Yup, the ball is still in and the rotating cap is on top of the ball. All the plates have been soaked in oil prior to install (wet clutch) and after bolting the pressure plate back on, the clutch lever doesn't seem to disengage the system... The actuator looks to be working fine when I pull the clutch cable by hand with none of the plates installed. Weird.

- What's the first thing installed after the judder plates? steel or friction plate?

Thanks Matt.

Jae