Deuce Coupe

I'm replacing a clutch in a 1992 Ford F150 pick up. My truck has a 4-speeed with OD. But the truck was also manufactured with a 5 speed transmission. I think I got the wrong clutch kit but I'm having difficulty finding information on this. The clutch fits on the transmission shaft perfectly and appears to be exactly the same as the old clutch. But the pressure plate appears to be different. The only difference appears to be the height of the fingers. You can see in the photos below the difference between the old pressure plate and the new pressure plate. I imagine I have the wrong pressure plate and if I install this one I'll most likely have to take the whole thing back apart again to replace it with the correct one. So I definitely don't want to do that.

Can anyone verify that this is the wrong pressure plate from these photos and from experience?

I guess I'll have to order a new one. I can't return this one as it was ordered last year and is well beyond the return date.

Thanks.

By the way, I have no clue what all the "Fluff" is in the old pressure plate. It almost looks like someone had left a rag in the bell housing when the truck was manufactured and it got all torn up. At first I thought it was pieces of the clutch itself. But it's hard to believe that this much material could have come off the clutch plate. Strangely the clutch plate doesn't look all that bad. I'm also thinking that the "Fluff" (whatever it is) got stuck between the fingers of the pressure plate preventing them from returning to the closed position and this may have been the reason the clutch was starting to slip.

In any case, I'm pretty sure I got the wrong pressure plate and will most likely need to order the correct one. I think this one is for the 5-speed transmission and I have the 4 speed with OD. I don't want to put it back together with this pressure plate and have it not work. What a bummer!

Steve83

WHICH 4sp-OD? Click this, read the caption, and put all the truck's specifics into your signature:


(phone app link)That's only because they're not returning to their normal position.No, it's a rat nest. The rat shredded it, and carried it into the bellhousing, inside the diaphragm. Spread rat poison around the area where the truck is parked, AND put some into the truck chassis where it won't fall out. Inside, too. The rat might still be in the truck right now. They like to hide inside the dash, and in the seat.


(phone app link)Right.

The OEM was LuK, and they still make clutch parts (in the US) for these trucks. So shop around - when you find the correct Ford PN, check ebay & Amazon before buying chinese from a parts store. It often costs less to get a better part.

Deuce Coupe

I compressed the fingers and removed the mouse nesting material. That did allow the fingers to retract a full inch further. So apparently that was what was causing the clutch to slip. I probably could have just removed that material and put it back together with the old clutch. The old clutch actually didn't look much different from the new clutch disk.

In any case, now there is only 1/8" difference between the height of the fingers instead of 1-1/8" difference. So I guess this new pressure plate will work after all. It has the exact same bolt pattern for the flywheel. I just didn't want to install it and have it not work because it was the wrong pressure plate. The fingers to appear to be shaped differently to some degree, but maybe that's just the way the new pressure plate was designed.

Here's what the old pressure plate looks like after removing the fuffy stuff.



They still look quite a bit different in design, but the overall height of the fingers is only 1/8" higher. So I'm hoping this works. I'm going to install it and find out the hard way. If it doesn't work I'm going to be sick. I hate the thoughts of having to take it all back apart again and trying to find the correct pressure plate.

Steve83

The fingers will bend down slightly over time, which is why the old one is shorter.

But you can check the instant you tighten the last bellhousing bolt. If you can turn the transmission/t-case rear output in gear without turning the crankshaft, then the new clutch is slipping due to the fingers being too long for the slave to collapse & release them.

Deuce Coupe

I'm feeling pretty confident now that the difference is only 1/8 inch. Before I thought it was more like 1-1/8 inch and that was really worrying me. That nest was the whole problem. It was keeping the fingers from returning and preventing the pressure plate from exerting enough pressure on the clutch. I'll bet I could have just cleaned that garbage out of there and put it all back together with the old parts and it would have run for another 100,000 miles.

As it is now I'm replacing everything. Pilot bearing, rear seal, throw-out bearing and hydraulic clutch assembly. New clutch disk and pressure plate. I'm going to use the old flywheel though it doesn't look bad. Besides I don't drive this truck a lot. If fact I usually only use it when I need to haul something. That's why things were nesting in it in the first place. It sits around too much, I'll need to start driving it at least once a week just to keep the animals from making another nest in it. I've never seen a rat around here. And the squirrels are too big to get in there. It must have been mice. Those little tiny mice can build huge nests when given the opportunity. It's been a great truck, in fact other than replacing brakes and shocks I haven't had a problem with it since I've owned it. It's a real workhorse. Definitely worth repairing the clutch to be sure. So as long as the repair works I'll be happy.

But yeah, the old clutch disk actually looks almost as good as the new one. So the clutch itself wasn't really bad. It was just the junk preventing the fingers from releasing the pressure plate. I never saw that happen before.

Steve83

I recommend you leave the rear main seal alone, unless there's some sign of active leaks from it. But either way, you MUST apply thread sealant to the 6 bolts for the crankshaft flange. Blue or red threadlocker is also thread sealant, if they're applied to clean dry metal.

Deuce Coupe

Thanks for the tip about the thread sealer. I could see there was red thread sealer on the bolts I took out but I wasn't really thinking about applying new sealer. I'll definitely do that. As far as the rear seal, there's no sign of any major leaking, but it does appear to be wet around the seal with oil. It's probably leaking ever so slightly. I have a new seal here I'd hate to not install it while I'm here and have the old seal give out shortly after the repair.

I have no fear of putting the new seal back in, but I was looking at how I might get the old seal out? It almost looks like it need to be dug out with a screwdriver or something, And that would risk putting dents or scratches on the surfaces where the new seal will go. In fact, removing the old seal is the very next step. I just removed the pilot bearing today using bread. That worked really well. I had to turn down a piece of metal on the lathe to just fit inside the bearing. But it worked like a charm. I haven't put the new pilot bearing back in yet. I was going to work on the rear seal first.

Like I say, I have a brand new seal here. I'd hate to skip that step only to have the old one fail on me. I'll see if I can watch some YouTube videos on how people remove the old seal to get some ideas. Like I say, once the old seal out putting the new seal in should go pretty smoothly.

Deuce Coupe

I just watched a couple videos on replacing the rear seal. Putting the new one back on doesn't look to be so easy after all. I just went out and looked at the old seal and it actually doesn't look all that bad. For all the more I drive this truck I'm probably better off just skipping that step as you suggest. I might end up causing more problems than I currently have.

Steve83

The big RMS isn't very tight in the bore, or around the crank flange. So it only takes a pocket screwdriver to pry it out, and it can be pushed back in by hand.

But the oil you see on it could have come from the tips of the bolts when you removed them. The flange is threaded all the way through, which is why thread sealer is critical, and often the cause of "repeat" RMS replacements. Many people mistake bolt-thread leak for a RMS leak. And yes: replacing working parts is more likely to create problems than to fix something that's not even a problem yet, anyway.