Subject: Time:1:46 PM
OFFICE MEMO Re:Broken Clutch/Clutchless Driv Date:5/11/94
>today I was leaving a parking lot when I pushed the clutch in to
>shift gears I got an awful grinding noise (I felt it through the
>pedal too). The car runs fine in neutral, but when I push the clutch
>in, it grinds like mad. I assume this means I had a catastrophic
>failure of some part of the clutch. Do these symptoms strike a cord
>with anyone?
Strikes two chords with me. I've had exactly the same thing happen in an MGA
and an XKE. Either the throwout bearing has bit the dust or the mating ring (if
you have one) on the pressure plate arms has come off its springs.
I drove the MGA 160 miles home from college without clutching once, using the
start-the-engine-up-in-top-gear method, timing carefully for stoplights and
creeping through stop signs.
Same with the E, but fortunately I was only 10 miles from home. UNfortunately,
it was in heavy traffic, so I had to start up in 1st or 2nd and endure the
grinding clutch noise when I had to shift up. I knew my pressure plate and
throwout bearing were already wrecked, so I wasn't too bothered about wrecking
them a little more. Extremely embarrassing, but satisfying in that I didn't
need a tow truck.
|