From: Laura Swanson -Student operator
So much for always having luck with my MG. I had it towed into the
garage and they say the pressure plate is dead and they need to rebuild
the whole clutch to the tune of $500. My first question is does a clutch
just go out?
Define "go out". Typically the pressure and driven plates don't go
out, but the throwout bearing can. I recall rather fondly the day The
Geezer's throwout bearing died in a flash of glory. Fortunately in my
parking lot. The bearing is a carbon ring, not really a bearing at
all. If it dies, it can spray little carbon pieces all over your
clutch, rendering it rather unhappy. At this point you are looking at
+/- $100 in parts (pressure plate, driven plate, throwout bearing),
plus a removal and replacement of your engine. At $30-$40 an hour, an
8 hour R/R plus parts could run you $500. Or you can R/R the engine
yourself, assuming you have several cases of Samuel Smith's Best
Bitter, a tolerant helper, and an engine hoist on hand.
On the other hand, it could be your hydraulics. Look under the car at
the slave cylinder actuator and see if it moves when your trusty
assistant (whom you have bribed appropriately with part of your stash
of Samuel Smith's) pushes in the clutch pedal. If no, then your
hydraulics are shot and the repair bill is much less (no engine R/R).
If you do have to replace the clutch, I would strongly recommend
finding a roller-bearing throwout to replace the stock graphite
throwout. I had one once on an MGB-GT, and it wore much better than
the graphite sort.
And no, it doesn't matter if you leave it for the winter. Just use
the remainder of your Samuel Smith's stash to deal with the
withdrawal.
Good Luck and Happy Motoring,
markl
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Mark L. Lambert
Architecture Group, Network Products Division
Oracle Corporation
Internet: markl%oracle.com@apple.com
markl@oracle.com (if your mailer groks MX records)
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USMail: Oracle Corporation, 20 Davis Dr, Belmont CA 94002
AT&T: (415) 598-5750
"The parts falling off this car are of the finest British quality..."
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