clutch pivot ball

[85 ranger btm]

has anyone had problems with their clutch fork pivot ball hitting their clutch? any advice?

[cgrey8]

What bell housing?

Best I can guess is you don't have the separator plate that goes between the block and the bell. Mustang aftermarket clutches are known to have clearance issues with 88-89 GT bell housings if you don't use that plate. Minor grinding is required, but I've never heard of the pivot ball or fork itself having clearance issues.

[85 ranger btm]

the one that everyone else used off an early 90s mustang and my clutch is a ram muscle car clutch.

[Grumpy]

if that is the clutch you are using... in a late model bell .... thats the wrong one... thats what is called a Borg & Beck style.... the newer stuff takes a diaphragm style that is thinner........ am i correct yall ??????

[85 ranger btm]

can i still make it work or do i have to return it? i was thinking that i could use an aftermarket adjustable pivot ball?

[Grumpy]

that i dunno.... all ya can do it try it.. and if it still wont clear... then swap it out .... but that B&B setup is like about 1 inch thicker then the diaphragm one ......

[85 ranger btm]

when the clutch is engaged should the throw out bearing rest against the pressure plate?

[Grumpy]

when the clutch is engaged should the throw out bearing rest against the pressure plate?

some do ... some dont ...like the Mustang i had.. it DOES rest on the fingers of the plate... but on a few others i have seen/worked on .. they do not rest on them ... but .. as long as it does not have ALOT of pressure on the TOB when its on the fingers.... its not goin to hurt anything .....

[cgrey8]

The Mustang clutches, along with most clutches today all are designed for Throw-out bearing preload meaning the throw-out rides on the fingers of the clutch all the time. But yeah, older clutches did NOT do that and if you "rode" the TOB on the clutch it wore them out in a fairly short order.

I run my clutch with a fair amount of preload on the bearing in order to ensure the clutch completely dis-engages. When I 1st went in with this install, I found I had to run a threaded-rod and preload the fork to get the clutch to completely disengage. It's been running like that for 60kmiles+ now with no problems.

BTW, you can find Valero and cheaper King Cobra clutch kits on eBay for less than $200. The non-Valero kits are as low as $160 for clutch, PP, TOB, Pilot, & install tool. If you want a genuine Valero (same company that makes FMS King Cobras), then they'll run closer to $200. But some of the kits for under $200 advertise being good for engines up to 600hp. The cheaper kits advertise being strong enough to handle 400hp. I'll be buying one of the cheaper ones for my new 331. I may regret it, but I'm not rough on a clutch, so as long as it's as good as an OEM, I think I'll be fine. They advertise being 40% stronger than OEM.

[Dave]

Just went and measured the difference between the two. The B & B is 3/4" deeper than the diaphram. Chris and Grumpy both right in what they said. The B & B style clutch was designed to be used with the early bellhousing where the pivot point of the lever was between the clutch and the outside. What are you using? Got a picture?
Dave

[85 ranger btm]

the picture i posted above is the clutch i have and the bellhousing is the one everyone else used i was thinking if i used an adjustable pivot ball i was thinking that might be easier than getting a different clutch because the clutch was purchased off summit racing. but im not sure if it would make mounting the slave more difficult or anything like that.