I recently purchase a 51 Ford Sedan with a 8ba Flathead, Full Race Cam, bored .030 over, Headers, High Performance Head, Dual Stromberg 97's. The car also has a 3 Speed Transmission, 3.54 Rear Gears, Mono Leafs and 3" Blocks. When I engage the clutch, the car shakes violently. This happens in every gear, however 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd are much less noticable due to the face that the car is already rolling. I have resurfaced the Flywheel (flywheel runout is 0.000), and replaced the Pilot Bearing, Clutch Disc, Pressure Plate and Throwout Bearing. I have replaced both U-Joints. The Drive Line exits the ****** at +5 Degrees and attaches to the Pinion at -5 Degrees therefore cancelling to 0 Degrees. During my test drive yesterday, the only thing that changed was the thickness of my wallet. The guys at Eaton Spring will only offer "New" springs as a solution. Do any of you have any ideas?
I should have included that buy feel and sight, the motor mounts appear to be new. The trans mount is original, however I cannot "muscle" the tail shaft even the slightest.
The monoleaf springs and 3" blocks might be letting the rear axle wrap pretty easily, which could be the issue.
Sounds like a bad case of clutch chatter. If the clutch disc was perfectly dry when installed, was it straight? If there is oil or greasy fingerprints on the disc, starting out in second could burn it clean. Otherwise, it may be time to blow it apart and check for runout on the bell housing.
Can I use this as my sig quote? I second the motor mount. Get a floor jack and a piece of plywood and carefully lift the engine. I had a motor mount the looked good but when I did this the thing was in two pieces. ~ Carl
Just a guess, but check the alignment of the u-joints. Someone may have had the driveline apart and failed to get the correct alignment. Good Luck.
Have you checked the pilot bushing, input shaft & its bearings for plays, and belhousing face for proper alignment ? Once rolling at speed, try neutral and shut the motor off. Vibrations go away its engine/trans related. Vibrations stay its wheel,diff, driveshaft related. Clutch chatter usually only is a problem some place between in and out. Not a problem in either position.
I wouldn't have thought this to work, but my wife's O/T car was getting some nasty clutch chatter last week. Saturday night the pos broke the bushing in the shifter and I had to drive it out of an underground parking ramp in 3rd so I could get it towed home. Burned a bit of the clutch doing that and now it is as smooth as gl***.
I would like to thank everyone for the suggestions. My plan of attack is as follows: I am going to perform a couple of 2nd gear starts in an attempt to burn off any oils that may have gotten on the Clutch and or Pressure Plate during the Install. Before ordering a pair of Bars from Traction Masters, I am going to video tape the Rear End during Clutch Engagement to see if "Wrap" is apparent. I will also be checking again the Motor Mounts. Thanks again for all of the suggestions, I will be sure to post my findings. Regards, Dave in SLC
When I finally got around to doing a clutch job (new clutch, throw out bearing, refaced flywheel) on my '54 Ford PU, I discovered that bell housing was cracked.
Befor i did much anything else i'd unhook the driveshaft from the rear and start it up to see if the chatter is still there. That will tell you where to go look.
The blocks and mono leaf spring is the problem . Replace the shocks if they are not near new and perfect. Traction bars will be the fix. Fords from the 50s were famous for spring wrap and wheel hop. BTDT.
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