Hydraulic Throwout Bearing Installation Mystery Explained! Ep.72

David Newbern filmed and edited this quick tech tip for setting up a hydraulic throwout bearing in a manual transmission. In the video I'm using an American Powertrain Hydramax bearing inside of my G Force G5R five-speed manual gearbox. These are the parts that I use in Blasphemi, my 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air. The procedure is pretty simple but I think it helps to see someone else do the job in addition to reading an instruction manual so here's a step-by-step video about the measuring portion of the job. Hope you like it!
If you'd like to buy any of the apparel you see in the video please visit: www.fsmgarage.com and help support this channel. As always, subscribe, hit that Like button and thanks for watching!
-Finnegan

[@repapeti98]

I really like how in his free time he carefully measures everything to a thousandth of an inch but ratchet straps a gas tank to the roof on Roadkill.

[@vanilakung7563]

gas tank on the roof is great for views

[@tbpc1]

Lmfao

[@rugger8787]

the engine doesn’t care were the tank

[@tserra6270]

Because Roadkill is on Motor Trend's wallet, this show's on his wallet

[@wobblysauce]

+

[@grape4pe]

Made it so easy a dummy like me understands how and why we need an air gap. Thanks.

[@georgemueh3273]

Lmao. I just watched Dave and Steve do this on RK garage. But you have a better teaching approach. Audio is getting better with every video. Awesome job

[@davidgoodrich1258]

Audio been fine in every video. Only spoiled millennials complain about audio on something they didn’t pay for.

[@georgemueh3273]

@@davidgoodrich1258 yea it was really a compliment not a complaint. Mike does a fine job with his videos and most importantly his wrenching on cars. If you watch older videos from Mike you would know he has struggled with his audio and has made great improvements. Besides it's his great skill of car and engine building that brings us here, not his video production.

[@LeonardoBruno54]

@@davidgoodrich1258 and the award to the most unnecessary comment goest to... YOU! Congratulations!

[@jonpardue]

This is the stuff worth knowing, and seeing it done right and explained in 5 minutes makes it time well invested.

[@pj3635]

im stoked, I did the exact same procedure when I installed a quartermaster bearing in my race car 10 years ago. I didnt have this great vid to go off, had to wing it.. the bit about air gap and why it was important made more sense coming from you.

[@naylorfamily3323]

Love your show an “obstream” amount! Keep up the good work. I always learn interesting tricks watching you.

[@millermike1988]

Get us some info on that race with Cleetus!!!???? Love ya bro and I love the McFarland family and it’s a amazing mix!!!

[@MacktasticSlick_]

Hopefully I can use this information someday, simple and straight forward teaching process, thank you!

[@SmokeDiver351]

I am currently working a contract job in Afghanistan and I miss home- which, coincidently, is where you now reside. Every time you show a clip of "The 4-Lane" I get excited. Love the channel. When I get home, I'll keep an eye out for Blasphemi and the rest of your stable.

[@FinnegansGarage]

Thanks for watching!

[@Medes06]

Just incredible. Thank you for giving me joy on my free time.

[@larney37]

I remember seeing this three years ago which is how I knew to look for it now that I am actually doing it. Super helpful! Thanks sir!

[@marccres6619]

Great video, glade you took the time to explain why and what for. It took me a lot of trial and error before I knew all this ,I like the mechanical what I grew up with. And with hydraulic ones you do not need a tree trunk for a leg to depress the clutch.

[@MrCedricgreene]

Excellent my brother. You were straight to the point and you actually taught me what I was trying to learn.

[@QuickSpeedShop]

Oh man, thanks for the tip Mike! I just took ownership of a custom 1940 Mercury 2 door sedan that has a hydraulic bearing on a T-10 hooked to a 350. The clutch has a few thousand miles on it and appears to slip a little. This will help with the diagnosis as maybe the fingers are touching the bearing now and not allowing the clutch to seat fully. FSM saves the day again!

[@pauladams1156]

So much to be learned from this guy. Know his stuff!

[@hi8803]

Super dope opening scene, love the tips too!

