Converting From Muncie to T5...What can I still use?

[Guest greimann]

The bottom hose connects to the master, the top hose is the bleed, which terminates into a bleed fitting on the end, which is supplied.

 

Here is my take on how to treat the hose routing through the bellhousing.

It is just an aluminum plate with grooves milled in to accept some segments of fuel hose that protects the braided lines.

 

[Miles]

Terry

 

I looked at your website pics and I note that you are in San Jose. I bought my 240Z with Scarab set up, headers (homemade, but not through the fender) and clutch slave like yours in San Jose about a year and a half ago. I wonder if there was a common builder involved??

 

My son and I gutted out the engine, trans and rearend and basically rebuilt the car. I had to use a saws-all to remove the headers and exhaust. When we got to the suspension we discovered that the previous owner had used struts from different year cars so that the rear brakes didn't match etc etc. The previous owner had the same clutch slave (brake master cylinder? )set up as you have in your photos. It caused the fire wall to crack. I am just mentioning these things because we did not catch them until we got the car apart and found many poorly done modifications that were unsafe. We have about $5K into the car and plan to spend about another $3-4K to finish the body and paint work.

 

Good luck

 

 

Miles

[Guest TBroZ]

Thanks Miles. I'm sure there is no relation. This car was built in 1978 by a guy who was the original owner. I'm sure it's the only one he did. The car hadn't been started in 11 years when I got it...took some doing to get it running. I never knew gas could look like soy sauce (in the bowls of the carb).

 

Though it's costing me, I'm trying to do this right according to what I've learned from people's input on this board. I've bought the hydraulic throwout bearing kit from PAW. I believe it comes with the Tilton master, so that current one will be nixed. It's going to need a lot of work. I'm sure that the struts will blow soon, so I'll be replacing the them and the springs.

 

I'll be sending the motor rearward probably within a year...depending on the budget.

[DavyZ]

Thanks, Greimann, for all that information. You are extremely helpful and I very much appreciate it!

 

Davy

[Heavy Z]

Greimann I'm not 100% if you mentioned it earlier but I remember you had some problems with the swivel-banjo fittings leaking on your McLeod hyd T/O and you replaced them with copper fittings. If you mentioned it cool, if not then TBroz you'll want to do that if you go the McLeod route(if the factory hasn't fixed the prob yet).

[Guest greimann]

Yea, good point Heavy .

 

For those using the Mcleod hydraulic release bearing, one little modification may save you some greif later on. The swivel banjo fittings are prone to leaking after a little while in service. Even Mcleod admits this is a weak point. I have cured this by installing thin copper washers on the top and bottom as shown in the picture below. I found the washers in the plumbing section of Ace hardware. They were packaged in a faucet repair kit if I remember. The point is to stabilize the swivel banjo to keep it from moving and vibrating. The o-rings within actually do the sealing. This modification necessitates that the bellhousing be installed first on the trans and then the assembly into the car.

 

[Guest TBroZ]

And another good tip from greimann, and good to know before the install.

 

Jeese, PAW is quick, I just received my HTB kit about 5 minutes ago.

 

TK

[Guest TBroZ]

Here's what I got in the kit today from PAW:

[Guest TBroZ]

So what's the tip on getting the TO bearing adjusting screw onto the imput shaft collar? Boy is it tight. I've lubed it up with brake fluid, but haven't been able to get it on yet.

 

TK

[Guest TBroZ]

I got the screw on. I used the spacer supplied in the kit for a pounding pad and I hammered the screw on. I do hope that I don't need that spacer (part # 1427), because it's been damaged.

 

greimann, I do see a difference in the space between the imput shaft and the TO bearing between yours and mine (mine has more).

[Guest greimann]

Yea, that adjusting screw is tight, and yes your bearing looks to be larger in diameter than mine. You can see that mine has a wear pattern pretty much in the center where the fingers contact the bearing face. You might want to double check your diameter as it compares to your pressure plate. Maybe they have changed the design a bit. The part numbers are the same for all makes, Ford, GM and Mopar

[Guest TBroZ]

So I was able to pull the trans, clutch and flywheel. Here are some pics. The first thing I realized is that I'm missing a part of the clutch...(first pic). I was under the impression that the Centerforce clutch I bought from Jeg's would be complete, but it's missing this:

Is this the pressure plate? I'm posting other pics of my stuff here. The new clutch, and flywheel look significantly different from the old stuff. The new steel billet flywheel I have weighs 30 lbs. The old one is aluminum and may weigh...10 lbs? Also, I think someone said that the pilot bearing is pressed in. I bought a new one, but how would I remove the one that's in there (which looks fine), and press in the new one myself? Can I hammer it in?

