1953 Hudson Hornet clutch not releasing enough after warmed up

hoggyrubber

i hope it's not something internal, but after a short drive the clutch when pressed down is not disengaging the engine enough to do into low gear. the first time i adjusted the pedal play and hoped that would take care of it, but it happened again.
i greased the fitting that is the clutch release fitting on pass side of hogs head a couple of times, but i don't see where the grease goes so i don't know if it needs more- i don't want to do too much. there is also some play in the bushings but that shouldn't change when it warms up. the clutch plate itself doesn't have a lot of wear.
i drained the hudsonite and it was 6oz down to the drop. it is fairly fresh as well. while i was under there, and it was in gear, i could pull the clutch pedal down and spin the driveshaft with the other hand and it would travel half way up before the driveshaft started grabbin'. so it looks like it will work now that it has set. anyone have any idea why it would do this? i will buy a whole new clutch kit if i have too, but would like to avoid it right now, if i can. thanks, stacy

hoggyrubber

i forgot to say its for a 53 hornet.

hoggyrubber

thank you for the advice, i will adjust the clutch again after it warms up and keep my fingers crossed. stacy k

J Spencer

I had a very similar problem a couple years ago.Check the cross shaft and frame bracket for wear. On mine the bracket hole was worn egg-shaped with corresponding wear on the shaft. I repaired that and put new cushions on the cross shaft and it has been OK since. I still suspect that the fingers on the clutch fork are worn with a corresponding wear on the release bearing collar as it still grabs near the floor. All that wear adds up to not enough 'throw' on the clutch. Luckily if I have to pull the tranny one day I have a brand new fork and release collar.

After fighting with mine for a couple of years - flushed the clutch etc. I discovered the problem when I was going through a box of used clutch parts and noticed the wear on these parts. good Luck!

Jim Spencer
WNY/Ontario Chapter

hoggyrubber

J Spencer, after reading that i think that may be some of my problem. not enough throw, with the cork expanding a little. i will check the parts you mentioned. thanks for the info, stacy

Geoff

Can't remember if it applies to Step-downs, but definitely does to thirties models, there are three holes in the throw-out lever arm that the pedal link connects to. If you have these three holes, the link should be connected to the topmost one to get more movement. In any case, adjust the linkage so that you have only 1/2" freeboard of the pedal against the floor.

hudsonguy

Like Jim suggested above, check those cross shaft bushings through the frame, especially if they've never been replaced. I remember measuring something like 1" of 'lost motion' at the pedal because of slightly egg shaped bushings down there.

hoggyrubber

i finally got a chance to lift it up and crawl under to check it out. the frame bracket and cross shaft looked pretty good. however, the part i am pointing to in the picture has the most play. i thought i read somewhere the bushings in the tranny itself can get worn. anyway this is the part with the most wear, and i thought the tranny had to be out to replace this right? i did adjust the clutch out a little more, maybe this will be enough.

J Spencer

If your play is the shaft that goes through the bell housing there will naturally be some there
Try adjusting the clutch until all free play is out at that point then back it off just a little. I ran mine like that for 20years before I fixed the bracket and shaft wear. Mine is still adjusted that way. Another reason why i think the fork and collar are worn. You can't really see the wear in the bracket unless you take it off. Easy job. Remove to 5/16 bolts from bracket, disconnect adjusting rod from pedal and take it out.

Mine looked good from under the car,-- until I took it out. Problem is there is a felt washer that is supposed to be oiled to keep it from wearing and it gets neglected. I'm guilty

Jim Spencer
WNY/ONTARIO CHAPTER

hoggyrubber

thanks for the info, i have adjusted the clutch like that so we shall see, maybe tomarrow. ihave had that bracket on and off several times from when i had the chevy six in the car to back to a 308. i will remove it and give it a close inspection pretty soon. i am pretty happy i fixed the throttle rod sticking today. the foot feed pedal bracket was bent. the sticking throttle/ non disengaging clutch was a bad combo! :O

J Spencer

YIKES!!! I hear you on that.

Jim Spencer
WNY/ONTARIO CHAPTER

hoggyrubber

well i tried this again today, did the same thing- grinding and won't go into gear after 20 minutes or so. after i got it in garage, lifted it up, and got under it i could disengage the clutch with my hand and spin the driveshaft with the other. i may just have to get a whole new clutch, i don't know. if i go i will try to just remove tranny this time and not have to take out engine. that will have to wait on some funds however. this is a little frustrating, but on the bright sidei i got on a long piece of lower stainless on the pass side.

Jon B

Awhile back, Geoff mentioned the throw-out lever arm with the three holes in it. Essentially, by placing the linkage lever in different holes, you get different ranges of "throw". You didn't mention whether you tried that or not.

If the clutch is not disengaging when the pedal's depressed all the way to the floor, this is one possible "fix".

hoggyrubber

i actually adjusted the clutch pedal so much that the clutch seems to want to stop about a inch before it reaches the floor. so i don't think it may be a issue with throw any more, unless it's to do with the play in the bushing in the bell housing.

hoggyrubber

well, sorry to drag this old thread up, but i got around to taking everything apart a couple of weeks ago. the cross shaft and bushings had the most wear. the bushings were a real thin walled bronze bushing like only 1/32" thick. they were so worn down the end one had a knife sharp edge. the shaft had some wear aswell. the frame bracket and z bar had some wear but not too bad. i plan on welding them up and cutting them back to their orig size.
i was thinking about just replacing the bushings, but after talking to Mr. Wildrick at Wildrick restoration, i decided to get the cross shaft rebuilt. i am really glad i did, this thing works a lot better than just replacing the bushings! it comes with a new machined shaft with everything installed and bushings. the bushing were easier to install than i thought. i actually cut down etra bushing installer to do the inner ones.
i also talked to Mr Wildrick about the clutch not releasing and he thought it was prob the pressure plate, so i got mine rebuilt too. got them both installed yesterday, hope to get the tranny in today. the pressure plate looks really good too. i am glad i got this stuff rebuilt, cause i don't want to have to take this all apart again! i have heard lots of good stuff about Wildrick restoration and, i have to say, i am pretty impressed too.

hoggyrubber

well i finally got to take this thing for a test ride on sunday and the clutch worked great and disengaged fine for over a hour. also my new alt seems to be charging so it's almost like having a running car or something.

[Deleted User]

Aint it neat when stuff just works ... ... ...
Roger