LUVTruck.com

I have a 1978 Luv, long bed, original 4 speed that I took apart a long long time ago, 8 to 10 years I forget.

I just had the engine rebuilt and have had a challenging time putting some things together. Back when I bought the truck, I bought a 5 spd trans out of a 1983 or 1984 Isuzu pup.

I'm now just trying to put the truck together, installed the engine and had a rough time with the transmission. I bought a clutch kit which included the throwout bearing. I looked at both the 1978 4 spd tranny and the 5 spd and they looked the same. I went to a transmission repair place so they could press the bearing onto the slave portion. After installing the trans, I pulled, with my hand, the clutch fork and it doesn't look like it's engaging. I can see the bearing moving back and forth but as soon as it gets to the pressure plate, it's at the end.

I've researched to see if anyone had a similar issue but didn't find anything. Anyone have any ideas?

20 years ago I did this swap on a similar truck with the same transmission and I want to remember that I changed out the fork pivot. I'm not 100% sure l, it's been a long time. I changed something in there, put it back together and it worked.

I used a 1978 Luv Clutch Kit. Also used the '78 flywheel.

Gas P'ups didn't come with a 5sp until '86, maybe you have the year wrong or have one from a car? Or a diesel? Or both? If the tranny came from a vehicle with the 1.9 engine it uses a different clutch/flywheel/TOB than a 1.8 engine. You may have to use the clutch arm & TOB from the tranny to get it to work with the LUV clutch.
Explain the "pressing the bearing on the slave portion", the LUV TOB fastens to the clutch arm with a couple of spring clips. Is your new tranny hydraulic rather than cable clutch?

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'78 Chevy LUV,1.9,4sp,headers,31's,SAS Dana 30,Dana 20,SOA rear w/Aussie Locker, rough body, bought new 12/4/78.
'87 Trooper,2.3,5sp,headers,31's,ball joint flip & spacer,Aussie Locker rear,Superwinch hubs,brush guard w/5.5K winch,more to come.

Exactly my question, too.

Jack

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'83 Isuzu P'up Diesel LS - Original Owner
JoeIsuzu@IsuzuPup.com
IsuzuPup.com

Cable. Maybe the year is wrong, that's what I remeber, it's been so long. I used the original fork, throw out bearing attached to the 5 spd trans. I just pressed a new bearing onto it. And you're right, the part I call the slave portion is the clutch arm with the clips on it. I compared those pieces to the one on my 4 spd and they look the same. I'm gonna have to take out the trans and do some measuring.

From what I see the fork needs to come forward, 2 to 3 inches to be right. If another flywheel, clutch, pressure plate moves the throw out bearing forward that distance, that is the fix.

Look at a release bearing for a 2.3 gas engine, see if it is longer & will activate the clutch, that's the engine your tranny would have been bolted to. The clutch would have been the same 8.5" used with the 2.3, the 1.9, the C223 diesel and '80-'82 1.8 4x4 only. Your LUV has a 8" clutch, to upgrade to the 8.5" you need a 1.9 or '80-'82 4x4 flywheel.

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'78 Chevy LUV,1.9,4sp,headers,31's,SAS Dana 30,Dana 20,SOA rear w/Aussie Locker, rough body, bought new 12/4/78.
'87 Trooper,2.3,5sp,headers,31's,ball joint flip & spacer,Aussie Locker rear,Superwinch hubs,brush guard w/5.5K winch,more to come.

Ok, I'll take a look. Bearing with fork arm or would the arm be the same? So as far as the clutch goes, I should be able to use the stock 78? I also got the flywheel with the transmission and the are the same size as the 78 Luv. I don't know that I could fit any larger flywheel even if I wanted to, there is no more room in there.

I took out the trans, it got stuck on me so it took me all day. Tomorrow I will take a look at it to see what the difference is. Thank you for your help.

Look closely at the flywheel you got with the tranny, if it has 8 flywheel-to-crankshaft bolts it's not for a 1.8/1.9 engine. A 1.8/1.9 uses 6 bolts. The 1.8/1.9 flywheels are the same diameter the difference is in the bolt pattern that holds the pressure plate to the flywheel, 8.5" clutches have a larger pattern for the larger diameter disc.
If you have both the original 4sp and the new 5sp with the original clutch arm installed for each this is what I would do:
-measure from a straightedge across the bellousing mating surface to the contact face of the release bearing at both the forward & backwards positions. Then see if a longer release bearing on the 5sp arm will match the distances on the 4sp. I THINK the 2.3 release bearing is longer & different than the 1.8 bearing, but it's been way too long since I did anything to a tranny.
Have you counted the tailshaft splines on your new 5sp? This will indicate whether it's a early or late version, then you'll better know what parts to look for. The late trannies have something like 23 splines, your LUV has about 17, so if you do have a late tranny you'll also need the correct slip yoke to mate to your LUV driveshaft.
Once you better determine which tranny you have and if the longer release bearing still won't work I suggest you PM IzusuPup.com member JLEMOND for advice/assistance. If you want to upgrade to the 8.5" clutch he also has the correct 6-bolt flywheels in case you can't access one elsewhere(new ones listed with ALL parts suppliers are 8-bolt & will not work).

