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SM465 hydraulic clutch

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beej.johnson

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This is my first thread here and I am excited for many hours of learning and helping others with this great site and a great and an awesome hobby like wheeling in our rigs. So thanks for reading this and helping me out. If this has already been posted before sorry for not having enough time to read through the pages in The Garage. I got through 40 pages before I figured I would take the chance of getting yelled at for repeat posting, so here goes.

I have a 1980 Blazer that originally had a 350/350/205. The previous owners swapped in a 454/SM465/NP208 and made it a hydraulic clutch. However the hydraulic unit was not from the original donor truck that supplied the 14 bolt, Dana 44 and 454/SM465/NP208. Because the clutch is not from the original donor, the clutch is not functioning correctly now and the transmission does not fully engage.

With that being said now I am wanting to know if I can just get a hydraulic setup including the pedals from a, say '85 to a '87 1-ton K20 or K30 and bolt them in and call it good or do I have to lengthen the plunger rods on both the slave and master cylinder?

Again thank you all for helping me to get my Blazer up and running.
 
beej.johnson said:
This is my first thread here and I am excited for many hours of learning and helping others with this great site and a great and an awesome hobby like wheeling in our rigs. So thanks for reading this and helping me out. If this has already been posted before sorry for not having enough time to read through the pages in The Garage. I got through 40 pages before I figured I would take the chance of getting yelled at for repeat posting, so here goes.

I have a 1980 Blazer that originally had a 350/350/205. The previous owners swapped in a 454/SM465/NP208 and made it a hydraulic clutch. However the hydraulic unit was not from the original donor truck that supplied the 14 bolt, Dana 44 and 454/SM465/NP208. Because the clutch is not from the original donor, the clutch is not functioning correctly now and the transmission does not fully engage.

With that being said now I am wanting to know if I can just get a hydraulic setup including the pedals from a, say '85 to a '87 1-ton K20 or K30 and bolt them in and call it good or do I have to lengthen the plunger rods on both the slave and master cylinder?

Again thank you all for helping me to get my Blazer up and running.
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Do you know if the clutch was working first and then got bad or didn't work from the get go?
I know a lot of people that retrofit hydro clutches end up having to fine tune the setup till it works right, sometimes modifying the length of the rod, sometimes moving the pivot point on the pedal to give more travel.
I can only give you hints, unless I have the setup in front of me and can see what is happening.
 
I just got it home and finally got a chance to really look things over and I found that the clutch fork is welded and more then likely is not at the correct angle for the bell housing. So I will be hitting the parts store and getting my hands on a new clutch fork. I will post the results once I get it in.
 
something else to consider is if it is blead right..

i took a full setup from a 1987 fullsize jimmy.. and put in my pickup.... and it was a pita to bleed.. but once done... was great....
 
i wanna do a hydraulic setup on my 465 , and ur saying all i need to get is 1 ton hydro stuff for my year and it should go on with no kinks? thanks for the insight
 
couch said:
i wanna do a hydraulic setup on my 465 , and ur saying all i need to get is 1 ton hydro stuff for my year and it should go on with no kinks? thanks for the insight
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The hydro stuff dosen't need to be from a 1ton. In fact I believe K30's (and C's for that matter) all swithced to hydro clutches the same year as the lighter rigs.

If you have a mechanical now...geting the pedals, master/slave/hose, and bellhousing will make it a remove and replace job. You can convert a mechanical to hydro with a few mods...if you do a search you should find tons of info. I think there may even be a recent thread on it....something about the Novak conversion kits. I know it's somewhere on the first two pages.

I feel that a properly set up and adjusted mech. clutch is just as good (and for my application) better than a hydro setup. The biggest problems most people have with them is the body moving around on the frame, causing the adjustment to go out of whack. That and the piviot points being wornout from years of use. I welded the holes closed on mine and drilled new ones. My body donesn't move around either. Keep it greased and it's one of the best felling pedals I have ever used.


Edit: The Mech vs Hydro debate has gone on for awhile....search and you'll find lots of info/views either way on it.
 
thanks toomany , you seem to be pretty insightful on alot of this, this is my first 4wd build. ive done nothing but 1/4 mile for years and got the wild hair (bunch of free parts) lol i just got a job at napa so finding all the hydro stuff should make it easy. the reason i wanna do this is im using a 2wd auto cab and i think this will be easier. i have the pedal and such already, just need the clutch goodies
 
couch said:
thanks toomany , you seem to be pretty insightful on alot of this, this is my first 4wd build. ive done nothing but 1/4 mile for years and got the wild hair (bunch of free parts) lol i just got a job at napa so finding all the hydro stuff should make it easy. the reason i wanna do this is im using a 2wd auto cab and i think this will be easier. i have the pedal and such already, just need the clutch goodies
Click to expand...

I know a little bit, but there are a bunch more people on here who know a ton more than me. If you spring for the membership you won't regret it. I'm a 1/4 mile guy at heart too. I've got 3 Camaro projects going. Well one is supposed to be done...but they never stay that way for long. :haha:
 
ill spring for the membership soon. probably tomorrow.lol and yeah as far as drag cars go, they never get completed just get to a point to hold you over till the next upgrade or repair. never had a car,all mine are trucks, nothing crazy fast, slowest runs low 12's, fastest( should be) is still being build, but anyways thats another forum.
 
ok well ive since became a member..its a whole lot better being able to see pictures and everything now.back onto the hydraulic setup. i need to find a bell housing pn# 15530202.and im told that i have to run an 11'' clutch,so does that leave the old 3 finger 1976' clutch outta the question?and where is a good place to find this bellhousing for less than $250.or can i modify my existing one to accept the slave cylinder,im sure its been done,just looking for help
 
that post gave me the heads up on what to look for when i get to the step,but im nowhere near bleeding the system. just need to find out what hydraulic parts are easiest to put into a 67 cab
 
You can check my build thread for what i did, and I think Burt4x4 and a few others (Maybe Yukon Jack? have a hydro setup.
 
yukon jacks got a page about putting all the hydro stuff out of an 89 1 ton,making a shim for the master cylinder and all, but none of his pics are working. now if i buy a hydro bellhousing and fork,will i be able to use my 3 finger or do i have to run the diaphragm style?


***edit***
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211863&highlight=hydraulic+clutch

i found this page which is very helpful as far as using a non hydro bellhousing and making a mount for the slave, but my existing mechanical housing is cracked to hell and back, so should i just spring for the hydro housing or find a mechanical housing and make some mounts for the slave? man i have way to many questions,sorry guys
 
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I'm not sure of the details on what works with the 3-finger stuff, but the new bellhousings seem to work best with the diaphram style.
 
ok so im probably gonna get a hydro housing and fork,so i might as well get the clutch to go with it. the guy want $150 bucks for the housing and fork and i can get the clutch kit for 75$, this swap is gonna cost me more than i originally planned, but should be worth it.
 
if you read and saw pics in my thread you would see why 3 finger dont work with hydro stuff from factory.


and hyrdo is worth it in my opinion in the end. same feel on the pedel every time and no adjustments needed over time.
 
im gonna get the bell housing and fork right now,i couldnt get the pics on ur page to load up, but i went back and re read it and see that ill have to exchange my 3 finger i just bought for a newer hydro/ diaphragm clutch.no biggie its all new and still in the box. so u also said the a 90 and newer master would be easier to mount on the firewall because of the angle it mounts at right?
 
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