Hello from Campbell River, British Columbia. I have rebuilt the clutch (new corks) in my 1935 Hudson Terraplane. The old throw-out bearing was not in great shape so I replaced it with a throw-out bearing I had, which appeared to be in better condition. All went well on the assembly, however .... when I head off from a dead stop, the clutch feels quite "spongy and soft". It's not slipping (?). It feels that when you release the clutch it engages, but is not solid. The car is slow to start rolling, but once you get going 2nd and 3rd. gear seem ok, with no slippage. If you have a slight down-hill start (car rolling) and you shift into first, release the clutch and all feels good, and off you go. Stop and with a slight uphill start, it's as if you release the clutch it's as if the clutch engages but nothing happens.... it is hard to get the car going forward.
I did not change the pressure plate as it seemed to work well before my old clutch packed it in.
Ideas and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Neil
Moved to "Hudson" forum category.
Could be too much clutch fluid. I think it takes 1/3 pint or 5 ounces
What's the installed thickness of the corks?
I forget the exact thickness.... initially the corks were too thick, approx.. 1/8th. showing on each side of the clutch plate, but they were further sanded so that I could get the clutch - pressure-throw out bearing in place. Clutch plate (corks) were soaked in Hudsonite prior to installation.
When you first start out driving, the clutch, although not feeling great, does work somewhat better then it does after 20 minutes of driving. Also, recently, while driving up a hill I thought I could sense a "slight" burning smell, but felt no slipping of the clutch.. It was "suggested" at a car club meeting that the corks might "wear-in", but I'm not so sure.
Neil
Drain and refill with the exact amount required, 1/3 pint.
Thank you all for the advice. I will drain & refill the Hudsonite and see what happens.
Does anyone know what the proper thickness of the corks should be?
Neil
Finished thickness of compresse d corks should be 1/16" both sides.
Neil, about .220. If you are taking the trans back out, before you remove the 16 bolts that bolt the pressure plate to the flywheel, measure what the finger height is from the top cover, as pictured in the shop manual. This will give you more of an idea of what to look for when you take it apart. Hope this helps. As Geoff recommended, don't do anything until you service the fluid with the correct amount.
[quote="Neil Lewis" post=10818]Thank you all for the advice. I will drain & refill the Hudsonite and see what happens.
Does anyone know what the proper thickness of the corks should be?
Neil
Measure all three to see that they are within the allowable variation (.005" if I recall correctly Dissimilar finger heights will "cock" the throw-out bearing with a resultant tendency to jam on the trans input shaft snout. Uniformity is more important than the actual measurement (within reason) , IMO.
F
If you get a measurement of 1.500 installed height or more, the throw-out bearing can push the fingers down far enough to make contact with the clutch disc. This contact usually causes damage. .210-.220 is the average thickness of a re-corked disc. The less thick the disc is, the higher the fingers will be in the pressure plate, thicker, they will be lower when measured.
I stand in awe of the advice I have received ... thank you!
I drained the Hudsonite , and then refilled it with the prescribed 6 oz. The "sponginess" is gone, and the clutch engages a lot more like it should. I am not sure why, but the excess amount of Hudsonite does appear to have been the problem. There is some "chatter" in the clutch when starting off from a dead stop .... which is why I added the extra Hudsonite in the first place. I was told that if there was too much Hudsonite it would simply "bleed out", which didn't seem to be this case. My wife and I went for a drive, the car ran well, and I was even able to get underway when I had to stop/start on a hill.
I had restored the interior/exterior of the Terraplane several years ago, but was nursing an old engine. Last winter, with the help of a member of our car club, we rebuilt the engine .... which seems to run fine.
Thanks again, Neil
The particular clutch fluid that Doug Wildrick brews up, has a certain ability to smooth out the chatter. I don't know which brand you used but if not Doug's then you might want to buy a couple bottles and use one next time you refill the oil. I had a chattery clutch once and used Doug's oil and it really does work. But his is slightly different than the original recipe, I believe.
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