'75 W300 repair/mod project - Ol' Blue

I've only ever heard about and used the LUK and Exedy brands before IIRC. I've never heard of Brute Power brand before, which is why I asked here and over on RCC about those kit options. Those Brute Power kits are the ones I was leaning towards if I was just able to hear some good feedback about them. If not, I was going to go ahead and spend the extra $10 to go with a name brand I know and trust (LUK). Whichever way I go, at least the warranty is the same on all of them (12 months/12K miles).

Thanks for the heads up on the plastic TO bearing. That's pretty cheesy of them choosing to skimp on the materials of a critical part like that (probably a bean counter's decision). If the kit I get has a plastic TO bearing, I'll hold off on installing it until I can get a metal one. This is NOT going to be a job I'd like to do twice. The safety wire is also another good tip I'll keep in mind when I start putting everything back together.

Agreed on the misery part. The first time I was stationed in TX I did a clutch job on my 68 Power Wagon basically by bench pressing the trans in and out of the truck. I WON'T be doing it that way ever again. I also had to have a second back surgery in 2014 and a knee surgery just last month, so I haven't been doing much in the way of heavy lifting for a long time now.

So to sum up, I've got two opinions so far. One person is saying they prefer the diaphragm type, the other saying 3 finger type is stronger but harder to depress. Given that my recent knee surgery was on my clutch leg, I think I'll go with a diaphragm type kit to avoid making the pedal harder to depress. I also don't believe I'll need the extra clamping force the 3 finger type might offer over an OEM clutch when I don't plan on going wild with engine performance mods like I did with the R/T/A.
 
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The three finger should be the OEM spec for these gearboxes. They're in every one I've ever driven, based on pedal pressure anyway. I'll bet that's what's in yours right now. They only really suck in traffic. I've pretty much figured out how to drive mine everywhere in town without stopping in third gear. The extra clamping won't necessarily have anything to do with engine performance so much as preventing slippage when you're in your creeper gear, and/or low range in the transfer case. If the whole thing falls apart in mine again, I've already decided I'm pulling the motor next time. I basically bench pressed that 200 pound turd in and out each time also. My transfer case isn't a bag of feathers either, and yours might even be cast iron. Plus, I've got to pull my exhaust which is a solid unit from the headers to the side dump on the pass. side. Hell, if there is a next time, I might just sell the truck.. I'm cringing thinking about it.

Although, you may hear 69.5 tell you that there's an access panel in the floor of your truck, and you can use a cherry picker.. I have no such luck in mine.
 
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yup yup...especialy a 4x truck...pull that floor hump and strap a picker to it mostly as an "extra set of hands" to support and float it, your trans needs to be ID'ed before you even think of ordering anything..with the picker you can actualy do the job WITHOUT taking the t-case off..just pull the speedo cable and drive lines does it have granny low?...if no its not a 435, if it is still a top mounted stick thru the trans then that makes it the rarer 445 (assuming ai remember the numbers correctly)..the only other trans would be the 833 something to keep in mind make sure that flywhell gets surfaced, im in a situation where i cant even find one for the 445/435 for a 440...sure i can find em for small blocks all day long but not for a 440 diapham clutches imo have a much smoother feel
 
I've pretty much settled on the diaphragm style for all the above mentioned reasons, so that part is settled at least. The hump is YUGE (see my floor pics), and it's completely removable. I like the cherry picker idea, even better since I already have one here.TTo help answer the trans ID question, yes it definitely has a granny low 1st gear like my 68 PW did. Where do I look on the trans to find the numbers to ID it? Might be a little while before I go out to check though since it's started raining/sleeting/snowing again.The flywheel is definitely getting resurfaced. I wouldn't do a clutch R&R job without that as it'd just be a waste of time and money. Maybe in an emergency situation, but this isn't one of those times.
 
The weather let up a little bit so I took a peek under the truck while I could. The front of the T-case is oily and rusty, so that part of it is cast iron, but the rear output housing is aluminum though. I did find a New Process logo (not NVG) cast into the rear of the T-case housing, but everything was too oily and gunked up to know where to look for a model number on it. The trans is just about as long as it is tall and there is a PTO cover plate on both sides of the trans near the bottom just behind the bell housing. I REALLY need to get this thing to a car wash so I can hit the bottom with a pressure washer. There's so much oily gunk caked on there I don't know where to start looking for model ID numbers without the manual here yet. It started snowing here again anyway, so I headed back in the house for a while.On a side note, while I was under the truck, I spotted a hard line oil return hose going into the engine oil pan. It has the factory looking turquoise color on the 90* fitting in the pan, but I've never seen a factory setup like that. PO add on? If so, I need to find out where the other end of that oil line goes and figure out what it's for. I can't see it looking in from the top of the engine compartment, so I'll wait till I have some better weather here so I can track that oil line down.
 
