49 ford clutch chatter

beerslob

Member
i put in new clutch , pressure plate , throw out bearing , pilot bearing. and had the flywheel surfaced . when you let out the clutch it shakes the whole car terrible... no funny noises and the pedal feel good it has new motor and trans mount and everything is tight and its not lowered ... can anyone tell me what could be wrong before i take out the trans. and if i take out the trans what would i look for? i did a search and found the chutch could be in backwards is this poss? it feel like the clutch is working right. its a 49 ford car 239 ci. 3 speed no overdrive. thanks for any help . thanks, tony
 
If the clutch was in backwards, it wouldn't work at all.
Is this clutch setup an offshore cheapie, brand X,
or is it a well known brand ?




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I think that before I tore it apart, I'd try one more thing. I believe I would put the front bumper against a big ol' tree and try aggressively slipping that clutch and burning it in for a few seconds. DD
 
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I think that before I tore it apart, I'd try one more thing. I believe I would put the front bumper against a big ol' tree and try aggressively slipping that clutch and burning it in for a few seconds. DD
The emergency and chock blocks on all4 wheels will not damage the bumper or any other part.
 
sounds like the fingers on the PP are out of adjustment,you have to remove trans,i would get a clutch from fort wayne clutch and be done with it
 
i seen the new pressure plate had bolts that adjust where the throw out bearings ride i dont think my old one had these . my old parts were still good but thought i would put in new parts while it was apart. mistake... i havent tried burning it in . it shook so bat i didnt want to run it
 
sounds like the fingers on the PP are out of adjustment,you have to remove trans,i would get a clutch from fort wayne clutch and be done with it

I agree BUT put in a diaphragm style pressure plate. There is a reason (fingers) the Long/Borg and Beck style went out of existence.

I bought a Centerforce "package" (duel friction/PP and flywheel) for less than a 100 dollar$ difference drop shipped from JEGS.

Much easier on the leg than the 68 Mustang 10" I was using and good to 500hp
 
burning it in

an old wives tale because someone did an install with dirty/greasy hands or components.
Yes I did it once until I was taught better (cleanliness next to Godliness):D
 
The theory of chatter: the enemy grease oil which being all new parts I say thats out.
Clutch chatter is much like a warped brake rotor like a clutch disk - it grabs runs free grabs over and over, that's chatter. resurfaced fly wheel, that's good. My bet is the disk has face run out. If the disk was chucked up in a mandrel in a lathe the dial indicator may go crazy with face run out -its just not flat on both sides- we knew this back then and used the tree to burnish it in using 2nd or 3rd speed. Myself new everything and it chattered so I take off in 2nd just slipping the clutch now its fine try that seemed to ware off the high spots. bottom line think of this new or rebuilt on the disk, its linings removed, bead blasted new linings riveted on, in the box and out the door-quality control No. and the same goes for the pressure plate too !
 
im gonna try and get it apart today but i dont really know what im looking for. i guess if everything look ok i will order another a new clutch kit from ft wayne
 
The old 9 1/2-inch Long type clutch in it's original form is a pretty good clutch. I don't trust the modern reproductions. I send all my OEM clutches to Ft Wayne Clutch for rebuild and haven't had a problem yet. I send all my Mercury 10-inch Borg & Beck clutches too and they have never had a problem with a properly resurfaced flywheel.

The late type diaphragm clutches are good but they are generally on a Borg & Beck type bolt pattern and they require special fingers to work with the OEM throw out bearing.
 
I spoke to Fort Wayne clutch about this. There is no diaphragm pressure plate to fit the 9.5” pattern of the 49-51 cars. I ended up buying a 10” diaphragm pressure plate with the long 10” pattern from FW clutch, and will have the flywheel redrilled for 10” long. I also got an early T-bird clutch disc 10” with the correct 1”, 10 spline center for the original 49-51 transmission. I haven’t tried any of this out yet! Ken
 
i took the clutch out today and it looks good and everything was tight i looked at fort waynes kit and it looks the same as what i have im not really sure what to do . i dont think you could put the clutch in backwards, it wont fit into the flywheel. any sugestions ? thanks tony
 
Make sure your clutch release bearing is a good fit on the release hub and is not cocked hitting the fingers unevenly.
 
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