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lsmft

fasttruck

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I second (or 3rd ?) Simp's suggestion of running I 81 down to I 40 and then going west. In 76 west of Harrisburg is a toll road and again 7 mile long upgrades. I crawled up those hills 40 years ago in a B61 Mack that didn't have much more power than a M35A2 and it added substantially to the trip time compared to doing it 20 years later with a 425 Cat at 60+ mph all the way.
 

plym49

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I am down with a bad clutch on I79 at exit 96 in West Virginia. Coasted off the interstate onto the shoulder of the exit southbound side. Is there anyone who can help in any way Recommend a shop, someplace I can have it towed tobetransported, whatever
 

plym49

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a clutch adjustment has me back on the road, at least for now. southbound on I79 in west virginia
Well, that didn't last long. Despite taking it easy the clutch lost all of its adjustment in a hundred or so miles of smooth highway driving. I am not sure if I should attempt to adjust it again. There seems to be something that is causing the clutch to lose its adjustment right away and I am wondering if that means that the disc or pressure plate or both or at the end of life. I am at mile marker 63 on Route 19 in West Virginia, parked on the grass.
 

Mullaney

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Well, that didn't last long. Despite taking it easy the clutch lost all of its adjustment in a hundred or so miles of smooth highway driving. I am not sure if I should attempt to adjust it again. There seems to be something that is causing the clutch to lose its adjustment right away and I am wondering if that means that the disc or pressure plate or both or at the end of life. I am at mile marker 63 on Route 19 in West Virginia, parked on the grass.
.
Crazy question... I can't imagine the clutch wearing that badly in a hundred miles. Is there any oil coming out of the bottom drain hole in the bellhousing? Seems like something big would have to be happening to chew through enough clutch to go to nothing in that distance.
 

simp5782

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Well, that didn't last long. Despite taking it easy the clutch lost all of its adjustment in a hundred or so miles of smooth highway driving. I am not sure if I should attempt to adjust it again. There seems to be something that is causing the clutch to lose its adjustment right away and I am wondering if that means that the disc or pressure plate or both or at the end of life. I am at mile marker 63 on Route 19 in West Virginia, parked on the grass.
What town are you near? So we can find some folks near you.

Sutton?

Burnsville?
 

simp5782

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.
Crazy question... I can't imagine the clutch wearing that badly in a hundred miles. Is there any oil coming out of the bottom drain hole in the bellhousing? Seems like something big would have to be happening to chew through enough clutch to go to nothing in that distance.
If it's not adjusted right especially at the linkage it could be wearing even with the pedal released.

Or a few weak springs in the pp
 

plym49

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What town are you near? So we can find some folks near you.

Sutton?

Burnsville?
Here is a Google screenshot. I am about 55 miles south of Jane Lew and 18 miles north of Summerville. It is mile marker 63 on Route 19Screenshot_20210705-221509_Maps.jpg
What town are you near? So we can find some folks near you.

Sutton?

Burnsville?
I am about 55 miles south of game blue and about 18 miles north of Summersville. It is mile marker 63 on Route 19. Here is a screenshot from Google
 

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plym49

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This is a condensed update as time is still tight. I had the truck towed to my friend Dave's shop which was about a hundred and fifty miles away from where I was stranded. Today we pulled the transmission out and found that the pressure plate did not look bad the disc was totally messed up and the flywheel was heavily grooved and has some heat cracks. At this point we think the flywheel can be resurfaced and reused and the new clutch kit, rear main seal, and new flywheel bolts were ordered this morning and shipped today. There will be more details and photos as soon as things get caught up. Thank you to all of you who have shown an interest in this thread and some who have even offered help.
 

GopherHill

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I'm glad to hear you got it to a place where you can work on it. Clutches can be the great unknown on a new to you vehicle. When all is done, stay on top of the clutch adjustment with the correct amount of free play. Don't let anyone who drives it slip the clutch instead of selecting the correct gear.
Best of luck with this.
TomC
 

fasttruck

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As to the ability to make additional adjustment on a M35 or M54, You are working the clevis up the shaft to restore freeplay. When it reaches the point where you can't get the clevis pin through the clevis anymore, all the adjustment is used up. Don't get cute and cut the rod to make it shorter to still get the pin in or you will soon need a flywheel.
 

