Problem with clutch on 304, 800, 4 speed

4

428street

Member
I bought this truck about a year ago and have slowly been fixing things. Truck did not start, stop or have brakes. All of those issues have been resolved.

On my to do list is to figure out the issue I am having with the clutch. When I initially start the truck up and the engine is rev'ing at 1k RPM (choke on) and if I don't leave the clutch in or put the e-brake on the truck creeps forward like it is in gear. Once the choke comes off and I am in the 600-700 rpm range no real issue.

I see there is an adjustment on the clutch assembly which I assume is something I need to play with. Of most concern is what appears to be a hack job with these cable stops for lack of a better word on the end of the clutch cable. Maybe that is stock but I doubt it. Also, the clutch grabs really high almost to the point that there is no more pedal travel left. It is smooth though, no chattering or bucking during engagement.

Please see pics attached.

Looking for some direction on how to troubleshoot and fix both the clutch engagement issue and to see if these strap stops are stock or I need to buy a new clutch cable.

Thanks in advance.
 

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See if there is a difference in your creeping between a cold start, and after a day of driving it around 20 or 30 miles. I suspect cold oil in the transmission is your culprit. It's no game changer.

As to the clutch "grabbing high", you mean high towards you? Or high near the end of travel near the toe board?

If it's high towards you, the linkage/cable is adjusted a wee tight. You should at minimum have about an inch to inch and a half free play in the pedal, then fine tune from there.
 
Never made that correlation but I will take notice. I live in NE and right now it's VERY hot so that fluid has to be 70/80 degrees...I will take notice if it's on a cold start only or the same after a 20/30 minute drive..

High towards me...so when the clutch pedal is coming towards me it grabs on the upper 80-85% completion of the path.

OK, I will adjust and see what happens.

Does that homemade cable holder look original? See my pic I posted...
 
I checked today and there is roughly an inch or so of play at the top of the pedal. It's roughly 95 degrees today and the clutch did the same thing...fast idle wanted to go forward, take choke off (600 rpm) no issue. I have not yet played with the adjustment but I will.
 
When you are in neutral there is a bearing that fits in the input shaft where the tail shaft rides. If this bearing is bad it might cause an issue like this. I would think that you would hear some nasty noise in neutral if this was the case.
 
On my to do list is to figure out the issue I am having with the clutch. When I initially start the truck up and the engine is rev'ing at 1k RPM (choke on) and if I don't leave the clutch in or put the e-brake on the truck creeps forward like it is in gear. Once the choke comes off and I am in the 600-700 rpm range no real issue.
Click to expand...

This does not read as a clutch problem. In a constant mesh transmission, such as you would have on an 800, all gears but the reverse idler are spinning whether in neutral or in gear with the clutch engaged. There's no power to the output shaft unless a gear's dogs are engaged with a clutch hub on the main shaft. The synchronizer hub is what mates the gear dogs to the clutch hub and is what is shifted. In neutral it's just gears on the main shaft spun by the counter shaft gears.

It may be to thick an oil, too dirty, or not enough for lubrication. If the oil has lost it's lubricity, it's possible for enough friction between a gear and the main shaft it rides on to cause the creep you're experiencing at high revs. Check or change the oil for starters.
 
Oil is brand new. When I got the truck a year ago I went through everything...I got it at NAPA and the name escapes me but in my research this was the gear oil to get...When I get to my garage I'll let you know the name on the white gallon container..
 
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