Noisy clutch-1939 60 Special

[Chuck-#21953]

When the clutch is depressed all the way to the floor, it sounds like a bucket of bolts in my wifes washing machine.  Once engaged, there is no noise and there is no slippag, the car drives fine.  What could this be?

Also, what is the difference in the 1939 clutch assmbly and those made in 1940/1941?  I believe I have a 1941 engine in my car.

[Don Boshara #594]

Sounds like a torn up throw-out bearing. The 41 clutch is different  from the 39, but the bearing is the same.

[Sam Moore #21210]

Most likely the clutch throw-out bearing, since it only occurs when depressing the clutch.

[John #22631]

Gentlemen,

Let us use correct terminology. The proper name for the bearing is not throw-out.

It is a thrawl bearing.

Same goes for the pilot bushing, not pilot bearing.

Here ends todays lesson. Thank you for attending.

John

[Harry Scott]

According to the Master Chassis Parts List, it is a clutch release bearing. There are pilot bushings which are machined from solid stock and there are pilot bearings which have rollers between the two races.

[Doug Houston]

Looks like the teacher was using a text by the brothers Grimm.

Some cars did use pilot bushings; they were les expensive. Cadillac used a ball bearing for the pilot bearing  from 1939 to 1941, Hydra-Mtic and all. I sort of doubt if many pilot bearings went bad on Hydra-Matics.

Sure, the bearing for the clutch release was correctly called a clutch release bearing, but doggoned few mechanics ever called it by that name. Throw-out bearing has always been the word.  Maybe not purely correct, but...............!

[Chuck-#21953]

The noise turned out to be a metal disk that was rivited over the 8 springs.  The rivits sheared off and the disk was flopping around.  One spring was half way out of its nest, so I think the clutch disk was ready to come apart. Both the throw-out and pilot bearings were well worn and replaced.  Does anyone know an easy way (if there is such a thing) to align the splines?  I used an alignment tool but am still having trouble mating the shaft through the clutch disk.  It binds up.

[baxter culver #17184]

I just mated my transmission to engine (clutch assy) prior to installing both in my 39 60S.  It was not easy getting the alighment correct so the trans slid into place.  I was using a universal alignment tool--which is a tapered shaft with a pilot bearing tool.  It didnt want to line up because the tapered shaft couldnt be sufficiently pressed into the clutch driven disc due to the thickness and shape of the bell housing.  I fabricated a short piece of 3/4 EMT to slide over the alignment shaft and then, gently, hammered the tapered shaft against the driven disc.  It worked.  The transmission slid into the pilot bearing, and everything was happy--until I installed the throwout bearing 180 degrees off and couldnt mate the trans to the bellhousing!  Thats another story.

[chuck-#21953]

 I made a pair of guide pins from 5 x 1/2 bolts for the bottom bolt holes in the bell housing and started the transmission on these pins.  Then, I carefully measured the distance from the bell housing face to the mating face of the transmission and squared up the tranny by adjusting the transmission jack.  I used a hone stone to round off any sharp edges from the tranny splines and clutch disk splines. It slid in easily until it contacted the pilot bearing, then I had to rotate the flywheel slowly while appling pressure from a pry bar and it popped right in.  I suspect that the recommended Cadillac alignment tool, that I didnt have, aligned the pilot bearing, clutch disk spline and bell housing hole.

[Brad Ipsen CLC#737]

The easy way to get this tool is to part out a transmission and use the input shaft.  There are so many of these transmissions around that are junk.  If anyone needs one I can probably come up with 2 or 3 input shafts.