One side of my clutch fork seems to have fallen off

[BruteForce]

Is it possible to get it back on without pulling the transmission out? Argggh!

(You can see the throwout bearing in the pick, and the fork is canted counterclockwise.)

Anyone got a pic of what it's supposed to look like installed, from the point of view of the transmission? I couldn't find anything on google images. I put the fork on 9 years ago and don't remember what it looked like.

[BruteForce]

Ok, managed to get a better picture.

[Chryco Psycho]

there is a spring clip that holds the fork on the brg , if you push the fork in the clip should clip over the end of the fork or if your hands are small enough you may be able to reach in & help the clip back on , no need to pull the trans out

[BruteForce]

That's good news, will give it a try.

[BruteForce]

Ok, I dropped the headers and was able to get a hand in. With much struggling, I'm able to engage one side of the fork in the clip, or the other, but not both. It appears that the fork just doesn't go in far enough towards the input shaft, and the fork isn't quite long enough to engage both clips properly. I suspect that's why it came off in the first place.

The factory manual says to just pull the fork out. I pull, and it doesn't come out. How do I release it to get it out? I want to see if it is hung up on something or needs some modification so it can go in further.

BTW, the alignment problems with the fork rod may be because the fork isn't going in far enough.

[BruteForce]

I finally managed to pull the fork out. Wasn't pulling hard enough, but I don't like breaking things if there's a hidden catch or something.

Anyhow, check out the photo of the fork pivot. It appears to be bent past 90 degrees. This could be what's causing my problems. Is this pivot normally at 90 degrees?

[Chryco Psycho]

usually they sit AT 90* FOR OPTIMUM STRENGHT but what really matters is the center to center distance from the pivot to the center of the shaft compared to the sane neasurment of the fork , some parts may be been mixed from different applications

[BruteForce]

I will measure. The fork distance is 3.25". Will try to measure the distance from the pivot to the centerline, though that'll be a bit tricky, as I don't have calipers to measure the shaft diameter.

[Chryco Psycho]

approx. 1.25" diameter where the brg slides

[BruteForce]

It's 3.25" from the pivot to the shaft, and 1.25/2 for the shaft radius, meaning my fork pivot is about .625" too far out. That seems an awful lot to be off. Eyeballing the bend in the pivot suggest it might actually be that much.

[Chryco Psycho]

I would contact brewers they will know what part is mismatched if anything just have all the measurements handy

[BruteForce]

Thanks for the tip. They suggest a new pivot, which I am ordering from them. I want to get the beast back on the road, so I might have to get it express mail!

[RzeroB]

While you have it out check your fork ... it looks longer than 10 7/8th overall length which is what a OEM factory small-block fork should be.

[BruteForce]

I sent that picture to Brewers, too, and they seemed to think it was ok. Also, it appears that my alignment problems with the fork rod were also caused by the fork pivot being bent.

I have no idea why my pivot was bent. It would take a lot of force to do that, and would likely have cracked it. I'd heat it up and bend it back, but I worry about weakening it by doing so, and don't want it coming apart inside the bellhousing, so decided to go with a new replacement.

Once I get it, I'll post back here the results. Hope it can help someone else with a similar issue.

Sadly, I also discovered that my Lakewood 15320 small block bellhousing is no longer made. Glad I got mine when I did. I like having that heavy chuck of armor plate between my feet and the flywheel.

[BruteForce]

I received the new pivot from Brewers today, and what a difference! The top one is the new one.

I greased the rubbing surfaces, and the clutch fork snapped right in with the new pivot. Put everything back together.