TheSamba.com :: View topic - crossarm shaft

Mon Mar 31, 2008 11:32 am

Hi - I'm about to place an order for new clutch components. I want to change the crossarm shaft while I'm in there. Has anyone had any bad experiences using Van-cafe's aftermarket unit ($32.50) vs oem at over $100?

This is for a syncro that is getting a 2.5 subie and Luk clutch.
Thanks!

Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:07 pm

I recall seeing pics on line where the arm (where TO bearing mounts) on an after market cross shaft broke. Why exactly I don't know, but the jist of the posting was that the aftermarket cheaper ones may fail early. Possibly with icky consequences. Not dissing any vendors, just reporting what I saw.

When I rebuilt my clutch housing, I bought the $$ "OEM" and have never looked back.

Just my .02

Neil.

Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:46 pm

Thanks Neil. I was rather hoping for some affirmation that the aftermarket shaft was ok, but decided to take your advice and go with oem. i guess an extra $75 in that grand scheme of things is a drop in the bucket. Thanks for your response!
Steve

Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:03 pm

You're welcome.

Are you rebuilding the clutch housing?

Either way, make sure you grease the bushing in the "blind hole" end of cross shaft, well. After you're done, it likely won't see the light of day for some time.

Neil.

Sat Jul 26, 2008 11:49 am

Vanagon Nut wrote: You're welcome.

Are you rebuilding the clutch housing?

Either way, make sure you grease the bushing in the "blind hole" end of cross shaft, well. After you're done, it likely won't see the light of day for some time.

Neil.

1) What kind of grease is recommended for the cross shaft? Same moly stuff as for CV joints?

2) Is it safe to assume that you want to grease both sides of the shaft, at the "blind hole" and where it passes through the side?

3) Any tips for replacing the shaft?

Sat Jul 26, 2008 12:38 pm

Rhinoculips wrote: Vanagon Nut wrote:

Either way, make sure you grease the bushing in the "blind hole" end of cross shaft, well. After you're done, it likely won't see the light of day for some time.

Neil.

1) What kind of grease is recommended for the cross shaft? Same moly stuff as for CV joints?

2) Is it safe to assume that you want to grease both sides of the shaft, at the "blind hole" and where it passes through the side?

3) Any tips for replacing the shaft?

I'm not sure what kind is recommended, but I used CV moly.

Removing the clutch operating arm may be hard. I saw an actual mechanic use his impact wrench to "shock" one off a spare clutch housing. One might use a chisel. Just be careful not to "rivet" it on. I tried sneaking the chisel onto the side of the lever at pivot point, and hammer it off, but no go. I ended up cutting the whole mess. (I was replacing all the parts) Your's might come off easily. Bear in mind that the driver side bushing is plastic. I'm not certain, but hammering the s**t out of the clutch operating lever may damage the bushing. But that won't matter much if you're replacing it. IIRC, the plastic bushing/rubber bits weren't too $$.

With the lever off, slide the shaft toward driver side, blind hole end comes out, then shaft comes out from driver side.

Cheers,

Neil.

Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:06 pm

Rhinoculips wrote:
1) What kind of grease is recommended for the cross shaft? Same moly stuff as for CV joints?

High temp bearing grease is what i have always used.

Rhinoculips wrote: 2) Is it safe to assume that you want to grease both sides of the shaft, at the "blind hole" and where it passes through the side?

Yep, grease both sides.

Rhinoculips wrote: 3) Any tips for replacing the shaft?

Installation is really quite simple except for two things. One is that the clutch lever can really be seized onto the release shaft. If yours is really tight, heat and a small puller are the tools of the day. Be sure that you have a new plastic bushing on hand as too much heat will melt it. It's a good idea to replace it anyway since the plastic gets brittle and the rubber seals deteriorate with age. The only other problem area isn't so much of a problem, it's just a matter of being accurate. The hole in the bushing must line up perfectly with the pivot bolt hole or the shaft will be ultra hard to pivot when the bolt is tightened. The shaft should move very free nad easy in the bushing once everything is in place.

A tip for removal of the old release shaft bushing: Leave the inboard circlip in place while removing the release shaft. Using a light hammer striking as close to the shaft as possible, avoiding hitting the clutch forks any distance from the shaft, use the inner circlip to help drive the old bushing out of the bore in the bellhousing.

Oh, and don't forget to install the inboard circlip, washer and rubber bushing before installing the release shaft back into the bellhousing. It helps to slide the circlip/washer/seal down toward the clutch forks until the shaft is in place, then slide them back into place once the shaft is seated into the passenger side bushing bore.

Sat Jul 26, 2008 2:42 pm

>1) What kind of grease is recommended for the cross shaft? Same moly >stuff as for CV joints?

I used the moly stuff for CVs

>2) Is it safe to assume that you want to grease both sides of the shaft, at >the "blind hole" and where it passes through the side?

that's what I did
3) Any tips for replacing the shaft?

Getting the old shaft out was a beeatch on mine. Well really it was getting the clutch lever off that was a pain. Tried heat, Kroil, a bit of force. No go. Ended up cutting the shaft with a sawzall to get it out. Took about 1 minute and 1 blade. After that I was able to get the part of the shaft with the clutch lever still on it and was able to punch it out with a big drift.