Here's the old trans...is this a Saginaw? The guy I bought it from could remember for sure.

[Guest TBroZ]

I got another problem. The old set up has the starter bolting to the bellhousing. The new bellhousing has a provision for the starter (the bulge), but it doesn't bolt to it. What's the remedy there...different bellhousing? Don't say different motor.

[Guest TBroZ]

I found the starter mount bolt holes on the bottom of the block. Whew, that scared me...I thought maybe they made some super old block that didn't have a block mounted starter.

 

TK

[Miles]

Terry

 

Do replace the pilot bearing or you can have problems later and have to pull it all apart again. It is cheap insurance. You can use a pilot bearing puller to remove the old bearing. Mine was stuck and three different pullers would not work. I carefully drilled the top and bottom of the old bearing and then hit the old bearing with a small chisle causing it to break in half and fall out of the crankshaftl. The new bearing just gets tapped back into the hole until it reaches the bottom of the hole.

 

Also, if you are using a used T5 trans replace the oil seal in the tailstock before installing the trans in the car. Very cheap insurance against leaks later on.

 

Miles

[Miles]

Terry

 

Did you get the dust plate that bolts to the bottom of the bell housing between the engine and bellhousing? The dust plate keeps dirt and road debris from collecting in the bellhousing and clutch parts. I bought the dust plate and bolts from a local Chevy dealership.

 

Miles

[Miles]

Terry

 

Re: pilot bearing

 

Be sure to buy a pilot bearing that has the correct inside diameter to fit your T5 input shaft. I am not sure, but the Saginaw and T5 may have different hole diameters. Check with your local dealer or someone on the forum.

 

 

Miles

[Guest TBroZ]

Thanks Miles for the input. Actually, even though I did buy a new pilot bearing, I see that the one it currently looks new. And it should because the motor only has 5-10K miles on it. I called PAW and asked them about it, and he said (just another opinion) that there's no reason to replace it if it looks good. I'm going to check the inner diameter to confirm that they're the same and leave it.

 

I did just realize that I need the dust shield...I'll get one from a dealer.

 

I bought my trans freshly rebuilt from Trans Tech...I'm sure it's got a new seal. Thanks though...I know all these little tips are good to know before installing everything.

 

One concern I have is that I just did the measurements between the clutch fingers/bellhousing/TO face and trans face. With the TO bearing screwed all the way tight, the difference is 0.19". The allow difference is 0.100 to 0.125". The instructions say that if one can unscrew the TO bearing to get within the allowable clearance. Does that mean it's okay to leave it loose? I can figure that the hydraulic lines will keep it from turning much.

[Guest greimann]

 

One concern I have is that I just did the measurements between the clutch fingers/bellhousing/TO face and trans face. With the TO bearing screwed all the way tight' date=' the difference is 0.19". The allow difference is 0.100 to 0.125". The instructions say that if one can unscrew the TO bearing to get within the allowable clearance. Does that mean it's okay to leave it loose? I can figure that the hydraulic lines will keep it from turning much.[/quote']

 

Yes, it is OK to back the bearing out a bit to get the spacing dimension correct. That is the adjuster screw intended function. You can also swap the pressure and bleed lines too if you only need to rotate the bearing 1/2 a turn. Make sure your bleed is at the top.

[Guest TBroZ]

greimann, the bleed line is the one that didn't come with a fitting on it? That's the only thing I can see that differentiates the two lines.

 

And I'll tell ya, I didn't like the measuring. It was hard to get an exact measurement of the distance from the clutch fingers to the inside edge of the bellhousing. And one can only have a 0.025" range! I think I don't got it. I was able to get the trans in, but something's holding it up. at 0.75" from mating to the block, the bellhousing (trans already connected to BH) was very parallel to the block. But it wouldn't slip on any further with muscle power push. So I put a couple of the bolts in and gingerly tightened The top bolts were able to mate, but the bottom isn't. It's caught on something, so i'm backing it out and trying again tomorrow.

 

Question: Should the clutch disk be tight and unmovable when you tighten the pressure plate to the flywheel? This one was. I centered it before tightening, and am convinced the imput shaft made it into the clutch disk being only 3/4" away.