[@jasonnapier2408]

Mike, ur informative & fun to watch. Keep putting out awesome videos!

[@Rmx2011]

Rendering mishap? I'll still watch it :D

[@ShainAndrews]

Or the wrong aspect ratio was selected on the camera.

[@Rmx2011]

@@ShainAndrews Possible, but I doubt it.. The footage is in 16:9 but but the black bars make it 4:3.

[@treycurrieba]

Looks like some old VHS tapes that were converted over to digital than uploaded on youtube a lomg time ago lol.

[@johnwalker7153]

So your going up against Cletus can't wait love both your guy's videos.

[@JayLang7]

Love finnegan’s garage !

[@CamaroRick]

Simple steps a lot of people pass up the opportunity while its apart. Just knowing its set right helps a lot if any issues show up. Not saying Ive never slapped a clutch in but after having issues I do this every time. Ive made quite a few shims from various sheet metal to get it perfect.

[@jimmymorrison3973]

Must be a coincidence that Dave and Steve gave a similar tutorial on Roadkill Garage today. Good info dude!

[@zacharyperalta2184]

Thanks for the show happy fathers day, Fastlife

[@benncojr]

Goes to the saying "Measure twice, cut once" comes to play in cars. Hope you had a great father's day.

[@TravisTLK]

I cut it twice and it's still short.

[@HillbillyThangs]

Thanks fin! Great info, you saved me some headaches down the road!

[@vettekid3326]

It was a lot easier using the Z-bar setup. All you had to do was crawl under the car and adjust the threaded rod for full release and free travel.

[@balalaika7088]

that is why i didnt change my jeep over to a hydro one if it breaks on the sand dunes i can fix it

[@uglymechanics6599]

Good luck in any offroad situation. Any flex and your clutch wont release

[@jeffdonofri8027]

and less stuff to fail......

[@deankdx]

one of the best explanations of this type of CSC, we had all kinds of issues trying to set ours up, in the end determined that the master cyl bore was too small to get the full travel, to release fully. is there a method of checking the travel/release needed? this would be a great video to have on hand.(in our case the master was said to be a 1" bore, but was in fact only 7/8")

[@TrojanHorse1959]

Great video and Tech Tip, thank you!

[@mowler8042]

Thank you for putting this on KZbin

[@OhneEndeGuteLaune]

Nice addition knowledge to the newest Roadkill Garage where Freiburger installs the same thing on the Disgustang and even mentioned the gap ( just coincidence?). As always good video, loved Ep. 71 especally, the rolling shoebox as i call it is just a thing of beatuy. Greetings from Germany (this explains the bad english :)

[@robertjohnson514]

Love the opening scene love your car just all around love of Mike finnigan and just jealous of mr Mike

[@davetelling]

Nice explanation and video, Thanks!

[@19Clutch69]

Best explanation ever!!!

[@the_langss]

Thanks for the Video, Mike and Dave. Maybe I'll use a Hydraulic setup in my car next time.

[@TVmadethemdoit]

Its awesome to be here BEFORE this becomes a multi million sub channel ✌

[@jacklin694]

Awesome tips

[@Rudderify]

Thanks for the tips!

[@philmckanna5173]

I really enjoyed the high quality of sound on this video --- jab jab (sorry Mike) nice work 12V Dave

[@trunkmonkey9417]

I have the APT Hydramax on two of my cars. (set them to the highest end of the gap limit, for longer service as clutch wears) After initial set up, I scribed lines for the min/max of the air gap on the anti-rotation stud where the bearing housing travels, so I can see how much "within" limits is remaining. (as viewed through the clutch fork opening) I can check it each oil change with a flashlight. Once it gets "close enough" to "out of tolerance" from clutch wear, I can roll the transmission back on a floor jack, just enough to pull the bearing off the input shaft, remove a shim and roll the transmission back in place and drive on. So, I am not completely dropping the transmission, and I can do it all in under an hour.

[@drewgraff7748]

You should do video on measuring/centering the bellhousing!

