VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 Clutch Band Adjustment 1924 Superior

My 1924 Superior Touring is having a difficult time getting going after it gets warm/hot. You can feel that the leather clutch band just won't grab good and it takes a while to get going. If I put the diatom earth on the band it does perform better for a while. I am thinking that I need to get out the owners manual and adjust the pressure points so that the band comes in firmer contact when the clutch is released.

Any comments on this and tips to make it easier/keep from messing up!!

Thanks,

Bruce

You have the right idea. Check your Owner's Manual or Repair Manual for a discussion of how to adjust the pressure points. This may not be too easy as the threads tend to rust on the adjusters. Obviously you already know about the earth for slippage and neatsfoot oil for the grabby clutch.

The early cone clutch Chevrolets are known as the fastest cars in the world. (For the first 5 feet)!

Yes, thanks to this site I originally used neats foot oil, then had to revert to the earth as things loosened up. When applying the earth I got a good look at the tensioners and they appear to be in good shape.

CONFUSED!! On the tensioners you pull the cotter pin and turn the nut. The instructions say to turn the nut to the right with the clutch "engaged" until it stops then back it off one half turn. Okay, I admit, I am not much of a mechanic!! Engaged to me means the clutch pushed in. Is that correct?? It makes more sense when you are under the car that "engaged" would mean that the pedal is out and the leather is against the drum?? So is engaged pedal in or pedal out??

Also, my problem is slipping. Seems like turning the nut to the left actually puts the pressure on the band against the drum. Which I believe I need to get the clutch to quit slipping. Turning the nut to the right seems to cause less pressure to be put on the band when the clutch pedal is let out. Does that make sense to anyone?? My training says righty, tighty, lefty loosey!!

Thanks,

Bruce

To engage a clutch is the normal clutch position [pedel up] with the clutch single spring push the clutch cone against the flywheel -compression the leather. Some owners therefor use a stick to disengage the clutch when not driven much or over winter, to save the leather from getting too compressed. The clutch expanders adjustment only effects the first engagement of the clutch when starting to move to prevent the jerk. The expander little springs are fully compress during driving. A slipping clutch is caused by the leather being worn and too thin and needs to be replaced. Turning the nut to the right backs off the expander that is threaded because the nut acts like a jack -right turn pulls the expander bolt out; left turn pushes the expander bolt in. If the expanders are to far in, the clutch will not release or disengage and you would not ble to shift gears. I don't know how thick the new leather should be or where you can buy some?
kenK

So if the leather has to be replaced I guess you have to drop the transmission?? Hopefully not the engine??

You can do it in the car, however this is a great opportunity to clean everything up and serious inspecting.

Check your repair manual for the instructions on how to build the tool necessary to finish the job.

I have a reproduction service manual that is supposed to include 1924 Superior. It talks about models FA, FB, D & T. Is one of these a Superior?? Sorry I don't know much!! Do I need another book?

Yes, you need another Service Manual. I think that the best manual for you is the one that covers models 1916-1924. Maybe The Filling Station or Gary Wallace has got it. I haven't. I have a manual that is issued 1919. It has quite a good description of how to change the clutch leather and all the steps needed.

I changed the clutch leather on my 1922 490 last winter. After that I had problem like yours a couple of times. I thought that the reason was that I had used a leather that was too soft , but I'm not shure. Maybe it was a little too thick, 5 mm. And maybe it had been better if I had installed the leather with the soft (rugged) side out. Anyway, after driving some 150-200 kilometres I noticed that the free play on the expanders had disappeared. After installing I had loosened the nuts a half turn with the clutch engaged = the pedal out). Now I loosened the nuts a half turn more. After some 50-60 kilometres I noticed the problem again, and then I loosened the nuts up to 3/4 turn. After that it has worked OK for some 50-60 kilometres or so. This summer in Sweden has been very rainy, so I haven't been driving more than that.

The reason that I installed a new clutch leather was that the old one falled to pieces in the end of last summer once as I had shifted gear and engaged the clutch.

I am not shure that you have to change the clutch leather. But if you have to, I must say that I found it a quite tricky job. If it could be to some help for you, I can send you quite a lot of pictures both from disassembling, from different details and from installing. Actually I made an own "step by step" manual, but only in my language, swedish. But if you have specific questions, you are welcome.

After I had finished my clutch repair I got in contact with a couple of others who had tips and experiences on clutch repair. There are som earlier topics on this forum or the Chevytalk.

Please make a post as you proceed!

The manual you have is a 1919 to 1922 (FB was made from 1919 to 1922) and will have the clutch info that you need as all of those models used the cone clutch.

Yes, I am beginning to wonder now if I really need to replace the leather. It seems to be sufficiently thick. It is highly possible that from over oiling the valves I got too much oil in the troughs which spewed all over everything and found its way to the cluthc. Yesterday I did the best I could to clean the leather with gasoline and then put some diatom earth on the leather. I had also loosened up a couple expanders on Friday. The car now jumps when starting off and jumps a little with each gear. I am hoping if I get to driving it some more it will smooth out a little and the problem of slipping while in 3rd gear traveling up an even slight hill will go away.

We will see!!

Thanks,

Bruce

Okay, it has been a couple of months now since I last posted my clutch problems. I had determined that I had plenty of clutch leather, so replacing was not needed. I used gasoline to clean the band as best I could then I coated it with the diatom earth (white dirt). It worked really well for a couple of months, maybe 150 miles of city street driving at most.

Last weekend it started slipping again, first when I would drop it in third, later it became really noticable when starting out, so I put it in the garage. I guess I will just have to clean the leather and put dirt on it every 100 miles or so???

Hi,

Did you also adjust the pressure points around the clutch?

It is not too uncommon to make many repeated applications of the white earth.

Don't get discouraged. When it is fixed you will have a lot of fun driving it around.

After studying and reading I was under the impression that the pressure points are only good for keeping the car from jumping when starting out in first gear. Instead of the band "catching" all at once and jerking, the pressure points allow the band to ease in some without grabbing. Once the pedal is all the way up and the leather is engaged on the drum they don't do anything. Is this not correct?? Do the pressure points actualy help after the band is fully engaged to somehow keep it for slipping??

Thanks, Bruce

So, the final result is that I have to put the diatom earth on the leather every 100 miles??

Trying to show picture of thickness of clutch leather. Not sure if there will be a link or a picture??


[img]http://www.geocities.com/batolson/clutch.html[/img]

Altho not the primary purpose of the pressure points, it will add additional pressure to the single large clutch spring.

As a side note: The Chevrolet 490 was the world's fastest car: FOR THE FIRST 4 FEET!

Finally, after almost two years I updated my site so you can see a few pictures of my 1924 if you are interested:

http://www.geocities.com/batolson/aurea2007.html

:love: Beautiful car. Great sight loved the music.