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I replaced the clutch on an '84 Ford Bronco 2 (2.9L). After removing the transmission I found out that the throw-out bearing and slave cylinder were completely destroyed. I replaced both parts and thoroughly bled the hydraulic clutch lines.

After I was done with the install the clutch pedal has a little pressure but will not disengage the clutch to allow the transmission to go into another gear.

After researching online I think I may have put the self-centering throw-out bearing in the wrong direction. Please help. How do I know which direction to place the bearing?

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  • Are you sure you got the proper slave cylinder? If it has too short a stroke it will not engage the clutch.
    – CharlieRB
    Commented Apr 25, 2014 at 16:58
  • You're dead sure you bled the slave cylinder completely? What you describe is symptomatic of air in the slave cylinder.
    – TDHofstetter
    Commented Aug 23, 2014 at 19:26

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Two things:

  1. I believe it would be pretty hard to get the throw out bearing in backwards. Flat side towards the clutch, right? it may be the case, but I find it highly unlikely. (See the picture below) What you see is the side which goes towards the transmission. NOTE: This type of throwout bearing is supposed to be self aligning ... that is the reason for the pointy part. In practice it doesn't work that well, but at any rate, the pointy part should be away from the clutch fork.

  2. How tight did you tighten bolts for the pressure plate to the flywheel? The spec calls for 15-24 ft lbs. This is not a lot of torque (may more easily be done using an inch-pound torque wrench at 180-288 in lbs). If you used a ratchet and just had at it, the assembly is probably too tight and may be causing your issues.

  3. EDIT: A third problem may be that the slave cylinder is pushing away from the clutch pedal, flexing the firewall. If it is, you'll need to reinforce the firewall. You can have someone pump on the pedal to see if there is any movement while you watch it.

Throw out bearing for Bronco II

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  • I torqued the pressure plate to 15 ft lbs with a torque wrench. Yes I have the throw-out bearing installed the right direction, as you described with the picture. The part on the throw-out bearing that comes to a point, now does it matter what direction that's pointed?
    – user4926
    Commented Apr 25, 2014 at 17:12
  • The smaller end of the throwout bearing goes toward the transmission, the larger end goes toward the clutch.
    – TDHofstetter
    Commented Aug 23, 2014 at 19:22
  • @Paulster... I don't think I've ever seen a pressure plate that didn't seat fully against the flywheel. Too much torque could break off the bolts, though. Too little torque might permit the pressure plate to "float", which might permit its fingers from extending far enough...
    – TDHofstetter
    Commented Aug 23, 2014 at 19:25
  • @TDHofstetter ... I'm actually talking about too much clamping force caused by the bolts if done too tight. If like this, the pressure plate will not release the friction disk correctly. If it isn't tight enough, the friction disk will slip because it does not have enough grip on the flywheel and clutch plate.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Commented Aug 26, 2014 at 21:54
  • @Paulster2, I understand warping the pressure plate by not torquing it down in the correct sequence, but I can't imagine how overtightening the bolts that hold the PP's outer shell could distort anything once the bolts have been seated. Greater bolt torque would just stretch the bolts more, bring them nearer to failure (breaking off). Ah, no matter - by now that clutch has probably long since been fixed. Poor ol' addlepated "Community" hauled it back to the top because it was never "accepted".
    – TDHofstetter
    Commented Aug 26, 2014 at 22:16

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