help, running out of ideas - clutch issue

[silverado383]

Hey guys
I’m having some issues with the clutch pedal on my 69' GMC. it first started out as having to much play in the clutch pedal i.e. i would have to push it almost to the floor to have it engage. so i climbed underneath and adjusted the bolt on the clutch bar (the threaded bolt on driver side), i loosened the bold and extended it. this worked for about two weeks then it started doing the same thing again.......
so i had a buddy jump in the truck and push the clutch in and out while i watched the pivot point from underneath. the point where the clutch pedal pivots between the frame and the block and i noticed that when the clutch was pressed the pivot point wouldn’t pivot square, the side closest to the block would kick out then the frame side would pivot....... i assumed broke pivot bar...........sorry my terminology isn’t that great....
anyways i replaced that and it worked fine for about a week now everything is acting up again. i'm assuming i need a new clutch in the near future but there is no way it should go out of alignment this fast..... what else would it be?
the truck has a 6" lift and a new crate motor not sure if the the lift would have thrown the alignment off or not

[vectorit]

Can you post of a pic of the linkage?
I was going to ask if you had a body lift in there, but from the pic you posted it doesn't look like it has one.

[silverado383]

the truck doesnt have a body lift, the shop i took it to said something about the lift throwing the alignment off, not sure how a suspension lift would throw it off but i'm not an expert
they charged me $120 to work on it, i need to take it back to them since its all messed up again but wanted to see if i could figure out what the issue is first.

i usually perfer working on it myself but there is snow on the ground and didnt want to deal with it.... poor excuse, i know


i dont have a picture of the linkage but i will take some pics tonight and post first thing in the morning

[Wrenchbender Ret]

Check the Z bar for a broken bracket. Check the ball studs for being broken. If it works for a while something is changing. Someone recently had a problem like this & said the lever on the shaft under the dash was slipping. It is splined & has a pinch bolt.

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by silverado383

....that when the clutch was pressed the pivot point wouldn’t pivot square, the side closest to the block would kick out then the frame side would pivot....... i assumed broke pivot bar.......... anyways i replaced that and it worked fine for about a week now everything is acting up again.....

When you say you replaced the bar, was it the z bar ? I had one that was cracked and had to take it off and reweld it.

I also had a similar problem with my 69 before I converted it and it turned out to be a bad pressure plate. I don't remember exactly what was wrong but I do remember that adjusting the clutch didn't help.

If all of the brackets and pivots are good and not loose or cracked, you may have to bite the bullet and remove the tranny and look inside the bell housing.

[lil hoodlum]

Oh boy! I went through all of this several years ago. I would keep adjusting my clutch linkage same as you. Would work for a while and then it would get difficult engaging gears, same as yours. I would have to press the clutch pedal all the way in and then a little bit more with the tips of my toes to get that extra little bit sometimes.

Well it eventually got to where it would be extremely hard to engage/ disengage gears and I ran out of room on the adjusting rod. I bought another clutch and pulled the tranny to replace the clutch. As soon as I pulled the tranny, I knew immediately that the clutch was not the problem. The clutch plate and pressure plate were worn a little bit but certaintly had alot of life left to them. It was too much slop and play in the clutch pedal, linkage, and Z bar.

Since I had the tranny out anyways, I went ahead and replaced the clutch anyways. I then set out on a mission to replace all parts of the clutch system. I had to buy some stuff from Brothers, some from LMC, some from Classic parts, and a "newer" less used clutch pedal and the junk yard.

The clutch pedal and the clutch pedal lever with splined shaft was the biggest obstacle.

With all new parts my clutch works seemlessly and flawlessly!

Good luck.

Keith

[oldblue1968chevy]

I gotta extra Z bar, it was in the bed of a 72 4x4, Dunno what it went to though..

[silverado383]

thanks for all the help guys i really appreciate it. i'm assuming i will just have to bite the bullet and start replacing clutch components i will try and get pics up today of what the linkage and what not looks like