radius rod bolt trouble...very odd

[braol]

So...I'm doing the clutch and am now at the point of loosening the radius rod socket...when I ran into THIS: Although the radius rod pin is intact one of the bolts just spins when trying to remove the nut on the bottom. It is if the head of the bolt is sheared and, therefore, not engaging the bolt head...the nut and bolt just spin in place. What to do????

[Bob C]

More likely the clutch housing is worn and the bolt head has dropped below the
retaining pin.


Bob

[Brentwood Bob]

May get ugly. I would look for a replacement bell housing and all that entails. Since you are this far do it right
Tom Endy has a write-up for rebuilding the bell housing.
Access it thru the Santa Anita A's web site, or search under Tom Endy.

[Bob Bidonde]

Before you panic, try splitting the nut.


The two bolts are secured from spinning by a single pin. It is possible the pin has failed enabling the bolt to spin. If this is the case, you can pull out the broken pin, insert a drift pin into the pin hole and stop the bolt from spinning.

[29leatherbackA]

When I did mine, I was able to hold the bolts steady with a punch held in the hole where the pin goes. It was a pain, but it worked. I got an all new original style mount, as someone had put in the rubber ball contraption and had secured the radius rod to the tranny with a ratchet strap. Needless to say the car wandered a bit. I put some washers under the head of the new bolts so that they would engage the pin upon reassembly. Not a fun job, but worth it. Probably easier if you’re taking the bell housing off the car. Good luck.

[midgetracer]

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often the radius rod bolts wear into the bell housing and fall below the pin that keeps them from turning. Sometimes putting upward pressure on the bolts will realign them with the pin and hold the bolt from turning.

[J Franklin]

You can pull the pin out and reinstall it at an angle through the opposite side to grab the ears on the bolt. Don't replace the housing unless it can not be repaired with a couple of washers to raise the bolt.

[Synchro909]

I've had that problem too - the bolt heads has worn their way into the bell housing. I was able to get the nuts off by holding the bottom end of the bolts, then pushing upwards. Not easy but with perseverance, I got it done. I made new bolts with a higher head before I put it back together. I considered tapping the hole in the housing and making a stud to hold the cups etc.

[Brentwood Bob]

Let us know which way you decide to go.

[braol]

Well, I got the nut off. I used a vise-grip on the protruding end of the bolt and once I got it loose it came apart pretty easy.

I do, in fact, have the silly rubber insert 'update' on the car. That will go into the dust-bin of history. Bratton's part number 4630 is now in my cart (with a new felt pad to boot). I'm now up to $230 in my cart and growing...


I am SO glad the radius ball cup is now apart. Tomorrow I'll crack the nuts on the bellhousing and get that off. Then I can inspect everything and edit my shopping cart and then spring for all the clutch parts. I still need to get the u-joint off and cleaned so I can see if it is good. So far no play in the joint, but I want to make sure there are no cracks in the assembly. Luckily the prior owner kept the joint very liberally greased up.


Thanks for all the tips everybody!