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A bit off-topic, but while the bell housing is on the bench it might
be a good idea to install thread inserts in the threaded holes that
fix the slave cylinder bolts. These tend to get bunged-up with
repeated R&R of the slave cylinder, and it's steel bolts into
aluminium holes. I don't think I'd be comfortable with cutting the
upper bolt's head off either; the slave cylinder is secured by
tension and if any threads are exposed this could cause fretting on
the slave cylinder hole (probably not an issue the way our cars are
driven now, but over a hundred thousands of miles or so).<br>
<br>
Not mentioned so far is the lever that operates the release bearing;
the shaft on which said lever pivots gets worn over time, allowing
some side play. My BJ8's lever had noticeable side play at over 200K
miles; my dad didn't think it was a big deal, but I figured it would
keep me up at nights if I didn't replace it. It ended up being a
bigger job than it should have been, given the parts available from
the 'usual suspect.'<br>
<br>
Shipwright's Disease in action.<br>
<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 9/19/2021 10:07 PM, m.g.sharp--- via
Healeys wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Simon,
hate to say it, but the clutch should work perfectly after
it is installed, there is no “break-in”. The trouble you
had getting the g’box in is troubling. If everything is
aligned it should slip in easily. I presume, when
installing, you put it in gear and rotated the drive flange
to get the shaft splines to align with the clutch plate. I
would never pull it together by winding it on with bolts.
Your description that the graunchy noises when shifting are
expensive sounding is likely correct, so it sounds to me
that the gearbox should come out again and a thorough
inspection is warranted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">In
addition to checking that the clutch disc slides on the
first motion shaft splines <u>before </u>assembly, I also
always check that the pilot bush fits correctly on the end
of the shaft. If these fit correctly and the alignment is
good, the g’box should slip in easily. Now, you may have to
destroy the bush to get it out of the flywheel, but they are
inexpensive and the peace of mind (never mind the effort to
re&re the g’box again) makes it worthwhile to do. The
pilot bearing should be lightly greased before assembly – I
use a molybdenum grease, which I also use sparingly on the
splines – don’t put so much on that it flies off and
contaminates the clutch plate). I agree with Richard that a
spare first motion shaft is a better alignment tool than a
plastic substitute.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Also,
ensure that the bell housing to engine bolts are correctly
located. There are two special bolts called “dowel bolts”
(they have their own part number that is different to the
other bolts) that are more precisely machined to locate the
bell housing/gearbox accurately on the rear engine plate.
They can be identified by a shallow groove that is machined
into the shank just below the head. They go in the top left
(11 o’clock) and bottom right (5:25) holes (looking at the
rear on the motor). See the note on page 97 of the
Originality Guide (2018) for a full description. I don’t
think the workshop manual adequately describes these,
thinking it is covered under “replacement is the reverse of
removal”; but you have to be pretty observant to note these
two bolts on removal! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Three
years ago I had an issue with a new Borg&Beck clutch
plate and had my g’box in and out 3 times, so I know how you
are feeling, but something is wrong and you need to get it
right. When it is together again, bolt the driver’s seat
back in and test drive it before putting the rest of the
interior in; it saves a bit of work if there is a problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Lastly,
don’t cut the head of the top slave cylinder bolt. I can
guarantee you that if this was acceptable engineering
practice the accountants at the factory would have insisted
it be done. The slave cylinder needs to be securely
fastened to the bell housing and one bolt is not
sufficient. I have probably had mine off 4, maybe 5 times
in 45 years of ownership, so if it takes me an extra 10
minutes to remove, so what? If extracting inaccessible
bolts is a big issue, don’t buy an English car! (I just had
to re&re the rear drain pipe from the intake manifold –
that is another fun one!).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Good
luck! Mirek<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">From:</span></b><span
lang="EN-US"> Healeys <<a
href="mailto:healeys-bounces@autox.team.net"
moz-do-not-send="true">healeys-bounces@autox.team.net</a>>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>richard mayor via Healeys<br>
<b>Sent:</b> September 19, 2021 7:52 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Michael Oritt <<a
href="mailto:michael.oritt@gmail.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">michael.oritt@gmail.com</a>><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Healeys <<a
href="mailto:healeys@autox.team.net"
moz-do-not-send="true">healeys@autox.team.net</a>><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Healeys] New clutch query<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">My first thought was that if you were
having to force the gearbox when it was 3 to 4 inches away
from home, it may be the spines in the clutch disc and the
input shaft were causing some interference. This should
have been an easy slip fit. Did you lubricate the
spines? Test fit the disc on the input shaft?
Installing a gearbox should not be a tedious affair. Or,
you did not get the disc properly aligned using the little
plastic tool. There is a lot of wiggle room for error.
I've found that an old input shaft works better than the
plastic ones for getting good alignment. <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">That brings me to my next observation.
If for some reason the clutch disc is hanging up on the
input shaft it will not disengage as smoothly as it
should. Is this your problem? It's not clear to me what
you mean when you say "difficult clutch".<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have never heard of any need to
break-in a clutch.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Sun, Sep 19, 2021 at 2:15 PM Michael
Oritt via Healeys <<a
href="mailto:healeys@autox.team.net"
moz-do-not-send="true">healeys@autox.team.net</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#3333FF">Simon--<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#3333FF"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#3333FF">I cut
the head off one bolt to make it easier to R&R
the secondary cylinder. I also fashioned a small
door in the extension panel to give access to the
bleed nipple from inside rather than only under the
car.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#3333FF"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#3333FF">Best--Michael
Oritt<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Sun, Sep 19, 2021 at 4:23 PM
Simon Lachlan via Healeys <<a
href="mailto:healeys@autox.team.net" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">healeys@autox.team.net</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">You’ll recall the Overdrive saga.
Have decided not to commission a TV mini-series
per someone’s advice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">1) The overdrive is in and works
very well. I haven’t tested the pressure yet – I
will – but it clicks in and out very briskly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">2) The new clutch kit is in. Hard
to get the old bits off until I borrowed that
magic tool. Used the black nylon(?) tool from
AHSpares as so much handier than the spare
original shaft. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">3) Putting the gearbox back in was
pretty tedious. It would go in all the way
except for the last 3 or 4 inches. Took it out
again and checked the alignment was 100% which
it was. Put it back in, pushed, shoved and
cursed. In the end we wound it on with long
threaded bolts. I don’t want to put in another
clutch. Ever.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">4) Now, finally, the QUESTIONS:-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">Initially, getting the car into any
gear was very graunchy and really the car would
have been undriveable. Pedal pressure felt the
same as before but nothing was happening except
expensive noise. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">Although there was no evidence of a
loss of fluid – why would there be? – I bled the
clutch. I have fitted the extension tube so it
wasn’t tricky. That did make a difference but
not to the way it was previously.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">So (1) Is it normal for clutches to
be difficult at first? A sort of “breaking-in”
period??<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">(2) I’ll bleed it again but am
drawn to getting a longer push rod for the slave
cylinder. Does that make sense? I do have to
push the pedal down pretty far. Comments?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">(3) Slightly off topic……digging
around in my files, I saw a suggestion to cut
the head off the top bolt that locates the slave
cylinder. Then to Loctite in permanently for use
as a dowel peg. ie that bolt is a bit of a PITA
and one bolt would suffice. Wouldn’t it?? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">All advice would be very welcome,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">Simon<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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