bummerino

I am finally back on my 66 442. I bought the car eight years ago .....but anyway, I am using a Lakewood scatter shield bellhousing, the original was missing, and I'm using the clutch fork that I "ASSUMED" was the right one. I measured the length of the clutch fork and it is approx. 10.25" long. If this is the correct fork then I need to modify the bellhousing. It looks to me that the fork would need to be maybe 1.5" longer in order for the clutch linkage to miss the bellhousing. Any info would be greatly appreciated, I'd hate to take a grinder to that Lakewood bellhousing....

dc2x4drvr

Do you have an adjustable ball stud, reason I ask, some of the guys are using a longer ball stud which may give you more clearance.
The only fork that seems to work in an Olds is the OEM fork.

bummerino

I have the adjustable ball stud that screws into the bellhousing , but I don't see how it could help. I need more length to the fork or else I am going to grind on the bellhousing. I cleaned all the paint off the clutch fork that I have but can't find any part numbers.

dc2x4drvr

Post pics of your fork..lots of Olds guys have run the Lakewood bellhousing without problems, gotta be your clutch fork.

dc2x4drvr

Here's a pic of the Lakewood fork.

Dave Siltman

I encountered a "problem" not unlike yours when changing the driveline in one of my Oldsmobiles. You probably need an adjustable throw-out bearing or at least a longer one AND the adjustable ball pivot. The longer bearing will give you more of a distance (it did for me) between the back of the fork and the front of the window on the side of the blowproof. The adjustable pivot ball also helped me to achieve the proper movement of the fork in relation to the window and the clutch disc. The fork CANNOT be over center (must remain in a 90 degree angle) relative to the back of the clutch disc or back of the engine block itself. There are several manufacturers of both the ball pivot and adjustable throw-out bearings. I used a Center Force DFX clutch kit and their tech line was very helpful and informative. Also, make sure the blowproof is "dialed-in" (as in dial indicator) with the block (might and probably will require machining or off-set dowel pins) if you plan to make any serious horsepower an/or flat shift. Do yourself a favor and do it RIGHT the FIRST time and DON"T grind on that blowproof! Hope I didn't bore you and GOOD LUCK! Until next time, Dave.

Dave Siltman

I also used the above mentioned Lakewood fork. I think I used a Hays adjustable bearing you already have the adjustable ball pivot. It sounds more complicated than it really is. I almost forgot this: You might as well ( and will probably need) order a longer adjusting rod

dc2x4drvr

The OEM fork will eliminate a lot of alignment/adjustment issues vs an aftermarket fork.

442garage

That is true, the difficulty arises in trying to find an oem clutch fork. I haven't been able to locate one in over 8 years.

bummerino

After much searching and the advice of you guy's I ordered a clutch fork from The Parts Place....hope this is the right one. I saw repro bellhousings somewhere in my searching, I wonder what the quality is? this Lakewood shield sure has a lot of bolts to secure....

dgy

I have a similar problem - the clutch fork I have is approx 10" centerline to centerline and seems to be about 1 to 1.5" too short for the actuating bar to be inline with the car centerline. While nothing seems to hit anything, the angle of the bar that goes from the Z-Bar to the clutch fork seems to be way too great. Does anyone know what the OEM length is supposed to be? - '71 442 w/455 and M22

Also, Bummerino, did you get the parts place fork and did it work? I think the one I have is from there, but might not be the correct one.

HELP!

bummerino

my clutch linkage is installed and seems to work fine. What I mean is that it moves smoothly . I sent the Parts Place clutch fork back because the rivet holding the spring (flat one ) that the throwout bearing wasn't peened over , and it didn't look secure, went with the stock one

dgy

Is the linkage rod from the Z-Bar to the Fork pretty close to parallel to the frame rails of the car, or is it angled toward the fork?

THANKS!

bummerino

I just read your post will go into the garage in a little while and check.

joesw31

The clutch forks for olds and pontiacs were the same from 1966 to 1972. The clutch bellhousings were the same, and the clutch pivot ball in the housing was the same. In fact, the clutch fork carried a ponitac part number.

However, what did change was the clutch z-bars, the upper and lower push rods, and clutch pedals.

Does your car have all of the correct parts? Also, the type of clutch and release bearing affects every thing as well. What type of clutch do you have?

Run to Rund

As of 2006 when I last bought a Lakewood, they still put one of the bolt bosses that holds the block plate to the housing right where the clutch rod has to go, at the starter pocket area. You have to cut/grind off the boss. Lakewood admitted to me that "some applications" have this problem. Yeah right, only those who are running a clutch inside the housing, lol. IIRC, Rustoleum Sunrise Red spray paint is the correct color.

dgy

Hi all - thanks for helping figure this out!

Car is '71 442. Engine came from different car I owned that was factory 4 speed. For some stupid reason I did not keep the clutch linkage, z-bar, etc (or I cannot find it as it was 20+ years ago). Current car was automatic, so it didn't have ANY of the 4-speed parts. I got a bunch of new parts that were supposed to be for my car. The Z-Bar I have "fits" and the pedal rod seems to line up properly. I believe I have the correct clutch fork, and if I do, the lever on the Z-Bar seems like it may be too far to the left of the chassis. There is enough angle on the clutch push rod where it seems like it won't "stay" in the fork properly. I haven't put on the headers or starter yet, and I seem to recall there wasn't a lot of room in there once everything is assembled, so I don't know for sure if the z-bar I have is correct. If the clutch fork rod is supposed to be parallel to chassis frame rails, then either the clutch fork is too short, or the z-bar isn't the right one. I am pretty sure it is NOT the fork. That's what I am trying to figure out.

THANKS AGAIN for everyone's help!

-Dave

dgy

moved my questions to engine/tranny - transmission section, since it may not longer really refer to orig post here.