[@2010Chevyman]

I’m definitely gonna be pulling this video up when I install a hydraulic throw out baring in my ‘68 Firebird

[@dannycurtis1744]

Your a clever guy MR Finnegan 👍,you could save people a lot of sleepless nights .

[@TheJumpn]

just seeing Blasphemi on the highway, sounding badass, instant like.

[@Chaden338]

Needed this rn. Was freaking out over how much air gap I needed for the TOB I'm installing on my LT1 T56. Had 31.10 mm. Didn't know how I was going to measure the bearing and trans side. Didn't wanna have to remove the bell housing off the engine.

[@teamluxeperformance]

fkn love you man, finally a decent explanation of this

[@rparker2824]

Thanks for the information. Any plans to align the steering wheel? 😉

[@ericheine2414]

That was great. My would a nice bellhousing you have.

[@taylornelson1311]

5 min that's all you give us eh! Throw us a mid week video your starving us! We need more! MORE!!

[@einzelmotorsport6711]

Great stuff but also explained in the manual of literally all racing clutches :)

[@heatonhigh]

love the tech tips... roadkill is knowing you are doing it wrong, but it is ok because you know. if only finnegan could afford a hi res camera....

[@NebukedNezzer]

good information. I grew up with cars going back to the 30s. setting the "free travel" on the clutch linkage was like adjusting brakes and greasing considered routine maintenance. I hope I never own a vehicle with a hydraulic throw out bearing that leaks fluid because of seals failing and everything needs to come apart. normal correct driving the clutch will last forever.

[@Robbiek147]

That tip literally just helped me and my buddy. Working all night to finally sit back and have beer just to say.. “f*** how many shims?” Sat for a while until his young guy was having a fit over the “video baby monitor”..( how did the dads do it before?) watched this laughed and said what are the freaking odds! The car was a 67 fire bird. It got hit head on by a suv. Everyone ended up making it home safe. We’re on day 13 of the full divetrain and interior swap into a clapped out 68 should be driving her by Friday!

[@FinnegansGarage]

glad you guys are having fun with your build.

[@stevehardy6125]

I'm thinking about a hydraulic throw out bearing because I have exhaust issues with the fork style. I've not wanted to do this because I'm not sure of myself on how this works. This video really made me not scared of it at all and I think I will go this route.

[@painmagnet1]

Hydraulics give a lot nicer pedal feel, very linear effort.

[@stevegathman3617]

@@painmagnet1 Does a hydraulic TO bearing work well on the street and have longevity? I have heard of lots of people having problems with them due to o rings, either having to travel vs being static, and drying out if left sitting too long.

[@subarutime5089]

Your like the coolest guy around

[@CraigSmith568]

Now I need a video showing how to convert the mechanical linkage to this hydraulic setup.

[@geerbangr]

Thanks Finnegan.

[@phattomato]

Whats up with the 80's background music? Did you get that off one of those donated cassettes?

[@TediI47]

it came with the aspectratio GOTTEM

[@thegalli]

Holy crap Mike, I never knew that's what the damn pointy part of the caliper is used for! Make a shop tips video on how to use calipers and micrometers and other measuring devices

[@thomaspedersen7472]

Could be awesome

[@AMac1978]

You should do a video on centering your bell housing with the crankshaft.

[@bjr2379]

Good point about seeing someone do the installation as well as reading the instructions. Some of us are visual leaners...👀🕵️‍♂️

[@kwmiked]

Funny u made this video. I had a 04 mustang gt I supercharged, did a tko 600 swap and the thing ate clutches like it was its job. Cause, no gap on throw out bearing. As clutch wore at track, it started slipping cause fingers were hitting throw out bearing. Drove me nuts 3 clutches! I milled down the ball stud hex where u wrench it down so I could make it shorter, and adj with washers for stud leangth. Problem solved on 4th clutch lol

[@radicom56]

Hey Mike. Any chance you could do a "Jet Boat for Beginners" episode? I just acquired an old 71 IMP Comanche. It has an Olds 455 and a Jacuzzi YJ pump. Both of which I know are not desirable but I am a little naive as to quite a bit about it such as how to size a new pump, cam selection, anything I can do with the old YJ, how the cooling system works? How do you select parts for your race boat?