plym49

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Here's an update. My Haggerty road side assistance plan provided 150 miles of Towing and my friends shop was 147 miles away. Even a blind hog gets a few acorns. A 25-ton wrecker brought the deuce to my friend Dave's shop where we dropped the transmission. The pressure plate was perfect the side of the clutch disc that faces the pressure plate was perfect but the clutch disc facing the flywheel was a disaster and it really chewed up the flywheel. Interestingly, there was no oil in there from the rear seal but there was a dribble from the rear of the valve cover. Someone said that it looked like the clutch has been replaced buy some one previously and that they did a substandard job of attaching the friction material to the clutch disc as the buttons were ripped off and that is part of what chewed up the flywheel. I ordered a complete clutch set, flywheel bolts, rear seal, whatever from Big Mike's and he had it to us within 24 hours. The flywheel is at the machine shop and hopefully it can be saved. I had to bail because I was just about out of days off before I have to return to work so my friend Dave is kindly going to put it back together for me in his shop. A friend will help you move, a good friend will help you move a body, and a fantastic friend will put your broken deuce-and-a-half back together for you. I will post some pictures when I can. At this point the plan is for Dave to store the deuce for me at his house while I arrange for it to be transported to Texas from Pennsylvania where it is now.
 

M35fan

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Here's an update. My Haggerty road side assistance plan provided 150 miles of Towing and my friends shop was 147 miles away. Even a blind hog gets a few acorns. A 25-ton wrecker brought the deuce to my friend Dave's shop where we dropped the transmission. The pressure plate was perfect the side of the clutch disc that faces the pressure plate was perfect but the clutch disc facing the flywheel was a disaster and it really chewed up the flywheel. Interestingly, there was no oil in there from the rear seal but there was a dribble from the rear of the valve cover. Someone said that it looked like the clutch has been replaced buy some one previously and that they did a substandard job of attaching the friction material to the clutch disc as the buttons were ripped off and that is part of what chewed up the flywheel. I ordered a complete clutch set, flywheel bolts, rear seal, whatever from Big Mike's and he had it to us within 24 hours. The flywheel is at the machine shop and hopefully it can be saved. I had to bail because I was just about out of days off before I have to return to work so my friend Dave is kindly going to put it back together for me in his shop. A friend will help you move, a good friend will help you move a body, and a fantastic friend will put your broken deuce-and-a-half back together for you. I will post some pictures when I can. At this point the plan is for Dave to store the deuce for me at his house while I arrange for it to be transported to Texas from Pennsylvania where it is now.
Sounds like we all could use a friend like Dave. 👍 Hope you can get back on the road soon.
 

m715mike

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A friend will help you move, a good friend will help you move a body, and a fantastic friend will put your broken deuce-and-a-half back together for you.
Amen!


At this point the plan is for Dave to store the deuce for me at his house while I arrange for it to be transported to Texas from Pennsylvania where it is now.
Call Wes (@simp5782)


Sorry to hear that your road trip did not end as you intended, but it sounds like you made the most of a tough situation!
 

Mullaney

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Here's an update. My Haggerty road side assistance plan provided 150 miles of Towing and my friends shop was 147 miles away. Even a blind hog gets a few acorns. A 25-ton wrecker brought the deuce to my friend Dave's shop where we dropped the transmission. The pressure plate was perfect the side of the clutch disc that faces the pressure plate was perfect but the clutch disc facing the flywheel was a disaster and it really chewed up the flywheel. Interestingly, there was no oil in there from the rear seal but there was a dribble from the rear of the valve cover. Someone said that it looked like the clutch has been replaced buy some one previously and that they did a substandard job of attaching the friction material to the clutch disc as the buttons were ripped off and that is part of what chewed up the flywheel. I ordered a complete clutch set, flywheel bolts, rear seal, whatever from Big Mike's and he had it to us within 24 hours. The flywheel is at the machine shop and hopefully it can be saved. I had to bail because I was just about out of days off before I have to return to work so my friend Dave is kindly going to put it back together for me in his shop. A friend will help you move, a good friend will help you move a body, and a fantastic friend will put your broken deuce-and-a-half back together for you. I will post some pictures when I can. At this point the plan is for Dave to store the deuce for me at his house while I arrange for it to be transported to Texas from Pennsylvania where it is now.
.
Really good that your acorn search turned out as well as it has.
Pretty Fantastic in my mind! Friends like Dave are hard to come by...

Who knows about the clutch lining coming loose. It could have been brand new when it was bought, then sat around in a garage for three years and moisture could have been the culprit. Could have been any number of things. At least you got it figured out.

Glad that Big Mike's had what you needed and got it to you PDQ.
Can't ask for more than that!
 

plym49

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It is heartening to see that you have regained your outpatient status.

EDIT: The above was in response to someone's rather negative post that seems to have been deleted.
 
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