The Ford Barn

Doug 845 · 09-08-2018, 08:56 AM

I want to grease the throwout bearing on my V8. The grease cup is easily accessible on top of the bellhousing. Per my shop manual's instruction - "The cup should be screwed in as far as it will go, then backed off and repacked with a good grade of pressure gun lubricant and replaced, screwing it in 2 1/2 to 3 turns." Is this all I do? Should I remove the entire grease cup first - clean & repack with fresh grease before I do the above procedure?

DavidG · 09-08-2018, 09:39 AM

Unless your '33 is a very low mileage original, it is unlikely to still have a throwout bearing that requires grease. Ford adopted permanently-lubricated throwout bearings in the '35 model year and never looked back. One reason for doing so was the result of over lubrication of the bearing with the result of grease getting on the clutch disc and ruining it. Another reason was that few bothered with doing what you want to do which led to eventual bearing failure.

Doug 845 · 09-09-2018, 05:52 AM

Thanks David. Both 33's I own are low mileage. The problem is I believe the engines were rebuilt at least once in their life. I really don't know. If I take the inspection plate cover off under the cup, can I tell if the bearing was replaced with a permanently lubricated one by looking at it?

DavidG · 09-09-2018, 06:42 AM

Unfortunately, unless the sliding carrier of the bearing has no hole in it for the grease line and therefore the grease line is unattached at the bearing end or was removed, visually the exterior appearance of the new and old style bearings are pretty much identical.

Doug 845 · 09-09-2018, 03:34 PM

I figured I would check to see if the grease cup was still attached to the hose. I took out the two screws holding the inspection plate and realized the hose was still attached to the grease cup when I tried to remove the plate for a look. I didn't want to exert to much pressure in trying to pry the plate off. There seemed to be resistance holding the plate in place. If the bearing was replaced with a permanent one, what reason would someone leave the hose attached?

DavidG · 09-09-2018, 08:51 PM

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If the hose is still attached, that suggests two possibilities. As the bearing cannot be replaced without removing the bearing carrier from the transmission, which requires detaching the hose, it could have been reattached out of ignorance as it was no longer needed or the bearing is the original and has not been replaced.

09-08-2018, 08:56 AM	#1
Doug 845 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Fishkill, NY Posts: 178	1933 Clutch Release Bearing Lubrication I want to grease the throwout bearing on my V8. The grease cup is easily accessible on top of the bellhousing. Per my shop manual's instruction - "The cup should be screwed in as far as it will go, then backed off and repacked with a good grade of pressure gun lubricant and replaced, screwing it in 2 1/2 to 3 turns." Is this all I do? Should I remove the entire grease cup first - clean & repack with fresh grease before I do the above procedure?

09-08-2018, 09:39 AM	#2
DavidG Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: southeastern Michigan Posts: 10,101	Re: 1933 Clutch Release Bearing Lubrication Unless your '33 is a very low mileage original, it is unlikely to still have a throwout bearing that requires grease. Ford adopted permanently-lubricated throwout bearings in the '35 model year and never looked back. One reason for doing so was the result of over lubrication of the bearing with the result of grease getting on the clutch disc and ruining it. Another reason was that few bothered with doing what you want to do which led to eventual bearing failure.

09-09-2018, 05:52 AM	#3
Doug 845 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Fishkill, NY Posts: 178	Re: 1933 Clutch Release Bearing Lubrication Thanks David. Both 33's I own are low mileage. The problem is I believe the engines were rebuilt at least once in their life. I really don't know. If I take the inspection plate cover off under the cup, can I tell if the bearing was replaced with a permanently lubricated one by looking at it?

09-09-2018, 06:42 AM	#4
DavidG Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: southeastern Michigan Posts: 10,101	Re: 1933 Clutch Release Bearing Lubrication Unfortunately, unless the sliding carrier of the bearing has no hole in it for the grease line and therefore the grease line is unattached at the bearing end or was removed, visually the exterior appearance of the new and old style bearings are pretty much identical.

09-09-2018, 03:34 PM	#5
Doug 845 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Fishkill, NY Posts: 178	Re: 1933 Clutch Release Bearing Lubrication I figured I would check to see if the grease cup was still attached to the hose. I took out the two screws holding the inspection plate and realized the hose was still attached to the grease cup when I tried to remove the plate for a look. I didn't want to exert to much pressure in trying to pry the plate off. There seemed to be resistance holding the plate in place. If the bearing was replaced with a permanent one, what reason would someone leave the hose attached?

09-09-2018, 08:51 PM	#6
DavidG Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: southeastern Michigan Posts: 10,101	Re: 1933 Clutch Release Bearing Lubrication Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) If the hose is still attached, that suggests two possibilities. As the bearing cannot be replaced without removing the bearing carrier from the transmission, which requires detaching the hose, it could have been reattached out of ignorance as it was no longer needed or the bearing is the original and has not been replaced.