[@laurencevillegarage]

Excellent video, however I do have a question…At the 4:34 time frame you gave a tip that said you needed to compress the bearing for measurements then said you didn’t. I am using a different brand of bearing and the instructions tell me to compress the bearing fully to get the needed measurement. I am confident about the one I am using following the provided instructions. A bit confused on which process is correct for the American Powertrain bearing.

[@crankysports]

If I saw Blasphemi blazing down the highway, I would make chase to meet Mike :)

[@rw895]

When do you attach the supply and bleeder lines? Do you snake the lines through the bell housing during the transmission install? Or do you attach the lines are the trans is installed?

[@mach275]

HEY!! So when I took measurements for my air gap between pressure plate and throwout bearing I left between .10-.15 ths of an inch. Now with everything installed and hopefully 100% bled, the throw out bearing isn’t seating all the way back from where I initially took measurements from so now it seated a bit forward to the point where I think it’s touching the pressure plate. I keep reading different things on whether or not they should be touching. Do I still have air in by lines or should I just remove a shim?

[@mrmadmike427]

When do we get to see Squareforce One do a pass at the dragstrip !??.....😝😝😝👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🔥🔥

[@chloehennessey6813]

Strong fingers are a must for that than right? Do you recommend a clutch manufacturer for maybe an LS 6.0L? It’s either that or the Gearstar 4L85 and that’s gonna cost me all of the money I’ll make this summer prolly.

[@FinnegansGarage]

I really like Mantic Clutches.

[@davidlester6092]

Ready for a jet boat update.

[@dopesquatch]

Step one... smash ur straight edge into ur bell housing lol jk... thanks for the tip

[@kstricl]

You know the best part about this video? The new Roadkill garage, released the same day, has Freiberger doing the exact same thing on an engine for the Disgustang.

[@FinnegansGarage]

no shit? lol. i had no idea.

[@stevoschannel4127]

Where does your clutch release/take up? Ive got a htob and a mcleod double clutch (rst) the release and take up are right at the top of the pedal, seems like the air gap is too small?

[@mattmanslim]

I love millimetres

[@gtavlossantosisadriverstown]

Mike, Going to build one with my son. His name is Mike too. Car is soooooo bad ass....

[@BKMDano17]

I need help setting up the clutch master cylinder. Any video's

[@hcr-motorworks]

Interesting...I thought the .100-.150" clearance took into account the clutch wear over time and that's why you shoot for that gap initially, not having to re-adjust it over time as the clutch wears to maintain the .1-.150 gap. The .050" measurement would just tell me how abused the clutch was and how close to replacement I would be. Maybe I'm wrong???

[@slim703]

This apply to most bearings my instructions are missing I have a apex clutch throw out bearing. Has the same deal same shims. And ist a self bleeding slave cylinder

[@finnf.7105]

Does anyone know what happened to the hood of the Cummins ramp truck

[@BlaineLudeman]

so the hemi is back together and in the car? dude, how many projects do you have? I mean I would love to see the C-10 finished or the drag boat but you're running out of summer! I guess it doesn't get too cold in Georgia but the water could be brisk .. eh, you'll probably be going too fast to notice lol. 200mph in the Cadillac, let's go!

[@andrewslater6846]

What holds the bearing against the transmission? When you let out the clutch, the face will retract from the clutch fingers, but what holds the bearing back from the whole unit sliding towards the clutch?

[@HerrPoopschitz]

About to add a hydraulic setup to my b body bbm w/ tko 600. Read there are reliability issues w/ many aftermarket hyd TO bearings...been debating fabbing a mount for a slave cylinder to actuate a stock fork instead. Anyone have opinions/experience they can share?

[@FinnegansGarage]

I'm guessing many of those issues are the result of improper installation. Over-traveling the bearing destroys the o-ring inside of it the first time you push on the pedal.

