Clutch fork ball peoblems

[raser13]

Hey guys I have what I hope is an easy one for you. I'm ditching my Chevy 350 for an AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l . To do so I'm having to swap out the bell housing. The one I got was missing the fork ball. Normal problem from what I understand it happens all the time. Probably worked it's way out during shipping. But anywho, I saw that most just replace it with a ball bering and weld that puppy to the bell housing. Problem. Mine is aluminium. So no welding it to it. I looked at the fork. Where the ball goes the hole is oblonged. Does it need to be able to move around on the fork? Or can I weld it to the fork instead? If not any ideas on how I keep it in place? Thanks guys.

 

[Torxhead]

When I installed a new clutch a while back, I used grease to hold that ball in during installation. If you say that the ball socket in the bell housing is worn out, then maybe another bell housing should be used. Come to think of it, mine is probably in pretty bad shape also.

 

[Bent]

You can't weld it to the fork because the fork needs to slide down the ball a little bit. They do tend to fall out when the socket gets warn a little. Its an easy fix though. Take the ball and the bellhousing to a welding shop. They will clamp the ball in the socket and use a tig welder to build up the socket around the ball. Aluminum won't stick to steel so the ball will pop right out. My local shop made the repair in exchange for a six pack, but I had already cleaned the bellhousing around the the ball socket.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Hey guys I have what I hope is an easy one for you. I'm ditching my Chevy 350 for an AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l .

:ty: