Eaton Roadranger Clutch question

[Tejon7]

I don't understand it either. I don't even say "bus" when I leave a message. I tell them I need a clutch adjustment on an Eaton Roadranger transmission, then never hear back. Now that I've done it myself, I see how easy it is (or should be... not sure how the first shop messed it up so badly). It should be an easy couple hundred $$ for these guys. Maybe some of you mechanics out there should move to Missoula, MT, 'cuz apparently there's too much work!

 

[Albatross]

I don't understand why shops don't return your call for clutch adjustments, replacements or other work. Paying customer is paying customer.

Probably because your modern auto-shop technician is mostly just a parts-swapper, with a little bit of computer tech tossed-in, and they don't really understand how or why to do those kinds of things, much less have half the experience actually doing it as they have making weird and unique tools to fit all the insanely-tight workspaces in modern engines.



It's kind of like how most modern doctors don't really understand that the pharmacy starts at the farm, and that most health conditions can be solved with a change in diet. Veterinarians (especially large-animal vets) still understand this, but most modern docs are little more than sales-reps for Big Pharma. Also, it's harder in some places to eat a quality diet, but they would really rather simply do as their told and continue the hand-off from the food companies to the pharma companies for whatever illness the foods (that are often owned by pharma conglomerates) cause in the people. It's kind of like how they recently announced that Benzene--a chemical found in almost all skin-care products from a certain group of companies under a conglomerate that also owns a certain pharma company that is expecting to make some record-breaking profits off its new skin-cancer drugs. But that's just me being a bit too tin-foil hat of a conspiracy theorist (a term that was invented by the CIA to discredit people who questioned the JFK assassination, which turns out they were probably right).


If you're looking for preventative maintenance, it's usually best to just learn how to do it yourself, since most mechanics will invariably screw it up, unless you find one of those nice tucked-away family-owned small-shops that still takes its honor as a point of pride. But they're usually slow, and backed-up from everyone that knows them.

 

[Tin Roadtube Vagrant]

Get the adjustment fixed and the rattling will probably go away. If you minimize the free-travel to minimum-required-travel you will stabilize the engagement to the throw out bearing and reduce the noise. Is it worn, probably, but letting it flop around free-willy with 1/2 A pedal worth of travel certainly isn't helping.

 

[Tejon7]

Get the adjustment fixed and the rattling will probably go away. If you minimize the free-travel to minimum-required-travel you will stabilize the engagement to the throw out bearing and reduce the noise. Is it worn, probably, but letting it flop around free-willy with 1/2 A pedal worth of travel certainly isn't helping.

The video was taken after the clutch was adjusted to manufacturer specs. There's no noise until the clutch pedal is pressed.

 

[shorthair-SKO]

If you can float the gears you can release the brakes then start it in gear, then a little timing on the traffic lights and you can skip the need for the clutch for the short trip.

 

[Omnibot2000]

The video was taken after the clutch was adjusted to manufacturer specs. There's no noise until the clutch pedal is pressed.

Yeah, looking at the video, his clutch is set pretty much bang on without looking at the pedal play.

Always set the clutch, then set your clutch pedal free play through the rods.

I set my buddies clutch on his 197x whatever international that he dragged out of the bush from some guys place in the spring time. By the time I finished setting up the clutch I had 3/4 of the clutch pedal travel in all free play. Where as before the previous owner folded over the pedal stop at the top of the pedal travel and was sitting 3 inches higher then the brake pedal and would only grab at the very top. You were tripping on the clutch pedal trying to get into the truck.

I can set a clutch up inside 30 minutes. That day it took me over 2 hours dealing with that disaster. Spent close to 20 hours with all the fawkery done to that poor truck. Never in my wildest dreams I would have guessed someone would weld a drive line yoke back together around all the other BS found on that truck.

 

[shorthair-SKO]

Yeah, looking at the video, his clutch is set pretty much bang on without looking at the pedal play.

Always set the clutch, then set your clutch pedal free play through the rods.

I set my buddies clutch on his 197x whatever international that he dragged out of the bush from some guys place in the spring time. By the time I finished setting up the clutch I had 3/4 of the clutch pedal travel in all free play. Where as before the previous owner folded over the pedal stop at the top of the pedal travel and was sitting 3 inches higher then the brake pedal and would only grab at the very top. You were tripping on the clutch pedal trying to get into the truck.

I can set a clutch up inside 30 minutes. That day it took me over 2 hours dealing with that disaster. Spent close to 20 hours with all the fawkery done to that poor truck. Never in my wildest dreams I would have guessed someone would weld a drive line yoke back together around all the other BS found on that truck.

Every time I think that I have seen everything stupid that the idiots can do in or to a vehicle somebody pushes the stupid boundary even further.

