Clutch chatter help

Johnnydidd

Johnnydidd

Well-known member
I had my clutch replaced on my 53 Victoria, it has the worst case of chatter I have ever seen. It will shake the car really bad, after I get it moving it doesn't vibrate and is very smooth. I replaced the pilot bearing, throw out bearing, pressure plate an drive disc. I got all my parts from Baxter in Lawrence, KS, they came out of North Carolina. I did not turn the flywheel, it seemed fine.

Question 1: Will drive disc go in either way, if so will that create the problem?

Question 2: will the fly wheel not being turned cause the problem?

Question 3: these parts are from china??

Question 4: should I get my old clutch rebuilt?

Any other ideas sure would help.

John
 
Disc only goes in one way. Not turning the flywheel is a likely cause. Fort Wayne Clutch is the place to go for a rebuilt assembly. IMO.
 
On my 40 I had clutch chatter and the cause was the brake master cylinder not releasing pressure on the brakes. Check that first. I know you may think I am nuts but do try it.
 
What type/style pressure plate was it? Was the flywheel spotless clean when you mounded the clutch? Any oil etc. on the flywheel can cause problems. Also, if the pressure plate is not adjusted properly that can be an issue (depending on the pressure plate type).
 
What type/style pressure plate was it? Don't understand? Normal pressure plate. Was the flywheel spotless clean when you mounded the clutch? Any oil etc. on the flywheel can cause problems. Flywheel very nice shape, no grease or oil. Even burnt in the clutch. Also, if the pressure plate is not adjusted properly that can be an issue (depending on the pressure plate type). How do you adjust the pressure plate?
 
Answer to question 1, Will the clutch disc go in either way is YES.

If it is in backwards that could definitely cause the problem.
 
There are different styles of pressure plates. The style with the three arms have adjustment screws, if they are not adjusted evenly you will get chatter. The adjusters are what the throwout bearing ride on.
 
From the flathead V8 site:

http://www.flatheadv8.org/rumblest/clutch.pdf

The long type clutch cover (also called a pressure plate), has 3 release levers that are operated by the throw-out bearing. These 3 levers MUST all be in the same plane (equal height) when the cover and disc are torqued to the flywheel. If they are not in the same plane, the clutch cover will not operate correctly. It’ll usually chatter and/or function erratically. The height of the fingers can be adjusted by using a FLAT piece of steel plate (or other non-compressible material) in place of the clutch disc for adjusting purposes. A clutch disc is too soft to use. The thickness varies with the diameter of the clutch. A 9" plate is 0.350". A 10" plate is 0.295". An 11" plate is 0.356".) Torque the plate and pressure plate to the flywheel. Measure and adjust the throw-out bearing engagement bolts on the 3 release levers. Height varies according to the size of the clutch. Fingers on a 9" are set 11/16" from the top of the cover to the high point on the adjusting screw. On a 10", they’re set 15/16". On an 11", they’re set 7/8"). If they’re not the EXACT same height, adjust the bolts on the release levers (tolerance is 0.010"). These are a real bi*** to adjust since they’re split and spread apart. I do NOT recommend welding and grinding these bolts. All clutch covers from the rebuilder or new parts manufacturer should come adjusted correctly, but it’s a good idea to double-check all of the finger heights. Especially if you’ve been plagued with clutch chatter.
 
I replaced the clutch in my '51 and it still chattered a bit. It turned out to be the motor mounts had deteriorated. (They're the "bonded" type and kinda hard to see down under the water pumps.) Anyway, I replaced the mounts and things got a lot better.
 
john- did several with the newer diaphram release arms on pressure plate- no adjustment needed -and a uniform pressure on all parts- t.o. bearing etc. patience.
 
as tubman said, other things could be making the chatter worse. my transmission mount (49 F1) had completely separated top from bottom. wasn't obvious until i took it apart. it magnified any vibration from the clutch into a death rattle.
 
Had the same problem with my F1. New everything. It has slowly gone away over time. It now shudders just a little when cold. Smooth when hot. I still blame it on the clutch material. As has been stated before, one of the main reasons for it can be ANY oil or grease on the flywheel surface or disc. I learned a long time ago to clean the flywheel and disc just before assembly with acetone and use latex gloves when handling the disc. Even body oil can cause problems.
 
