Bellhousing

[Parablennius]

Guys, I need help
I have a bellhousing between a 2L pinto and a 3 rail bullet 'box. It's cable clutch and the fork exits at around twenty to the hour. It has a casting mark 7075AA. It's fitted in a MK1 Escort. It will fit either a 2000E or Type 3 'box. I need to order a clutch fork and 8+1/2 " pressure plate to match. I have a spare Capri bellhousing but the fork exits at around a 1/4 to the hour and fouls the ex. manifold. I think it's from either a MK3 Cortina OR early, 4 speed Sierra. Please help if you can so I can order the right parts
Cheers and thanks
Steve

[alladdin]

the pressure plate will match the release bearing face rather than the arm, whats the current issue ? there are several types (shapes) of arm and they combine with bearing length to give required position / throw. perhaps a picture of whats wrong currently will help more ?

[Parablennius]

Hi
Currently the car is still assembled as I don't have any facilities. Unused since May 2016. All I can tell you is that I replaced the faulty 'box with the one I rebuilt and that was when I found the made-up clutch fork and had to re-use it, hence my position. Because I have to hire the garage at a weekend and only have limited time available, i,e, Sunday, I really need all the parts in front of me and I was hoping that the casting no. would give us a clue. My only alternative is to remove the engine at place of storage and work at my leisure but there's very little room. I wish I could give more info but short of dismantling I cannot. Should some pics att of the fork that came with the car and I had to refit as I had no time/parts available
Thanks for your help
cheers
Steve

[alladdin]

So does it currently work ? If not what's the issue ?
Or do you simply not want a cut n shut arm ?


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[Forest_rallying]

Does the welded up clutch arm work correctly with your needs? If it does then a bit of cleaning up with a die grinder and it'll be okay. You might have to use the RS alloy bellhousing or modify the exhaust if it fouls.

[Parablennius]

After I replaced the gearbox it was fine for a bit, then on a day out the clutch started to drag. I had to adjust the cable so there's now no slack to get the clutch to work properly, to the point where it's pushing the clutch, flywheel and crank forwards. I obviously don't want to drive it like this. The bellhousing that's in the car now is fine, fork exits below the manifold. I just need to know what it came from so I can order the correct fork and pressure plate. I just want to get rid of that fork and use all the correct parts. I didn't want to re-use that one, but I had no spare. I really didn't expect a car built for me to have a botched up clutch fork, but at least it matches the rest of the car.
Thanks for your help so far.
Cheers

[alladdin]

To clarify
When you depress clutch fully and it's still not fully disengaged - is arm hard against bell housing ? I'm thinking no as you say it's putting pressure on crank
Which sounds like a pressure plate issue ?
What if you slack it off ? It may be over traveling ?


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[Parablennius]

In order to put the pedal fully "through" the feel of the clutch ( and that the clutch bites partway out ), I had to shorten the cable so much that at rest the cable is tight so I'm assuming the fork is pressing against the release bearing, thus against the fingers of the pressure plate, thus against the flywheel, thus the crank and against the thrust washers on the centre main bearing cap. I discovered today that the casting marks relate to a Transit bellhousing, which figures as the block is a 202 low compression pinto block. This is why I want to fit a new fork and pressure plate, ( which feels soft to me ) myself, so I know what I'm dealing with. Reverting back to my post of 29/12/16 the problem is the entire car was cobbled together from mismatched bits from under the bench. Yes, you could be right about the pressure plate which is why I need a new fork and pressure plate, I already have new friction plate waiting.
I'll go back tomorrow and check travel etc.
Thanks for your help

[alladdin]

transit release bearings are different to std pinto ones i believe , hence they are used with a zetec rwd install when using a std 2.0 zetec fw and clutch.

[Forest_rallying]

I think you are being too hard on the person that's modified the clutch arm, you aren't just going to get a new clutch fork from your main Ford dealer. Just concentrate on getting everything working correctly. No one's going to see a welded up fork once it's in the bellhousing. Most Rally cars are modified one way or another and no one worries, think how may old cars are welded together and no one gives a shite.

[Parablennius]

I think you are being too hard on the person that's modified the clutch arm, you aren't just going to get a new clutch fork from your main Ford dealer. Just concentrate on getting everything working correctly. No one's going to see a welded up fork once it's in the bellhousing. Most Rally cars are modified one way or another and no one worries, think how may old cars are welded together and no one gives a shite.

I am a little surprised by this. It's not just about the fork which are available from various sources, all I need is a part number. Extract from a previous post below.

Quote Originally Posted by Graham View Post
the problem with that statement is its subjective, one persons idea of what needs overhaul isnt the same as anothers

Granted Graham, but refer to my earlier post re.g/box. When I stripped it after it's failure there was no locking wire on the forks, the interlock pin was missing, meaning I could select more than one rail simultaneously and 9 of the required 40 layshaft needles were missing, the shaft spacing sleeve was on the wrong rail amongst other faults and the box leaked oil into the bellhousing and clutch from the input shaft oil seal. surely it can't be "nearly" right. It either is or isn't! I simply cannot believe that the box was looked at all and if it was, the person responsible is clearly in the wrong job! subjective or not, what does "as required" quantify? Had I done the job myself ( which I have now done ) I would never have left this unattended.


It's not just about the fork. It's about the whole thing. I'll gladly e-mail you a link to my records of this expensive purchase, from the off. This will show for example; valve marks on the piston crowns, engineer's report on the cylinder head, leaking brake master cylinder, mashed gearbox teeth etc.
People do give a shite when they've paid strong money for a job they have done themselves 30+ years ago and this is the result.

[katana]

I can't comment on the technical aspects but maybe? that combination of components was never done by Ford and therefore a fork may not be available - hence the modified item?
As regards the 'shoddy' work - why bitch about it here? If you paid good money for parts and services you have a contract and whoever you paid has breached that contract. Legally you could have redress with the evidence you state? A claim through the Small Claims court may be the most expedient route to at least get some money back? Doesn't solve the immediate problems but they may require a rethink or alternative parts to work in harmony?

[Forest_rallying]

My quote as to not giving a shite was to welding and repairs on classic vehicles and not to the alleged problems of shoddy workmanship done on your car Perrablennius!

I still maintain that if a clutch fork's correctly modified by a decent std of welding then there's no reason why it should n't work if everything else's setup right on the bearing and you have the correct pressure and centre plate.

You have either of 2 problems, 1. you have n't enough throw on the arm which is not allowing it to clear or 2. you have too much throw allowing the pressure plate to go over centre. Both are easy problem to solve with a bit of time and patience.