Fellow moggers:
It has of late come to my attention that I may have a problem with my clutch
release bearing. The symptoms are simple: a faint 'grinding' noise when
the clutch pedal is depressed, no such noise when it is not. Otherwise the
clutch and box perform fine; no slip, no trouble changing gears, action is
smooth, etc.
I wouldn't be here posting this if I didn't have some questions:
(1) So, is this the release bearing?
(2) Is the release bearing on the ford engine/box a true roller bearing
arrangement, or a carbonized circular arrangement, as on my MGB?
(3) What is the prognosis: i.e. is this a do-it-now(!) sort of thing or
can I nurse the car through August, etc. and make it a winter project? In
other words; is this thing going to get gradually worse or cataclyzmically
worse? (i.e. will I get a chance to push my car home?)
(4) I'm assuming the engine must come out? (If so, why was I so happy
about doing the rear seal without removing the engine?)
I'm hoping the answer to the above questions are: "yes", "roller bearing",
"not an emergency", and... I'll assume "yes" is the answer to #4. That's
not soooo bad, as in the back of my mind I've been thinking of 'going
through' the car. I'd like to be able to put off such a project until next
year (winter?). Maybe a re-core on the radiator, sprucing up the engine
bay, maybe even repainting the thing, etc. This would be my chance to
"upgrade" to a 1600 crossflow too.
Any and all comments/suggestions/help/money would be appreciated.
Will Zehring
|