At 12:09 AM 6/22/02 -0400, Matt Van Benschoten wrote:
>Help needed with a strange, to me, clutch issue on a 78 Spitfire. The clutch
>failed while I was driving the car a few weeks back. The failure mode is
>engaged with a good pedal. While driving; the clutch all of a sudden would
>not release. The clutch pedal is still firm and feels very normal, i.e. as
>if the pressure plate/throw-out bearing are working. With the slave cylinder
>pinch bolt loose the slave cylinder moves toward the back of the car when
>the pedal is pressed, as would be expected if it was working properly. Any
>ideas as to what might be happening?
Matt,
From the sounds of it, the MC is working and pushing fluid to the Slave
clylinder. You loosed the bolt on the SL and it moves, therefore it sounds
like the pistion in the SL is moving. So my guess is that you have a problem
with something in the bellhousing, either the clutch pressure plate or
face(drive) plate.
I have seen some fingers on the pressure plate break. This would give you
the feeling that the clutch system was working, hard resistance, movement
of the parts, but since not all the fingers are being pressed, the pressure
plate would not completely release causing drag on the face plate.
Other problems I've seen:
1. Burrs on the face plate so it didn't seat all the way on the splined input
shaft of the xmission, causing drag and not releasing.
2. A throw out bearing that is too short, there for not moving the pressure
plate enouggh to release the face plate.
However these 2 problems are more common when replacing a clutch not on a
a functioning system.
3. The fork connecting the slave cyl. to the thow out bearing bent or cracked.
This will let the system feel like it is working but the fork bends instead
of pressing the pressure plate.
About anyway you slice it, you'll probably have to pull the tranny to check
things out.
Hope this helps.
John
John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair@exis.net
Va. Beach, Va Phone: (757) 495-8229
48 TR1800 48 #4 Midget 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V
75 Bricklin SV1 77 Spitfire 71 Saab Sonett III
65 Rambler Classic
Morgan: www.team.net/www/morgan
Bricklin: www.bricklin.org
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