TheRecklessEngineer Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 S3, V8 conversion, lengthy rebuild... I got to the point today of trying the clutch. After bleeding, the pedal feels like a clutch (albeit a heavy one!) but even with the pedal in, there is still drive to the gearbox. It is assembled with a 2A diesel friction plate, S3 cover, custom MorfMade bearing of the correct length. Looking in through the inspection hole you can see the bearing pushing on the cover quite happily. My first thought was that it must be stuck, but it seems to be locked solid - you can easily stall the engine with the handbrake. Any suggestions on what I may have done wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LR90 Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 friction plate in wrong way round? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Could still be a stuck plate, James. They do grip very well sometimes. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pope-on-a-rope Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 I would check the spigot bush is not jammed in the end of the crankshaft. I had an identical problem with a TD5 90. It nearly went of the ramp when the engine was started as pushing the clutch to the floor had no effect. Had to machine a couple of thou' off the bush after which it worked fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted April 19, 2009 Author Share Posted April 19, 2009 Thanks for the replies. friction plate in wrong way round? It will only fit in one way. The splined centre fouls on the end of the crank one way. Could still be a stuck plate, James. They do grip very well sometimes. Any suggestions on how I can free it? I would check the spigot bush is not jammed in the end of the crankshaft. I had an identical problem with a TD5 90. It nearly went of the ramp when the engine was started as pushing the clutch to the floor had no effect. Had to machine a couple of thou' off the bush after which it worked fine. I didn't install a bush in the end - there is so little clearance between the crank and the mainshaft there didn't seem like much of a point. If it causes issues, then I'll pop the gearbox off and stuff one in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleBlue88 Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 A slightly OTT way of sorting a siezed clutch is: 1 - Start engine and warm up thaen turn off 2 - Engage low range/first gear 3 - Restart engine with foot down on clutch(ensuring at least 200yrds clear in front of you) 4 - You will start moving forwards,accelerate (still with clutch down) 5 - Brake HARD! still with clutch down and hopefully it will crack off free Works for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 Thanks. I think I'll actually be swapping the box out. Now it's running, it makes a noise in reverse that a gearbox really shouldn't make. While the box is out, I'll see what is going on with the clutch. Anyone know if I can fit a S3 bellhousing to a 2A box? Now i've got the bearing, clutch slave etc sorted I'm not really that keen to move over to the 2A release bearing style.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveSIIA Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I didn't install a bush in the end - there is so little clearance between the crank and the mainshaft there didn't seem like much of a point. If it causes issues, then I'll pop the gearbox off and stuff one in. Be careful about not running a bush in the end of the crank. Steel crank and steel input shaft with little clearance makes for possible friction welding of the two! Think about engine running, box in gear, clutch pedal down and a bit of drag where the spigot bush should be. Failing that, there would be too much slop and the clutch plate could run out of centre >> early failure. IIRC, the V8 conversions used to require the end cutting off the crank and a bush carrier/bush bolted in with the flywheel bolts. The bush should be sintered bronze to retain a bit of oil. The SIII bell housing is a direct fit to later SIIA boxes (can't remember what suffix onward - D or E ring a bells, but don't quote). Earlier IIA boxes ran a smaller diameter bearing on the front of the layshaft. You would need to machine up a bush to adapt it to the late IIA/III bearing size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Hancock Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Yup, so long as the 2a box has the bigger front layshaft bearing(IIRC Suffix B on) then a S3 bellhousing up to and inclusive of suffix C will fit perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 Thanks chaps. I'll stuff a bush in when the box is out. I'll let you know what I find.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 I'm surprised...No one got it right! The friction plate I was using (2A type) was too thick for the pressure plate (S3). The release bearing couldn't push the fingers in far enough to release it. I'm guessing this is what also resulted in a heavy pedal - too much preload on the fingers = F hard work on the pedal! I've replaced it with a 2A pressure plate (and yet another release bearing....) and she works! (Oh, and I stuffed a bush in the end of the crank too...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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