66 clutch cross shaft

[Joe T.]

while driving my 66/327 yesterday the clutch cross shaft broke at the spot where the clutch pedal side meets the shaft, i was stuck on the side of the road but was able to get it off and welded at a local welder who said he got a good weld, questions are-is this a common occurence, would it be ok to stick with the welded repair or should i buy a new one(cross shaft), how much grease do i need to put in the shaft, thanks from a novice

[Jim T.]

Re: 66 clutch cross shaft

Joe to answer common occurence, my 68 still has the original clutch shaft with no failures since new and its only a couple years older than yours with 95K original miles.

[Bill Stephenson]

Re: 66 clutch cross shaft

--------You may have found a good welder,but maybe not.I would go with a new one,and inspect it carefully before installation.Also check both the upper and lower rods for wear on the ends.I dont think this is a common ocurrence.Over the years I havent seen or heard of but one clutch cross shaft failing where you describe.An early racing career could hasten the cross shafts demise,though.As far as the grease goes,dont overdo it .A decent amount used on either end is enough.Others will chime in here,Im sure,but I have never put grease in thru the grease fitting on a cross shaft............Bill S

[Joe L.]

Re: 66 clutch cross shaft

Joe-----

It's not what I'd call a common occurence, but it does happen. I had it happen once-upon-a-time to a 1966 Chevelle SS 396 I purchased new in 1966. The Chevelle uses a similar cross shaft to the Corvette.

What happens with these things is that the metal gets fatigued from the constant pressure of clutch engagements and disengagements. Mine failed by the arm braking off at the weld and taking a piece of the tubular member with it.

I would consider a re-weld to be only a temporary repair to "get you home". I'd recommend puchasing a NEW cross shaft. The GM piece for your car is discontinued, but these are available in reproduction and the reproductions I've seen look to be as good as the originals.

Make usre that you get the CORRECT cross shaft for your car, though. There were THREE of these things used over the 63-67 period and all look VERY similar. There are only very subtle differences in the angular relationship of the arms. You need the reproduction equivalent of the GM #3832857 which was used for 1963 to 1966 small blocks.

As far as greasing is concerned, what's important is that the ball studs on either end have grease available to them. By filling the cross shaft with grease at the lube hole, you ensure this.

[Joe T.]

Re: 66 clutch cross shaft

thank you, i think i'll order a new one in the am

[Gary B.]

66 clutch cross shafts; which one is correct?

Joe,

What are the differences between clutch cross shaft 3832857 and 3888279? Somehow I thought that the latter was correct for my late build date '66 SB. Is this incorrect and I should be looking for the former?

Gary

[Joe L.]

Re: 66 clutch cross shafts; which one is correct?

Gary-----

GM #3888279 is correct for a later 1966 small block. The difference between the 2 cross shafts is only a very slight difference in the angular relationship between the 2 lever arms.

[Gary B.]

Re: 66 clutch cross shafts; follow-up

Joe,

Would either function on a late '66? Or would the 63-early 66 part simply not work correctly on a late 66 SB?

Gary

[Joe L.]

Re: 66 clutch cross shafts; follow-up

Gary----

Either would work as long as the appropriate clutch fork push rod was also used. The GM #3832857 lever assembly requires push rod GM #3844209 which is 10-9/16" long. The GM #3888279 lever assembly requires push rod GM #3872960 which is 8-37/64" long.

[brad dworsky]

Re: 66 clutch cross shafts; follow-up

The exact same thing happened to me about two years ago on my 66 BB. I had to make a quick repair with the companys welder to leave our parking lot. Not much fun trying to reinstall this part. After reading the responses I guess I should replace it before it happens again. Any tips on making installation easier?

[Joe L.]

Re: 66 clutch cross shafts; follow-up

brad-----

I don't understand why you had much difficulty installing the cross shaft; it's pretty straight-forward.

[Joe T.]

Re: 66 clutch cross shafts; follow-up

i just replaced the cross shaft that broke last week, i had to do it twice because the first time i hadn't ordered the plastic seat for the ball or the felt, when the thing broke i didn't have much for tolls and it took about 45 minutes, the second time one half hour, last night i finally did it correctly in about 20 minutes, i guess you can teach an old dog new tricks, the only tip i would give is get the new seals, retainers, felt before you mess around, they're inexpensive from li corvette and will likely need to be replaced anyway, my clutch is much smoother now and doesn't make any noise, i installed the anti rattle springs also, now the car doesn't rattle quite so much, i usually keep my golf clubs in the car so i can blame all the rattles on them instead ofcar parts, later, joe