[TR] Throwout bearing

[Randall]

> The old clutch, with stock components that may have traveled 90,000
> successful miles, still works fine but is nearing the end of the wear
> limit.

Just a suggestion, Jeff, why not just replace the components that are near
their wear limit (generally just the friction part of the friction plate)
and leave the rest alone?  Why install unknown components in the place of
"known good" ones?

I've been following that philosophy for many years now, and hundreds of
thousands of miles.  The only TOB failure I have _ever_ had was when I
mistakenly installed the wrong one (a no-name bearing from a junkyard
gearbox), rather than the one that came out of the car.  And even then it
went over 50,000 miles before there was a problem.

In addition to TOB problems, there have also been problems reported with new
pressure plates, and new friction plates.  Several people in the local clubs
have had relatively new friction plates fail entirely, necessitating a ride
home on a flatbed.

There is also a good article at 
http://goo.gl/zCqsx
that outlines some of the pressure plate problems.  Worth a read.

PS, although I drive a TR3 every day (when it doesn't rain), it has a TR6
clutch & gearbox in it.

-- Randall