I also have a 53 and have had clutch issues. When my engine was rebuilt two years ago I had my flywheel surfaced and put a new clutch kit. The new clutch kit included a new pressure plate, new disk, new pilot bearing, and new throw out bearing. That new kit was the worst chattering pile of junk I have had to deal with. I took my old pressure plate, another flywheel, and a NOS disk to my local clutch rebuilder, San Antonio Brake and Clutch. They rebuilt the pressure plate and set the height to the disk I had. The rebuilt clutch is one of the smoothest I have used in an old Ford.

In conclusion I recommend sending your old clutch and flywheel to be rebuilt.
 
John,
I had a very similar problem with my 49 F1. I replaced the disc ,pressure plate , pilot bearing and throwout bearing with parts from well known NC supplier and the problem was actually worse. Removed transmission and clutch and returned parts (No arguments) to supplier. Ordered new parts from Ft Wayne Clutch and had flywheel resurfaced although I could still see the swirl marks on the flywheel from previous resurfacing. Reassembled clutch and transmission and chatter was much less but still too much to comfortably drive. Discussed problem with extremely nice rep at Ft. Wayne clutch and he sent me a new disc with thicker marcel (wavy flat spring between friction material) and 5,000 miles later still not a bit of chatter. Kudos to Ft Wayne clutch for solving the problem. Pulling the transmission and replacing the clutch is too tough of a one man job for this old man to do with off quality parts. Bottom line--Ft. Wayne clutch is the only place for me for clutch parts!!
 
To get rid of my clutch chatter I resurfaced and balanced the fly wheel, replaced the clutch with one from Fort Wayne Clutch and balanced that. I even replaced the crankshaft to get rid of 2 thousandths of an inch run out. Clutch was smoother than it has been for years . . . for about 100 miles, then slowly returned to its pre-morbid state with the same chatter as before.

Bottom line: Sometimes it doesn't matter what you do, you're going to get chatter. We just learn to live with it and ignore it. The good news is that it's only when starting from dead stop and does not annoy for more than a second or two. Otherwise, it doesn't bother us at all. In the overall scheme of the driving experience it's miniscule. ;)

I've gone to "rolling stops", staying in second gear so that I don't have to start out in 1st from a dead stop and get the chatter.
 
John, you say in the initial post " I had my clutch replaced " While all the advise your getting is good I would ask who did the job? Then the questions asked already to the person who did the job for you are as stated already by others 1- did the FW and PP get reconditioned or replaced with rebuilt reconditioned parts? While it was disassembled a dynamic balancing of the FW and PP is under $100. If you have to take it apart again get it balanced. If someone was paid to do the work have him fix it at his cost. Should have been done right the first time. If you did the job and I'm not criticizing as I have been there myself. I had a vibration FW, PP issue and took three engine pulls and an expert to find the problem. Live and learn. A PIA but it needs to come apart and done correctly.
 
I fitted a new PP and disk to mine after a year or so it started to get jumpy so I pulled it and reset the fingers as they had settled uneven .Now nice and smooth ! I also fitted one to a customers car that was done by the local main clutch builder it was very jumpy after two try's I removed it and set it up on my Borg and beck clutch jig ,His finger setting was so far out I took the whole lot jig and all back and slammed it on his desk, He took me out the back and showed me how they did it, I could see the problem but there was no telling him ,now I do my own . Ted
 

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tanner said:
John,
I had a very similar problem with my 49 F1. I replaced the disc ,pressure plate , pilot bearing and throwout bearing with parts from well known NC supplier and the problem was actually worse. Removed transmission and clutch and returned parts (No arguments) to supplier. Ordered new parts from Ft Wayne Clutch and had flywheel resurfaced although I could still see the swirl marks on the flywheel from previous resurfacing. Reassembled clutch and transmission and chatter was much less but still too much to comfortably drive. Discussed problem with extremely nice rep at Ft. Wayne clutch and he sent me a new disc with thicker marcel (wavy flat spring between friction material) and 5,000 miles later still not a bit of chatter. Kudos to Ft Wayne clutch for solving the problem. Pulling the transmission and replacing the clutch is too tough of a one man job for this old man to do with off quality parts. Bottom line--Ft. Wayne clutch is the only place for me for clutch parts!!
Click to expand...
More on the marcel and other useful info if you already haven't read it. From the Flathead Ford Techno Source http://www.btc-bci.com/~billben/clutch.htm
 
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