clutch fork removal

[gunslinger]

73 340 challenger,

What is the secret to getting the clutch fork out without yanking the trannie,  top TOB spring is a little gooched and needs some massaging so it will grip the end clutch fork fingers, Car has been in storage for quite awhile and it's been a long time since I messed with that end of things, I undid the linkage to the z-bar and pulled the return spring, fought it for about a hour and gave up before I broke something

[Chryco Psycho]

pull straight out , it spring locks onto the ball pivot & the 2 clips on the throw out brg , nothing else holds it in

[gunslinger]

I'm wondering if it would not be easier if i moved the bottom spring out of the way with some needle nose pliers or something and rotated the bearing around so i could get to the top spring??

Will the shell rotate 180 degrees?

[Chryco Psycho]

Yup

[gunslinger]

In case anyone else has the same issues, simply using a pair of long needle nose to move the lower spring out of the way and rotating the throwout bearing so I could access the top spring worked great, no need to pull the fork, I just used two needle nose to rebend the top spring and everything seems to be fine,
took about 45 minutes including reassembly. Used the long needle nose to hold the top spring in place while getting the fork situated on the TOB.

No more lurching clutch and grooves wore in the pressure plate lever.

[Chryco Psycho]