Replacing Old & Stout with New and Weak?!

There have been a lot of comments on various sites about the quality (or lack thereof) of replacement clutch bellcrank made by Crown. People say that the arms have a tendency to "fold over" early in their life. Upon receiving one of my own, I get it. The metal is thinner, yes, but that isn't the whole problem. They use such a hot setting on their welding process that they've undercut half of the material's thickness. I opted to add a couple of gussets before I wasted my time installing something that was totally inferior. (Note: I'm keeping the original of course... one of the holes may be wallowed out but it's nothing a well-made bushing couldn't cure.)














Okay, it's a little out of date... almost the same age as my Jeep! That's why I have several of them scattered around the shop. I figure one of them is bound to spit some sort of retardant out ;-)




This looks a little more trustworthy:

 

Nice work. now it looks like the OMIX linkage. I'm not a fan of Crown. Lower quality overall.

 

I'm most definitely not a fan of either omix or crown. The latter actually made usable products once upon a time. Omix? I'm uncertain I have EVER received a good product from them. The best thing to do with that clutch linkage is throw it all away and go hydraulic. Just don't go with the integral internal front bearing retainer style. The only advantage I've found for those is it takes an hour replacement time and makes it into a two day affair. Early XJ slave cylinders work perfect for this.

 

This is what the most recent version of the slave cylinder mounting looks like on the small block Chevy in my CJ 3B. It just mounts with the bell housing bolts. The XJ cylinder.