Does anyone know a source for the funky spring that goes around the clutch throwout fork shaft? Mine broke and I'm looking for a replacement. Any assistance would be appreciated. Dave
Spring Man, I worry my spring will break too. That would have to be a custom made item. All I can think of is a crafty Blacksmith or Machinist.
I wonder if you could rig up external spring/springs on the actuating levers...I dont see why that wouldnt work. o No:
Anybody have apicture of what it looks like? Springs can be custom ordered very reasonably from McMaster -Carr. Ted
I sent Dave this one (best one I had) for that very reason. I don't know if he found anything or not. Cheryl
I think I found a source for the spring Thanks to Cheryl's great photo of the spring installed on the throwout arm, I have searched the website catalog listings of Lee Spring and Century Spring. They both offer a torsion spring seemingly exact for this application. It is 1.221" I.D., 1.491" O.D., 8 coils, right hand wound, 4" long legs, stainless steel wire. The legs would have to have the ends bent to conatc the throwout fork and bellhousing wall, as in Cheryl's photo, which should not be hard to do. One problem is a $40.00 minimum order to buy in small qtys. But I guess that's cheap when there is no other souce. The 4-speed bell housing throwout arm is 1" diameter so this spring looks like it should work with a little customizing on the ends. I'll let you know how I make out and also submit a photo of the spring mounted on the shaft if I'm successful. :laugh:
NoNoNo.....the spring that Cheryl pictured is incorrect....it's supposed to be Green! :laugh: I have mine off the car, took a few pics, and checked dimensions.... Wire size is 0.120" I.D. is 1.220" O.D. is 1.462" I have no idea if the ends can be bent like the originals. A google search for 'torsion spring' should yield a few suppliers. If you can't find another supplier, you might as well buy as many springs as you can for the $40...you could most likely sell a few here...
Walt's Spring photo Thank you for the photo of the uninstalled spring. From Cheryl's photo, I thought the unloaded arms were 180 degrees apart. Now I see they are more than 270 degrees apart (or less than 90 deg. if you calculate the other way). I will order one or two of each (180 deg. and 270 deg.) to see which can best be applied to the throwout arm. By the way, the wire diameter on these torsion springs is 0.135" which is pretty close to the stock Buick spring. Walt, you wouldn't have an extra spring to sell would you? Thanks to all for the great information!! :grin:
Keep us posted If the supplier makes you pay the full $40 for the minimum buy, take as many as you can and I know us old nailheaders will take some if this works. Someday that 40+ year old spring of mine will give way, I just know it.
My first attempt at making the throwout arm spring I just received a sample from Lee Spring in Brookly, NY. The leg lengths were 4" which required cutting down to fit the bell housing (spring wire is tough to cut and bend!!!). The legs were 180 degrees apart, thus it is not the optimum spring for this application. The spring works but I don't believe it retracts the arm with enough force. As shown in wkillgs' photo of his original OEM spring, the arms should be about 270 degrees apart. That 270 degree sample spring is on back order from Lee. I'll show that one when it finally arrives and I can bend it into shape. :Brow:
I think I just received the correct Spring Lee Spring finally delivered a 270 degree spring. It has a 1.435" O.D., 1.205" I.D., 0.115 wire diameter, right hand wind, music wire. This is very close to the original Buick spring as measured by Walt in the response above. I'll start bending and cutting this spring to fit and let you know how I make out!
I'm not an expert spring bender BUT: Here is the 270 degree spring cut and bent to fit. It ain't purty like Walt's and Cheryl's OEM springs but it sure retracts the throwout arm!!! It has about 3 more winds than the stock spring so the end that contacts the bell housing raised boss is off a little to the outside. It's not going to move off that pad, however. Thanks to everyone who provided information to me!!! Dave :beer