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'78 Chevy LUV,1.9,4sp,headers,31's,SAS Dana 30,Dana 20,SOA rear w/Aussie Locker, rough body, bought new 12/4/78.
'87 Trooper,2.3,5sp,headers,31's,ball joint flip & spacer,Aussie Locker rear,Superwinch hubs,brush guard w/5.5K winch,more to come.

All measurements look the same to me. I believe the 4 spd spline count was 10 and the 5 speed was 18.

I broke a couple of pressure plate bolts on the flywheel, fixed one. When I took out the clutch/flywheel, the pilot bearing fell out.

Trans

Trans

Trans

A few questions.

1. Are you sure the clutch plate was installed correctly

2. Are you sure the throw out bearing was installed correctly on the fork, was the tangs on the correct side

3. Was the clutch cable and all brackets installed correctly

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

I'm doubting myself about everything because everything looks the same as original.

I didn't pay attention as to the clutch plate and how that came out. I was looking at the loose pilot bearing which was a first for me.

The throw out bearing was installed like in the pictures. There are two small clips that attach the fork and arm/bearing that can only go one way.

The spring was hooked up to the fork on the exterior of the trans. I didn't install the clutch cable.

After installing the trans, I simply pulled on the fork, looked through the fork hole to see it work. I pulled on it from the start position, no contact, until it made contact - which was to the very end and there was no more room for further engagement.

When I say it made contact, the bearing just touched the fins on the pressure plate and then no more room to apply. I was expecting to have a hard time pulling the clutch or at least have some resistance but there was none. That's what made me look.

Been working on this long hours everyday for the past week and need to step back a bit. I've got another project that I've been preparing to install an engine/Trans. These projects are kicking my rear. My brother is coming tomorrow to take a look at everything for me.

Thanks for the questions, I know I'm missing something basic.

[quote I can see the bearing moving back and forth but as soon as it gets to the pressure plate, it's at the end.
][/quote]

Did you hook up the cable and try it? Was the fork at the end of its travel or just against the pressure plate springs?

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Three Amigos

Did you hook up the cable and try it? Was the fork at the end of its travel or just against the pressure plate springs?[/quote]

I did not hook it up to the cable. When I moved it, it was at the end of it's travel as soon as it made contact with the throw out bearing.

I'm not trying to be an ass but are you thinking you could work the clutch by hand?

After installing the trans, I just wanted to make sure the fork moved freely, and it moved too freely. Again, that's why I checked it and found not to be engaging properly.

When you say it was "at the end of it's travel" was the clutch arm actually hard against the opening in the tranny? Are the two clutch arms identical, they look to be in the pictures? Will the 4sp clutch arm swap to the 5sp or is the pivot ball in the wrong place? If the travel measurements are the same and the 4sp worked I'm not seeing where the 5sp won't also.
One thing to try, put the 4sp back in, move the clutch arm in the same manner & see if it also looks like it's not engaging. If not report back on how it's different.
BTW anyone know what his tranny might have come from? It's not a '86-on from the spline count but the starter is on the correct side & is cable clutch. I thought the Impulse trannies were all hydraulic. Will the I-Mark 1.8 diesel trannies also fit a gas engine?

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'78 Chevy LUV,1.9,4sp,headers,31's,SAS Dana 30,Dana 20,SOA rear w/Aussie Locker, rough body, bought new 12/4/78.
'87 Trooper,2.3,5sp,headers,31's,ball joint flip & spacer,Aussie Locker rear,Superwinch hubs,brush guard w/5.5K winch,more to come.

Yes, the fork hits the opening of the transmission. The clutch arms do swap between the 4spd and 5 spd, they are the same.

My brother looked at everything, said everything was the same and we began to install the 5 spd. As we put it on, there was about an inch and a half left before attaching to the trans to the engine completely. He looked into the fork hole and saw that the throwout bearing was not close to being where it should, 2+ inches out. His thoughts are, its the pressure plate. The pressure plate needs to be taller, we have the wrong one. I called numerous Autoparts store but no luck. Some places don't even have part numbers in order to order them.

I'd like to take a look at different pressure plates, impulse, pup, and Luv. The pressure plate I have measures about an inch and a half from bottom to top. I don't know what the others measure.

A seller on eBay has a pressure plate for a chevy Luv 1976 - 1981 for sale. I asked for the height size and he replied, 1 11/16.

I'll try to install the 4spd tomorrow.