[@DD-gi6kx]

you don't need to measure to outside of ruler, then remember to subtract ruler thickness, the calipers have features on them just for measuring between things use your calipers correctly and you dont need to remember to subtract

[@S30Build]

What would you perfer? CSC or external slave/fork?

[@markallenbarrameda403]

will the hydraulic throwout bearing fit on a single plate ctluch?

[@Coverman66]

There is no me without you...if you have any questions feel free to ask or email me! Thanks

[@Scorched-ww2nf]

Thanks

[@bashr52]

What did you determine was wrong with the engine after the Hoonigans race? Was it a rebuild or all new again?

[@FinnegansGarage]

heads were cracked, head studs had pulled out of the aluminum block.

[@amcwagoneer]

Maybe Try One Of Those Magnet Bars 🧲 From Harbor Freight For A Accurate Straight Edge!

[@danieldavidson8149]

AMC Wagoneer you don’t want to magnetize precision measuring instruments because it attracts steel dust that will wear out internal parts.

[@harleyrobertson73]

As a mechanic to be I do find it really funny that in mechanic speak 'too much gap' is considered a thou of an inch, like what would to anyone else would be like eh its fine it's not a big gap, whilst mechanics lose their sh*t over the thou of an inch gap that shouldn't be there

[@operator8014]

Hey! Your hat's lame! But you're good at dropping knowledge on us. So thanks, love your shows! XD

[@eformance]

At 2:30 I thought Newbern started beatboxing behind the camera, then I realized it was some oddly placed background music.

[@Bigjonathan5725]

Why didn’t you have your air filter on in the clip at the end? Didn’t the car make more power with the filter on stacks?

[@FinnegansGarage]

Jonathan F it doesn’t fit inside the hood scoop. To run that air filter I had to build a scoop that was so tall that I could barely see Honda’s when making right turns.

[@Bigjonathan5725]

So in the battle between functionality and horsepower, functionality won this round. Makes good since

[@doc7amod]

is the slave cylinder fixed to the adapter? or you just slide it in?

[@FinnegansGarage]

Mohammad bahzad it slides onto the adapter.

[@pontiac63catalina]

You should check out Young Chevy Truck, he is a big fan.

[@clarkkent2913]

Never seen these hydraulic bearings. Do I get it right when I say this converts a mechanic clutch to a hydraulic one?

[@garlicbutter1906]

Yep. Add matching clutch master cylinder and lines and you're in business.

[@FinnegansGarage]

Yes sir.

[@clarkkent2913]

@@FinnegansGarage Thank you, Sir. And Tym T as well.

[@NebukedNezzer]

Chrysler Hemi engines are experiencing epidemic roller lifter/cam failures. what do you do to avoid that?

[@robwelch9182]

NebukedNezzer Buy a Chevy... problem solved 😂

[@NebukedNezzer]

@@robwelch9182 I own a very good LQ4 6L in my 1999 silverado 2500

[@gearbanger57]

By not running a late model hemi

[@Fantaman900]

wow 4:3 mode with 16:9 picture, black bars all round. yes very nice😖

[@antontaylor4530]

It's 16:9 video, not 4:3. There are black bars all round, not just the sides (if it were 4:3 it would just have bars left and right). Which makes it worse. There's absolutely no need to put black bars around the video. No reason at *all*. Probably youtube being all youtube about his uploads.

[@FinnegansGarage]

Fantaman900 accidental style. Lol

[@ZANTHERA]

it seems you exported it as 4:3 rather than 16:9 which has caused the black bars to be all around it and look smaller. Since it's only just been uploaded would you be okay to fix it and reupload it?

[@sparklygames71]

Why? It's not that bad.

[@12VoltDave]

Good catch. I'll correct that on the next one.

[@dshook1989]

I wish you lived near me to help out 😂

[@hadtothekurt]

What swamp cooler do you use in your garage finnegan

[@FinnegansGarage]

The house AC is ducted into the garage and on those days when I have to work with the door open I use a Port-A-Cool unit to keep things cooler.

[@hadtothekurt]

Thank you I’m building a shop next to my house in Las Vegas need something to cool it off