 

[Albatross]

Every time I think that I have seen everything stupid that the idiots can do in or to a vehicle somebody pushes the stupid boundary even further.

There is a valuable lesson in this, and that is chiefly, "never underestimate stupid people--alone, much less in groups."


I was military, and I while I'm immune to most of the stupidity, I am still amazed by stupid people, and it just makes me angrier and want to hit the "delete" button. I understand, sometimes, why god sent the flood and wiped out all life on earth.

 

[Tin Roadtube Vagrant]

The video was taken after the clutch was adjusted to manufacturer specs. There's no noise until the clutch pedal is pressed.

Yup, missed that link. Looks like you're going to be dropping trans soon. Good luck sir.

 

[Tejon7]

We did some long term planning last night and realized that we won't have any opportunities for long bus trips until next fall. Unfortunately that means no 5 month desert vacation this year. On the bright side, we will have sold our postage stamp property in town and our new place with a 50' x 15' garage bay should be dried in. I think I'm going to put this trans repair off until then. If I have time I'll do the work myself and if not, I'll drive the bus over to the 2-stroke shop in Billings and let them have it for a month or so before hitting the road for another winter in the sunshine.

 

[Tejon7]

Just wanted to post the conclusion to this story in case it helps anybody in a similar situation down the road. I finally got my clutch replaced at a local shop. Real Steel Diesel Truck and Trailer in Missoula, MT. They're a 2 man operation that will work on anything. When I came to pick up the bus, they were finishing up some maintenance on a brand new 1.2 million dollar Earthroamer SX. They honestly seemed a little more excited to work on my filthy, worn-out old clutch.

The old clutch was worn down until the rivets holding the wear material in place were doing most of the work. The clutch brake was missing a pad on one side, and the throw out bearing was totally shot. I feel really good about replacing all that.

Total cost was $4600. $1325 clutch (found locally - online can be found cheaper), $45 clutch brake, $25 pilot bearing. 15 hours labor at $150/hr. About $300 to get the flywheel turned (more expensive because it's an older basket style). A couple hundred bucks more for two new u-joints on the drive line and shop supplies.

I'm not excited about that bill, but it's $1400 less than the estimate from the only other place that returned my calls. Also, I am really happy with the service from these guys.

 

[Crown_Guy]

Just wanted to post the conclusion to this story in case it helps anybody in a similar situation down the road. I finally got my clutch replaced at a local shop. Real Steel Diesel Truck and Trailer in Missoula, MT. They're a 2 man operation that will work on anything. When I came to pick up the bus, they were finishing up some maintenance on a brand new 1.2 million dollar Earthroamer SX. They honestly seemed a little more excited to work on my filthy, worn-out old clutch.

The old clutch was worn down until the rivets holding the wear material in place were doing most of the work. The clutch brake was missing a pad on one side, and the throw out bearing was totally shot. I feel really good about replacing all that.

Total cost was $4600. $1325 clutch (found locally - online can be found cheaper), $45 clutch brake, $25 pilot bearing. 15 hours labor at $150/hr. About $300 to get the flywheel turned (more expensive because it's an older basket style). A couple hundred bucks more for two new u-joints on the drive line and shop supplies.

I'm not excited about that bill, but it's $1400 less than the estimate from the only other place that returned my calls. Also, only I am really happy with the service from these guys.

You can console yourself with the thought that for the rest of the life of your Crown you won't be having any clutch problems. Make that even better by floating the gears as much as you can and limiting the clutch usage and slipping when shifting or starting. I usually drive like that myself and am extremely kind to my clutch. I feel that after you replaced/repaired and adjusted the clutch it should last for many thousands of miles, essentially forever. Definitely $$ well spent. That's exactly the kind of repairs you should be making to ensure you don't get stranded somewhere in the back of beyond at O'Dark Thirty.

Congrats on finding your long term solution and in the process having located a local shop who may become a good resource for any future issues that will arise. I can bet they really enjoy the chance to work on something as finely designed and crafted as the Crown. Most mechanics in my experience have always appreciated the many hidden benefits of Crowns' high-end engineering expertise and production values. Easy to diagnose and fix is the usual reaction.

If you end up down here in the SoCal desert regions be sure to give me a call and a heads up and I'll try to meet up with you. Good Job.

 

[Mr P]

Are you familiar with clutch adjustments with your (presumably) pull type clutch? Do you know to grease the throwout bearing periodically? I'm a novis to all that, but as of my semi trans swap I've asked lots of questions and compared lots of videos....gotta get the adjustment right from the git-go, and keep it that way over the years.

 

[Tejon7]

After the initial shop I went to messed up my clutch adjustment, I had to become intimately familiar with all of that!