Took another stab at getting a better look at the trans and T-case, and this time I brought a camera with me. The first pic is the rear of the T-case. I used a paint pen to color the letters and numbers I found so they might show up on the pics better. Up top on the first row is a "W", second row is "C-11890", third row is "J-09". Down below just above the New Process gear logo is "LO-1". These were the only letters or numbers I was able to find so far.DSC_4951.JPG

I think I may have found a possible cause for the speedometer not working. LOL It looks like the remains of a ratio adapter is still sticking out of the T-case and the disconnected end of the speedo cable is just hanging out in the breeze under the truck.
DSC_4952.JPG

Sorry for the next few crappy pics. It was pretty cramped under there, so this was the best I could do for today. I thought there was two PTO covers, but when I took the pics I noticed another one on the drivers side. However, I'm not sure if that other driver side cover is on part of the trans or the T-case.DSC_4953.JPGDSC_4954.JPGDSC_4955.JPG

And here's that hard oil return line and fitting that dumps into the oil pan that I was talking about. I still have no idea where the other end of that line goes to yet. It should be a lot easier to track down once I get a chance to run the truck through the car wash and hit it with the pressure washer.DSC_4956.JPG
 
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You've got the NP435, no doubt.. The good lord sharts upon thee. It's a great gearbox in that it's indestructible, and requires no maintenance. Until you have to remove it. Then twenty years of trouble free service drops a two hundred pound cast iron Cleveland Steamer on your chest as you pull it out. I think I also called it on the cast iron transfer case.. if I had to guess, it's a NP 205? I think the 203s were full time 4wd, and late seventies. I'm sure somebody will correct me. At any rate, considering your gearbox and transfer case, it would appear that your truck is built around a double hernia. I don't envy your task at hand. If it were my truck, I'd try to Tom Sawyer somebody else into painting that particular fence.
 
Well, it is full time 4WD, so it could very well be the 203. Someone over on RCC suggested it was a 203 after looking at the pics. As far as getting someone to do the clutch R&R for me, it's just not in the budget unfortunately. I'm going to have to do all the work myself (except for getting the flywheel turned) with the tools I have here. I actually was looking for something older with a carb like this truck for a while now. Mostly so I'd be able to work on everything myself without having to get a computer engineering degree first.

Note to self: The corner lights I need for the big flat bed are available at Napa. I need two red lens lights (part# 26313R) and two amber lens lights (part# 26313Y). They cost about $12 each and are the dual bulb type, exactly like the ones that are on the bed now.
 
After spending some time on the phone with an "engineer" (their term, I hope they were glorifying a tech rep) at LUK clutches, I will never buy anything from them unless it's a 100% stock-replacement clutch for an old woman. He knew less about clutch performance than I know about menstruation, because at least I understand the concept of menstruation. At one point, for reasons I won't further explain, I asked, "Oh, so this must be a pull-off design?" to which he responded, "A what?" Repeating my inquiry made it clear that the problem wasn't whether he heard me. :doh:

A replacement diaphragm clutch has nowhere near the holding power of the original Borg & Beck. The diaphragm is chosen based solely on fit rather than being an engineered solution. I got that much out of the pinhead at LUK. Make sure your parking brake works. Parking on any sort of incline will be downright dangerous (much moreso than usual) if you simply leave the truck in gear.

TheCastCock's throwout collar is the only plastic one I've ever encountered. I literally did not know such a thing existed, and it's a terrible idea with a 3-finger clutch. That being said, I've never seen a throwout bearing come off the fork on a Mopar either. I'm thinking the former caused the latter, rather than vise-versa.
 
That hard line going into the pan should the dipstick. I have a big block truck pan in the garage and it looks just like that.
 
dont bother looking for the numbers on the trans..they will be high up the side on a steel tag just down the side from the shifter..they have been seen on either side of these trans ...youd be better off pulling the hump and looking down, the fact you have granny low dictates it can only be the 435, even if it were a 445 it would be the same clutch, as for the case its a 203, i love the chain fed 203...you can be rollin anything lowwer than 45mph and stuff it in 4xhi, fact i used to street race with mine, launch 4low, row the full set and somewhere north of 50 id slam high and drop gear again and row thru, years of it finaly stretched the chain..i was never "nice" to that t-case and it simply took it without argement
 
@ Dr.Jass: The LUK clutch I used before was a stock replacement for my '01 Ram w/ 24V Cummins and the 6 speed trans. I ended up trading that truck shortly after the clutch job, so I don't know how well it held up. It went in fine and worked ok while I still had it, but I didn't try to abuse it. Still, if that's the kind of people they have answering their tech questions... Those Brute Power clutch kits are looking better by the minute.

If the diaphragm type clutches don't at least EQUAL the OEM 3 lever type clutch as far a holding power, I'll change my plans and pick up a B&B style kit instead. I still want to verify that the TO bearing housing in the kit isn't plastic first though.

