Adjusting Anti-Chatter Rods

Dennisfly

Dennisfly

Senior Member
35 Tudor Sedan. Depending on my clutch technique, I sometimes have some minor chatter when starting out, more so in reverse. A friend suggested that I need to adjust the ant-chatter rods. I looked at the rods and they appear to be fixed with an eyelet at the rear X frame adjustment and at the front they attach to the bell housing with a ridge on the rod and a castellated nut. I don't see any accommodation for an adjustment. They don't appear to be loose. Am I missing something?
 
Some minor clutch chatter might be normal. What is the condition of your clutch and flywheel surface? Do you have hot spots on your flywheel surface? Does the clutch disk have oil on it?
 
Dennisfly said:
35 Tudor Sedan. Depending on my clutch technique, I sometimes have some minor chatter when starting out, more so in reverse. A friend suggested that I need to adjust the ant-chatter rods. I looked at the rods and they appear to be fixed with an eyelet at the rear X frame adjustment and at the front they attach to the bell housing with a ridge on the rod and a castellated nut. I don't see any accommodation for an adjustment. They don't appear to be loose. Am I missing something?
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Dennis .... There is no specific adjustment, as such, but they certainly can be adjusted to hold different, directional tension on the engine/trans assembly. I'll show the stock type set-up BELOW, just for general principles. The second picture is actually a NON-STOCK set-up shown on an 8BA engine which was put into an earlier chassis. The second set-up shows more-clearly how you could possibly bias the tension in one direction or the other, or pre-load the engine/trans assembly in one direction or another.


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The second picture shows how you could pre-load the rods to push (or pull) against the stops using the two lock nuts on either side of engine. Not sure it would do any good, though. I've never played with this situation.


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As Seth noted in post #2, a lot of times what you have is caused by a yucky flywheel surface.


Coop

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Dennisfly said:
35 Tudor Sedan. Depending on my clutch technique, I sometimes have some minor chatter when starting out, more so in reverse. A friend suggested that I need to adjust the ant-chatter rods. I looked at the rods and they appear to be fixed with an eyelet at the rear X frame adjustment and at the front they attach to the bell housing with a ridge on the rod and a castellated nut. I don't see any accommodation for an adjustment. They don't appear to be loose. Am I missing something?
Click to expand...

There is no adjustment on a stock rod. TIGHT is the proper "torque".
 
Since it looks like you will be pulling the transmission to access the clutch and flywheel, I would check the u joint for wear. Excessive play in the driveline can also contribute to chatter.
 
Also, check the motor and transmission mounts. I know it's not quite the same, but when I had a chatter problem in my '51 about 20 years ago, I had the flywheel resurfaced and installed a new pressure plate and disc. It didn't help much. Replacing the motor mounts made it smooth as silk.
 
I found I can reduce clutch chatter by changing my driving habits. Learned to engage the clutch quicker than with other cars. Flatheads have lots of low-end torque; it's harder to stall a flathead. I learned to keep the RPMs down until clutch is engaged, then give it gas.

Also, I have read that old stiff engine mounts (or loose mounts) can exacerbate clutch chatter.
 
Here's a shot of a clutch you see the three arms they need to be in perfect adjustment .A lot of aftermarket clutches (non Ford ) use very low grade iron on these arms result rapid ware on the pivots , they are not lubed so quality is essential ,Ted
 

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Thank you all for your responses. My rods are as depicted in Coop's first picture - stock and properly fastened. I think my technique is part of it, as it happens most often when starting up hill or when the clutch is slipped more. It's not horrible but I thought I would investigate. The front motor mounts appear tight but with some age checking in the rubber. The transmission support is dirty and hard to see clearly, but I suspect it is the same age as the front mounts. At this point it is not serious enough to pull the transmission but, when and if that day comes, I will carefully inspect the flywheel, clutch plate, pressure plate, finger heights, bearings, and mounts. My education continues!
 
Too soft motor and trans mounts can also contribute to chatter, cinch them down tight. As Kube said, the engine stay rods need to be tight.
 
if transmission mounts are had to see from alot of oil and crud probably mount pucks are spongy. you know what constant oil soaked rubber is like. some time i shopuld check mine now that i'm reminded. iv'e had to adjust my accelerator/clutch action at times aswell. iv'e gotten a little more tension on the stay rods last spring. thought about installing new mounts on eng. and trans. i would assume motor and trans tail need to be jacked up together? Tom.
 
I would think you could loosen all 4 engine and trans mount bolts, even take nuts off one end, and replace that ends mounts, reinstall bolts and nut but leave loose, then replace the other end, and when all 4 have mounts have been swapped out, chinch them down. Shouldn't have to raise either end up too much.
 
An old time service trick that was performed on vintage vehicles to minimize/eliminate clutch chatter, generally the result of oil on the clutch, was to pull the vehicle up to a telephone pole with the front bumper touching the pole, then with the trans in high gear slowly accelerate the engine as the clutch was slowly released. When the slipping clutch started to lightly smoke, fully disengage the clutch.
Of course the procedure was noted on the service ticket as 'adjust clutch'.
Been there done that!!
 
blucar said:
An old time service trick that was performed on vintage vehicles to minimize/eliminate clutch chatter, generally the result of oil on the clutch, was to pull the vehicle up to a telephone pole with the front bumper touching the pole, then with the trans in high gear slowly accelerate the engine as the clutch was slowly released. When the slipping clutch started to lightly smoke, fully disengage the clutch.
Of course the procedure was noted on the service ticket as 'adjust clutch'.
Been there done that!!
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Actually, when I had the problem with my '51, this was the first thing I tried, I now believe it's an "old wives tale" that has no credibility. I would concentrate on the motor and transmission mounts.
 
Like many of the old-time 'shade-tree mechanic fixes', slipping the clutch against a telephone pole/tree solved nothing, which generally put a band-aid on the the real problem.
 
I want to temporarily remove the anti chatter rods on my 1940 for cleaning and repainting however they are attached to the frame with FEMALE square headed bolts. A 3/8" ratchet is to big and a 1/4" is too small. Any advise?
 
Fredy Decker said:
I want to temporarily remove the anti chatter rods on my 1940 for cleaning and repainting however they are attached to the frame with FEMALE square headed bolts. A 3/8" ratchet is to big and a 1/4" is too small. Any advise?
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Sacrifice a 3/8" short extension or 1/2" to 3/8" adapter. Measure the hole and grind the 3/8" extension or adapter to fit. Now you have a new tool for your box :-)
 
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