has anyone made a clutch for adjusting rod?

[mopar56]

My son was out cruising the other day in his 70 Duster and his clutch fork adjusting rod or spoon, ( part from Z bar to end of clutch fork ) snapped in half, unfortunately it was in a crappy spot on a hill on a narrow road so we had to tow it home, I had another one but it is too short, in fact the one we had was too short by an inch so we had it lengthened on the non threaded part but that is not where it broke, anyway there is no way I can get one delivered in time for a car show I am hosting next week and wanted the car in it, has anyone made one?, looks pretty simple except for the spoon end where it is pretty flat on the Z bar, I was thinking of a turn buckle then heating the round end to beat it flat enough to fit on the Z bar?, ideas?, I know Brewers has them and I have bought parts from them before, ( great company ) but where I am in Canada it takes a minimum of a week to get anything across the boarder and I only see there's in a kit for $45.00 which is about $125.00 cdn by the time the smoke clears with S@H, brokerage, exchange etc, I am looking for a quick way around this until I get the right one, the car comes off the road in a month anyway for the winter, thanks.

 

[Treblig]

I don't know the answer to your clutch rod/Z bar question but I do know that it's pretty easy to drive a car without having to use the clutch pedal, especially if the engine is already warmed up (even on a hill). You simply put the car in first gear and start the engine. It car will jump a little at first but the engine will start in gear and the car will start moving as the engine starts. Once the car is moving you can accelerate normally (in first gear)...now when it comes to shifting gears you have do it with finesse!!. I do it by accelerating a little in first gear then as you let off the gas (letting pressure off the trans gears) you shift out of first gear then ease it into 2nd gear. It takes some practice to learn when to put pressure on the shifter handle so that you can slip it into 2nd gear. There is a short window when the slider gears will mesh with the other gears and it requires that you feel your way through the gears. Then you do the same with 3rd and 4th gear.
You will be truly amazed at how smoothly you can start the car, get it moving and shift gears without a clutch. I strongly suggest that you practice this method when your clutch is working so that you can be an expert when your clutch fails. I have been successful at starting the car and shifting through all the gears without grinding one gear.....but it takes practice. It's really fun to use this method as someone watches, making it look easy....then when the person that was watching tries to do the same they fail miserably!!

PS - The only drawback to using this method is that you have to shut the engine off as you approach a stop light (sign) then restart the engine (in gear) when the light turns green.

Treblig

 

[twayne24365]

Get a piece of steel tubing from the hardware store and thread each end, thread your broken clutch adjuster into each end.

Set it to the correct length then weld the tube to the adjuster, that will get you by for awhile

 

[MOPAR4Me]

If you have a welder, or someone who can weld for you, a quick and easy solution is to go over to your hardware and pick up a stainless steel eye bolt of the dia and length you want and one of those extra thick grade 8 washers (or your original fork rod end) of a size that has a hole just slightly over that of the z bar pin, cut the eye off and weld the washer on. If your hardware is well stocked, you may find a grade 8 bolt of the right length and dia, and use that instead of the eye bolt, but mayve harder to find. Good luck.

 

[dano]

Sounds like you had the B-body one, they are shorted than the A-body one. Buy the right one or lengthen the one you have as described above.

 

[jos51700]

If it's broken in the threaded area, buy a coupling nut and a couple lock nuts.

Way easier than trying to size and thread tube, or drive without a clutch.

 

[mopar56]

Treblig thanks I do know how to drive that way but the circumstances went good as no place to u turn or back up and steep hill and Dark etc that's why we towed any way thanks for the ideas so far but I am not sure they will work as we're the union would be is were it broke as you know it slides through the hole in the fork and needs room to adjust I have a barrel nut I was going to use to try to reassemble the one I have but don't think it will work due to where the barrel nut will end up don't know if I explained that right?

 

[Treblig]

Treblig thanks I do know how to drive that way but the circumstances went good as no place to u turn or back up and steep hill and Dark etc that's why we towed any way thanks for the ideas so far but I am not sure they will work as we're the union would be is were it broke as you know it slides through the hole in the fork and needs room to adjust I have a barrel nut I was going to use to try to reassemble the one I have but don't think it will work due to where the barrel nut will end up don't know if I explained that right?

Pics would help a lot...there's almost nothing that can't be fixed!!

treblig

 

[Daves69]

Get creative. I've had to lengthen one previously and it worked out pretty well for me. If you still have the threaded portion with the loop that attaches to the Z, maybe find some tubing and a lug nut to tack weld on it that won't fit through the fork hole.

 

[mopar56]

Dave not a bad idea I may try that I will try to post some pics of what happened , OK one photo shows another short rod I have on now but it won't work as there is not enough adjustment then there is one photo showing where my rod broke and I'm holding it up to show that it's right at the fork and the other photo shows how I was thinking of fixing it with a barrel but except the nut will be where the fork is so not sure if it will work I won't try until tomorrow night.

 

[Treblig]

I wonder if you could make the hole larger on something like this then put a grade 8 threaded rod in it with lock nut to lock the rod in place (or weld it):

Universal 2 1/2" Long Pedal Rod Extension clevis rod 3/8- 24 x 2 1/2" new | eBay


Or what I would prefer is to make it more heavy duty so that it doesn't twist and bend go with something like this so that the force is applied along the center line of the rod??:
Brake Rod Clevis and Nut Kit Massey Ferguson 165 175 65 184334M1 | eBay

Gas Brake Pedal Linkage Throttle Rod Clevis Kit Aluminum Go Kart Racing Brake | eBay


Here's one with a larger hole:
MANUAL OR POWER MASTER CYLINDER PUSH ROD CLEVIS ROD WITH FORD END | eBay

Treblig

 

[mopar56]

Ok I like your ideas the first one could work if once the hole was drilled it was thin enough to go over the z bar but remember the z bar has that little button or knob that the spoon end has to fit over then needs the flat clip to hold it, your second idea could work if I modified the z bar but I don't want to do that as they are hard enough to find as it is and I want to basically keep it stock so I will put it together properly after next week and I locate a proper rod, I have a friend with a US post box that goes across the boarder once every couple months so I will probably just order the proper kit from Brewers and get them to pick it up in the fall, this just needs to last until October when the car sleeps for the winter. I know where I can find one of those ends in your first picture locally in fact I think I can even get one through my own wholesalers at my marine store so I might pick one of those up in case the turn buckle doesn't work as that would at least give me full adjustment on the rod, thanks for all your help.

 

[Treblig]

I know that you're looking for a quick fix (for now), sometimes you just have to make things work temporary. If this is a pic of your actual clutch push rod then I was wondering if it's actually aligned properly?? It looks like the clutch arm pivot point is further out than the other end (Z bar lever). It looks like it's misaligned and might be why your rod got bent/broken (damaged)??
Either way, good luck, I'm sure you'll figure out some way to fix it correctly.

Whenever I have a material failure I always try to make the new part more heavy duty than the last one,,,,but that's just me

Treblig

 

[mopar56]

The rod on there now in the picture is slightly bent not sure why? I found it in my shop if it would work I would straighten it but it's coming off, I agree with over building but it's a design that's been used since the sixties so I didn't want to re-engineer.