Clutch Problems Need Advise

[treveiger]

I have a 69 Chevy C20 with a 307/sm465 and ever since I bought it the clutch rod rubbed on the fire wall. Long story short I started working on the truck again and decided to tackle the clutch issue. Pulled out the clutch pushrod and it looked bent. So I heated up the rod, bent it straight and put it back in. As soon as I pressed the clutch in the rod bent again. After messing with it all morning I need some help figuring out what is wrong. Do I need a new rod, z bar, or any other linkages? Any help or pictures to aid me would be great.

[treveiger]

Did some messing around with the clutch and bent the rod straight again. Now the clutch is working as it should but the rod flexes when you press on it. Should I get another rod to see if it doesn't flex? Is it a common problem with manuals? At least it's working for now. I also adjusted the clutch after correcting the bend.

[silverstreak]

If you heated it, that may have softened the metal. As far as it rubbing, check your cab mounts to see if they haven't rusted out or collapsed causing it to rub.

[cleszkie]

I had a similar problem on my 4x4 Blazer, but the clutch rod wasn't nearly as far out of the firewall opening as yours. in my case, the clutch rod was also rubbing on my ramhorn manifold and cutting a groove into it. My fix - I moved the lever arm on the bellcrank over a tad away from the engine and re-welded it back onto the bellcrank. If you do this, be sure to remove the plastic bearings in the bellcrank when you permanently burn the arm back on.

[outfield]

I put a 12 inch clutch and pressure plate from a C60 in a 69 K20 years ago when I was truck pulling, and this same clutch rod bent. It took more force to move the pressure plate.
I replaced the clutch and pressure plate with the stock unit, replaced the rod too, and everything was fine.
Point is, you may have a throw out bearing that is not moving correctly, binding some, that is causing you to use more force to push in the clutch, causing the clutch rod to bend.

[OBS454]

Might be a 3 finger or Borg/Beck style pressure plate that requires more application of force ... modern diaphragm clutches are strong enough.