The parking brake works fine on this truck, but if it didn't it would be on the short list of things to get fixed before driving it. As much as this truck weighs, I don't plan on using on the trans gears to hold the truck on anything other than flat ground.

@71ChargerRT: Thanks for the help ID'ing that line. That was one of my guesses, but I hadn't looked closer at it yet due to all the gunk all that's still all over the place down there. It makes sense now that I think about it. The regular car dipstick location wouldn't work due to the rear sump location on the truck style oil pan.

@69.5CUDA: Once I pull the hump out, I'll get a good look at it and make a note of the trans model number for future reference.

I took the dogs out for a spin down a dirt road to check out the T-case operation. I seems like it's working fine in HI and HI-LOC, and neutral is there and easy to get in and out of. It sure is a surprisingly short throw between HI and HI-LOC though. This is my first Dodge full-time 4WD truck though, so I guess that's just how it is. I didn't get around to messing with LO and LO-LOC though, so I'll have to remember to check that out some other time. I highly doubt I'll be drag racing this truck, but it's nice to know this setup can take a beating. ;)
 
Dr.Jass said:
TheGirderGherkin's throwout collar is the only plastic one I've ever encountered. I literally did not know such a thing existed, and it's a terrible idea with a 3-finger clutch. That being said, I've never seen a throwout bearing come off the fork on a Mopar either. I'm thinking the former caused the latter, rather than vise-versa.
Click to expand...

The only one, you say? The very next clutch I ordered (for my '84 Cherokee) came with one also. IMG_3824.JPGThere it is, next to it's rotten brother. I had the good sense to buy a metal one before installing that clutch
 
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I just checked my Rockauto account to see what brands they were. The Jeep was AMS Automotive, and the box said made in the USA. The Dodge I must have gotten from Advance Auto, because it's not in my history.
 
My state tax return just showed up in my account, so I went ahead and ordered the 3 finger Borg & Beck style Brute Power clutch kit (#90345). It should be here by May 1st if the supplied shipping estimate is correct.
 
I got the crud cleaned off the end of the speedo cable and the T-case a short while ago. After removing the remaining piece of the gear ratio adapter, I installed the end of the speedo cable in it's place. Then I put a GPS in the truck so I could check the dash speedometer against it while I took it for a short drive. The first thing I noticed is the factory dash speedo is suffering from severe needle bounce while the truck is moving. At first I was getting an average 40 MPH range of swing at first. After a little while it had calmed down to about a 5-10 MPH swing range. To say the speedo is a little bit "happy" would be an understatement. With the needle settled down somewhat, the dash speedo was reading around 95-100MPH while the GPS was at 65 MPH. I'll definitely need to get another speedo gear ratio adapter once I figure out the ratio I'll need. Until then, I'll just keep this GPS in the truck to use as my speedo. I just have to get another suction cup mount for it since I'm borrowing one from the wife's Jeep at the moment.

EDIT: Just found a suction cup mount on Amazon for $2.53 with free shipping. The only down side is it's going to be on the slow boat from china to get here. Good thing my wife hardly ever uses her GPS in the Jeep. ;)
 
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If cleaning the old speedo cable and lubing it doesn't fix the needle bounce, I'll get a new cable to try out. If it still bounces after that, I'll look into getting a GPS Speedometer like the ones at Speedhut.com. Pricey solution, but at least it can be made to look just like the factory unit, which is what I'm after in this case.


If I can't fix the factory tach (inop, but not seized), Speedhut can make me a new one to match the look and function of the original factory tach. I can also have them adjust the RPM range when/if they build it since it'd be a custom unit anyway. The 5K limit just seems way too low to me IMHO. I've had some of my other 440's past 5K RPM's, so I'd prefer to have the tach scale stopping at 6K instead.


It wouldn't be hard (just expensive) to have them recreate any of the other gauges either. I'm thinking of also having a volt gauge made to replace the broken amp gauge. Some PO added an aftermarket amp gauge in the left side dash panel when the original one died. It works ok, but it's hacked in there crudely and really looks out of place to me.


The factory oil gauge in the truck is also broken (needle snapped off), but since it doesn't need to be changed in any way, I'll just look for a working factory part to replace it.
 
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I'm pretty sure I've got some factory dash and gauge parts for your truck floating around here somewhere. Make a list, and I'll see what I can come up with.. I won't charge anything I wouldn't pay myself..

Stick your head up your dash and see if the speedo cable's tight up against something with the instrument panel installed. If they've got a kink in them, they can bounce. Also try putting the trans side of the cable in a drill chuck and spin it in the appropriate direction with the dash side both disconnected and connected.. This will tell you where the problem is in the chain. It's usually the spring on the needle, but bad cables and gears can do it too.
 
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Sounds like a plan Mr Ferrous Phallis.:cool:

Someone on RCC also mentioned the drill trick and said they had to run the drill in reverse to check their cable.
 
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