At 11:26 AM 5/22/98 EDT, SndMn19 (Ray Dilfield) wrote:
>.... our beloved '58A has decided the flywheel, disc, and pressure plate
should all unite into one big solid lump. .... When I tried to mash the
clutch pedal, .... blew out the slave cylinder seals. .... the clutch
release fork .... chooses not to move at all, with any degree of exertion
I'm currently able or willing to muster.
>
>I can see how the aforementioned brute force methods would unstick a disc
from the flywheel. Is there any similar method for freeing pressure plate
from disc? ....
This may sound a little tricky, but it will _probably_ work, and if it does
work it will surely beat pulling the engine.
First, go ahead and rebuild the slave cylinder. You're needing to do that
anyway. Then remove the starter motor to get access to the edge of the
flywheel and the clutch cover. This will be close quarters to work in, but
if you're creative and bend a couple of tools you can do it.
Loosen the six bolts holding the clutch cover to the flywheel. Rotate the
flywheel to get at each bolt. You may need to bend the end of a wrench to
get onto the bolt heads. Unscrew the bolts about five turns, but do not
remove them completely. If you unscrew just one of them until it comes out
you will know how long the threads are. Leave them screwed in at least
three turns.
Now you need a punch made out of a heavy flat steel strap with a bend on
the end, or maybe a brake adjusting tool. You need to reach in about
1-1/2" under the edge of the clutch cover to touch the edge of the clutch
disk. Have a helper step on the clutch pedal while you do this. Get a
heavy hammer and give the punch tool a good whack or two to force the
clutch disk sideways a bit. If it doesn't release immediately, rotate the
flywneel about 1/3 turn and hit it again. The clutch pilot shaft and
splines should have enough clearance to allow enough motion to break the
disk loose.
Once it's loose, tighten and re-torque the six clutch cover bolts and
reinstall the starter motor. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude (and dry storage)
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