Hello. Let me start off by saying I don't have a maverick (not yet at least) but they are one of my favorite cars alongside mustang ii's and pinto's. I'm currently in the process of installing a toploader 3 speed (I'm told came out of a 72 maverick with a 170) into my 302 74 mustang and ran into a few problems along the way, First my new 11'' clutch pressure plate didn't line up with my new flywheel (that supposed to have both 10 and 11 inch clutch bolt patterns) and I had to take it back to advance auto only to have to use a 10'' with a release bearing for a newer style fork, so they let me exchange it for the other release bearing. I finally get it all bolted up and now the clutch fork has a lot of play before the bearing touches the pressure plate, when it contacts the pressure plate it won't go any further even with me under the car holding on to the sway bar and pushing the fork as hard as I can with my foot. My bellhousing number has a D1TE-6394-AA, which I thought was a truck number but it measures 6 1/4 inches, according to davidkeetoploaders.com a truck bell is 6 3/4'' deep. Maybe I didn't measure it right. So what do you guys think? Could the fork be binding? or could it be the mismatched T/O bearing with the smaller clutch kit. One more question, has anyone ever tried installing a newer adjustable cable style fork onto an original bellhousing as suggested on this old thread? http://www.mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=35281&page=3 any help is greatly appreciated.
A D1TE bell would be a 164 tooth bell, that doesn't work with a 10" clutch flywheel, which is a 157 tooth wheel. Your starter isn't going to engage the flywheel. As for the depth of the bell, Ford has used three depths over the years, one of which is a big block only and that's the shallowest at about 6". The small block bells were about 6-1/2 then in 79 they went deeper with the switch to the SROD 4 speed these are about 7-1/2". The release bearings may be different( I havn't looked at a newer one) than the older, because the SROD bell used the cable clutch in which the fork pivots at a different point.
Thanks for the reply. The flywheel is a 164 tooth, I ordered all parts for a 71 truck to avoid this very problem (mismatched parts) it has bolt patterns for both 10 and 11'' clutches. But the three finger style 11'' didn't match for some reason (would only be able to run one bolt on all three sides) and I had to use a diaphragm style 10''. So even with a 164 tooth flywheel would a 10'' clutch still not work with my bell? Could I just switch to a cable style fork (as discussed in the link above) to adjust it closer to the plate and hopefully have less binding (if that's what my problem is at all)?
I think you'll need to use the fork and release bearing for the same application for it all to work. The Diaphram and Long style pressure plates use different bolt patterns as you've found out. The cable fork ain't gonna work in that bell, the pivot is on the passenger side of the input shaft, the cable "pulls" the fork against the pressure plate, the rod linkage that the bell is designed for, pushes the release fork and the motion is transfered in a rocker motion to the release bearing.
I was talking about doing this http://www.mustangsteve.com/scattershield.html But using an original bellhousing instead of a lakewood scatter shield. But instead of trying to weld a nut to the cast iron bell, just drilling and tapping for the ball stud. So the question is has anyone ever tried it? Pushing or pulling the fork doesn't matter either way because my II is still set up for auto so I still have to get a clutch pedal and decide on hydraulic or cable. A newer pull type fork would allow me to use stock II manual pedals (which use a cable), Give me the option of adjusting fork travel and even save a little room.
Well I pulled the transmission back out and noticed that my pilot bearing came out of place and is just dangling behind the clutch disk (which explained the trouble I had of slipping the tranny in). I don't quite see how but could that be the cause of my problem? And what king of pilot bearing/bushing would you suggest I put back in? it is currently a needle bearing, but I also have a bronze bushing on hand.
Use whatever you can find first. Really no need for a needle beaing pilot, the transmission input is usually damn near close to turning the same speed as the crank. I ain't gonna suggest modifying the cast iron bell for the cable fork stud, either way there's a risk of the iron failing from the stress. Ther'll be no extra metal to reinforce it where the stud needs to be.
Thanks for asking, The pressure plate was defective, I took it back and got another one and all is well, I used hydraulic master and slave cylinders for a nissan pickup and went with the push type fork, works good. My only concern now is two of the pressure plate bolts felt like they were starting to strip at 23 foot pounds, all thanks to a crappy haynes manual that isn't exact on torque specs. it reads "12 to 24 foot pounds" for all engines. So as long as they don't work loose I'll be fine.
You can always remove the bolts and install heli-coil inserts. They are stainless and if you use red loc-tite when you install them they will be stronger than the original threads.
