VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Transmission Removal (1931)

I have all four bolts out, and used penatrating oil overnight..and the transmission won't budge. And advise?

First thing is to grab the end of the transmission (U-Joint end) and shake vigorously. If no luck place a jack under that end and jack up transmission and engine. If at this point you can insert a flat blade screwdriver between the transmission and the bell housing, do so, and release the pressure on the jack. Carefully insert a flat blade screwdriver at the top as you did at the bottom. It would be safe to force the two drivers by use of a small hammer.

If these procedures don't work we must agree we have a more serious problem.

Thanks...that worked. I have the transmission pulled out...almost all the way, I'm short by 1 to 2 inches...I did not disconnect the cross member support that also supports the battery box, should I have? What do you do when you undertake a job like this?

I usually drink at least two cups of coffee before I tackle a job such as yours. Almost everything is just logic. If it's in the way----remove it. If you don't do it now you will have more difficulty in the re assembly.

Got everything taken apart...big day tomorrow putting it all back together... After reading the book, I had anticipated 1 day...not three...I'll know better for next time...

Next time will be so much better, once you know what you are doing.....It just boils down to proper on the job training and a good selection of tools. Next step is having the correct replacement parts, that is another story....

Friday while starting the reassembly, I broke the Clutch fork ball support bolt...found one at the fillingstation, waitting 'til Tuesday to resume. (found it neat that there was an oil hole in the clutch fork.)

Question...In the gasket set, I thought I received a gasket for the seal to the main drive gear bearing cover...so I undid the four bolts, and while it looked like it was the gasket, it wasn't, the bolt holes didn't line up. While I had the cover in my hand I noticed that the center appears threaded, and there was no seal between the bearings, shaft, and cover. Why this concerns me is there was evidence of oil in the worn clutch material when I removed the inspection cover. Thoughts ????

Tom,
Sorry my phone went dead! Guess it is time for a new battery.

The threading is designed to have any oil that gets past the input shaft bearing to spin back toward the bearing. Seems to work well as long as the cover has not worn too much from a wobbling shaft. If you change the front bearing to a shielded or sealed on one side bearing then you will eliminate any possibility of leaks. However, I have never found leaks from the input shaft to be a problem.

I have found that an oily clutch is mostly due to the engine oiling it, either thru a leaking valve cover gasket leak at the rear of the head or the welch plug plugging the rear cam access hole leaking. The valve cover gasket is way easier to fix!Sometimes the leaking valve cover gasket will fool you into thinking there is another leak, like a rear seal leaking.

"If you change the front bearing to a shielded or sealed on one side bearing then you will eliminate any possibility of leaks."

Sounds like a good idea, except the local bearing shop here has very short working hours. Would I need a puller to get it out, and how would removing it affect everything left in the transmission?

Really it isn't worth the effort to change the front bearing ,just because you found some oil on the clutch, if by rare chance the oil came from the transmission it is a probility that the transmission was too full of gear grease and it leaked out while sitting for a while or if the clutch bearing in the front of the transmission is bad,not only should the bearing be changed but the bearing housing that the throwout bearing slides on and also the clutch shaft of the transmission. You can tell by working the clutch shaft splined end up and down and side to side, it should not have any detectable sideways movement.

What do you all use as the gasket/washer on the transmission drain plug?

nothing, it is pipe threaded plug, isn't it? I sometimes put some teflon tape or a small amount of teflon pipe dope but only if seeping or dripping gear lube is indicated

Nothing is used.

What's the easiest way to re-connect the U-joint?

If you do not have the special tool you can use some baling wire to reach behind the front 1/2 of the U-joint, pull it to the rear as far as possible, and tie off the wire. As the wire holds the front part you can position the rear and start the nuts.

For pictures and detailed instructions: U-JOINT CONNECTION

Lots of patience and carefully aligning everything while under the car, then actually being in the passenger capartment, I was able to get them started then tightend...took awhile. All I have left is one brake rod and fluids...but...
Again I have no clutch pedal. Could my clutch pedal pull back spring be weak? (any other ideas?) The arm of the pedal bangs against the firewall each time...and there is no noticeable pressure when engaging the clutch...There wasn't before, and this is one of the main reasons I decided to change the clutch...??? Could you provide me the correct size of the spring and where to connect it, from the pedal?

I have not had the experience of driving my 1932 Coach as it was in planter condition when I acquired it, but I have very recently installed the clutch. One would think there should be reasonable pressure when engaging. Did you note the condition of the springs in the pressure plate when changing the clutch? Seems they would be the source of pedal pressure. Some of mine were pitted pretty bad and I chose to replace them.

Have you tried to see if the clutch is releasing and engageing properly by seeing if it locks the engine to the driveline and releases? You undoubtly have something out of kilter or something is missing. Do you have a proper service manual or parts manual showing the clutch assembly?

I have the Chevrolet Repair Manual Independence Model Sereas AE-LT. I think it engages. When tightening the U-joint nuts I used the transmission to set the resistance. One nut at a time. While underneath and looking through the inspection hole, I can see the fork engaging. Could it somehow be because I have rear wheels off the ground there isn't much resistance, or the clutch isn't between/holding two stationary forces?

I wouldn't think having the wheels of the ground would affect the clutch peddle falling to the floor. It should work even when the transmission is in neutral. I would like to be more help but I can't do much when I can't actually see and feel what is going on. Do you have a VCCA Region near there, that you can join and get some hands on helpers?

This is a shot in the dark, but is it possible the pivot ball for the clutch arm is broken, missing, poorly adjusted, etc?

I just got the pivot ball (and nut) Monday and I think I installed it properly. (not that hard to do) (Adjusted?) Flywheel, clutch disk, pressure plate, sleeve, then throughout bearing/fork. Right now, I can get under the car, and actually rotate the sleeve. There's that much free space left on the input shaft. How much foot pressure should it take to push in the pedal, sleeve? Would a new clutch pedal return spring make that much of a difference, to me it would make some, but I don't know how much.

The clutch arm return spring serves to move the throw-out-bearing back away from the clutch pressure plate. It contributes very little resistance when you are ENGAGING the clutch. When depressing the clutch, it should move slightly over 1 inch before you encounter resistance from the pressure plate springs.

During your work did you change any of the linkage on the clutch? Perhaps the link from the end of the clutch arm to the clutch pedal?

Didn't change linkage at all. Just disconnected the pull back spring, and moved the fork out the bottom of the bellhousing.