase any linkage with pivot ball joints would be helpful. Thanks

Dave-85'CJ7 six banger with torque and speed!

 

[102]

You might consider converting to a hydraulic linkage conversion.
I have documented mine at
http://www.monsterslayer.com/jeep/HydroClutch.htm
This hydraulic clutch setup (MC, slave cyl. & hose) was original equipment on a
1980-83 GM (Non-AMC) 4 cylinder jeep engine.
Then you can toss your bellcrank and rods.

JAF

 

[CJ7Taz]

I don't find much wrong with the clutch linkage design other than the metal to metal contact where the
rods go in the holes wears. It's a pretty comon design and widely used. Mine has outlasted two engines
and going strong on the third. I've never had to replace anything on it. I did notice the rod wear at the
joints and bought the parts to fix it when my favorite new/used Jeep supplier went out of business and
was selling everything at half price. That was three years ago and I haven't got them in yet.

If you get it installed properly, get the angles right and eliminate any binding, it should serve you well.
It's pretty simple and trouble free. My Jeep is 5 years older than yours, has 250k miles on it and still
has the original stuff and I never have to do anything to it.

 

[Guest]

You can purchase heim joints at your local bearing supply house that have female threads (usually around $10 each or less), allowing you to simply cut the ends off the worn original rods, thread them to match with a die, and screw on the new rod ends to the same length as the old rods. Use grade 8 bolts through the eyes of the rod ends into the holes of the bellcrank, even if they are worn they'll work. Also, make sure you grease the bellcrank every oil change, they have a grease fitting on them! As for the clutch, use a diaphram type, they have a much lower release effort than the Borg & Beck or Long style clutches do, with the same clamping pressure. Hope this helps, good luck!

 

[Guest]

Jaffer and I had a conversation about this a while ago, I was wondering why bother to convert to hydraulic. After taking a look at his setup, it's easy and very clean looking, I would recommend going the hydraulic route if you are going to be doing much work on it anyway. I plan on doing the conversion myself, and I was previously sold on the simplicity of the bellcrank setup.

Brad (from the 4 Wheeling center of the universe, 4 corners USA)

 

[Scott_CJ8]

Get in touch with Gary Gustafson from the Iron Horse 4X4 club in Chicago (http://www.off-road.com/~iron/forsale.htm) or call: 708-535-3716. He's got a custom built clutch linkage package that can't be beat. I told him that as soon as mine broke, I'd call him (it hasn't yet), but he said he'd be making more. Hope this is helpful.

Keep on Jeepin'
Scott

 

[LooseNut]

Maybe your problem is with the body mounts. If they are rusted and have given out, the body will drop lower at that point. That would cause your firewall to hit your valve cover, and would cause your pivot rod to not be square. I think the standard clutch linkages are pretty sturdy. All I've ever seen is the ends of the rod wear off from lack of lubrication.

Loose nut behind the wheel
Another right-wing conservative.....
Born and raised in Jeep-Town