OK so I had a 1980 junker truck that I fixed some and then sold to afford a different project (which I intend to sell at a substantial profit - a Jeep Cherokee diesel).

However I realized what a pain in the rear it is to be without a pickup truck so I was hunting through Craigslist and found a 1980 that was described as "hideous". 200 bucks plus about 50 in some tuneup parts and I drove it from Sedona to Flagstaff without a hitch.

The big concern is the major noise the transmission makes. It really makes a rattly noise when the clutch is released in neutral, and when the truck is decelerating down a hill with no brakes. There is no sign of the sound under acceleration in any gear. The noise will consistently go away when the clutch is depressed and return when the clutch is engaged.

Now I'm thinking (hoping?) the clutch release bearing and/or pilot bushing is the culprit. I bought a clutch kit to give it a shot. I am wondering if anybody can speculate if there is anything else that can be relatively easily inspected when I'm in there without totally tearing down the transmission. I am not deliberately trying to mess around on this job - I simply do not have a shop to work in and I am not confident in my ability to maintain a sufficiently clean environment for a transmission rebuild.


Now why sink money into this truck? Well say for round purposes after clutch I know I'm into this truck for about 350 total. The engine runs really strong and quiet. There are some interior issues that need to be addressed for safety, and a few minor wiring glitches. The suspension tentatively appears quite solid. If the transmission doesn't requrie a complete overhaul I anticipate the mechanical and safety related repairs on the truck to total no more than 500 bucks. In fact it should be quite a bit less than that. To be round that means have a really good useful working truck for around 900 bucks which is hard to come by and actually quite fair if you ask me.

 

Could be transmission or transfercase bearings, or pinion bearings. I guess check if there's play in the driveshaft- how much rotation, up & down or side to side movement at where it connects to the t-case and rear diff. If the clutch doesn't do it, start looking at those. Hopefully it's not bearings.

Nice find! I like the craigslist description.

 

It's 2wd but yeah I plan on inspecting the axle bearings, Ujoints and all that stuff is always a good idea. I was trying to grope for info on whether or not the input bearing is easy or even possible to do without transmission disassembly.

The fact that the transmission only makes the sound I mentioned with the clutch out, and the chattery nature of the sound really makes me think the release bearing is shot. The rest of the clutch is probably fine in fact based on how it feels...

Well it's 28 degrees now. I'm going to start getting my tools rounded up from the storage unit. Hopefully I don't get any big interruptions so I can get this bad boy done with.