Ball stud clutch cross shaft 65

[Jerry G.]

I am now installing the clutch cross shaft and I'm having a problem getting the ball stud to go back into the shaft. It's the one on the frame side not the engine side. It looks like there is a chamfer on the inside of the shaft. There appears to be a portion that is high interference and then it looks like it will be retained by this decreased cross section. Is it supposed to be difficult to get this ball back into the shaft? I have heated the shaft and cooled the ball, but still no go. Do I just bubba it and give it a wack? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Jerry

[Joe L.]

Re: Ball stud clutch cross shaft 65

Jerry------

The ball stud should not be that difficult of a fit into the tube section of the lever assembly. The outer portion of the ball stud assembly consists of several elements. There are 2 nylon seats, 1 ball stud, and 1 spring retainer. These are as follows:

seat----GM #3743349---2 required

ball stud----GM #3898610----1 required

spring retainer-----GM #3750696----1 required

The order of assembly is as follows: insert 1 seat with rounded side out; insert ball stud; insert 1 seat with rounded side in; insert spring retainer so that it fits into the groove. That's it.

Be sure to inspect your lever assembly for cracks in the tube section on the outer (ball stud) end. Sometimes, these crack at this point. Any sort of crack renders the assembly scrap, in my opinion. I would never attempt to weld or otherwise repair one of these unless a replacement was not available. Reproductions of all of the crossshaft assemblies are available.

[Jerry G.]

Re: Ball stud clutch cross shaft 65

Thanks Joe. I would guess that the lever has been weld repaired at some point.This is probably where the problen is coming from. I inspected for cracks and didn't find any. So I put the new ball stud in my lathe and use a file to reduce the OD just a few thousands until it would slid in. Every old Vette has its unique history doesn't it. Jerry