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1889 90 Clutch Problems - Can't engage gears


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Evening all,

I have recently swapped the engine over in my 90 after the last one fell ill, it's a 300tdi on the original LT77 box. I reused the original clutch because it only had 15k on it and it looked in good condition, along with the flywheel from the 1st 300tdi but a new release bearing was popped in.

It all went together nicely but even after a litre of fluid through it, the clutch still won't operate properly. It feels right on the foot but grinds when it goes into gear and the gears are difficult to engage also. If I do get it into gear then biting point is nicely in the middle as before.

The only think I can think that I may have done wrong is over-torque the clutch cover to 34 ft/lbs rather than 34nm - would this cause the above effect? I'm going to pull it apart tomorrow and look but does anyone have any suggestions? Master and Slave cylinder don't appear to be leaking and have recently been changed.

Many thanks,

Harry

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Sounds like the shaft is sticking in the spigot bearing and not spinning freely. This will cause the gearbox mainshaft to continue turning even with the clutch disengaged but won't provide enough grip to actually move the truck.

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Sorry Bowie69, I was expanding your point.

From the original description of symptoms (it is slipping once in gear) it seems very likely it will wear itself in, eventually, though maybe after synchro on first is long gone! I am a bit puzzled, because it reads as if the flywheel (and presumably spigot bearing) were already matched to the gearbox. It could be that it got knocked and slightly damaged during installation?

You could get around the possible synchro damage by putting it in gear and depressing the clutch before starting it, if the drag isn't too much (don't test it with something valuable parked in front of you!!) but, if it didn't come right in a few days (someone else is bound to know more about how long it takes), I'd be thinking about surgery.

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As the others have said, it sounds very much like the spigot bush is gripping the input shaft, if you could start it in gear with the clutch depressed and let it turn for a minute, it may well wear it down. Otherwise it will need replacing.

On another note, that's a very old 90!!! Approaching its 126th birthday...

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Thank you for the responses, it seems that the spigot bearing is unanimous, the gearbox is half way out so I shall have a look at it, I forgot to mention that I did replace it also...it was one out of a box of random parts though. It seemed the same dimensions as the original so presumed it was correct but will get some callipers on it this morning to check.

As Deep suggested, there isn't enough grip on the bearing to move the vehicle so I may throw it back together and drive it, failing that could I take the spigot out of the old engine and reuse that or would a new one be better?

On a side note, should it be lubricated? I followed a tech guide and it said to soak it in engine oil before fitting which I did.

Dave88sw, I meant 1989, a carving knife related injury has made it hard to type!

Cheers all,

Harry

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Well a quick update, I roped in a friend and we dropped the box out yesterday to find the spigot bearing is damaged. It was ok when I lifted the engine in but can only presume it was damaged when I tried to put the 2 together.

A new spigot bearing should arrive this evening and I am going to fit it back in tomorrow and double check clutch alingment...fingers crossed!

Harry

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Well a quick update, I roped in a friend and we dropped the box out yesterday to find the spigot bearing is damaged. It was ok when I lifted the engine in but can only presume it was damaged when I tried to put the 2 together.

A new spigot bearing should arrive this evening and I am going to fit it back in tomorrow and double check clutch alingment...fingers crossed!

Harry

Ah, always good to find the source of your problem. I know I'm stating the obvious but make sure you check the fit of the bearing on the shaft before assembly! I don't know what the factory recommends and what type of bush it is but I do remember doing one years ago (a phosphor-bronze bush) and the recommendation was to heat it in heat-softening motorcycle chain grease before installing it. Made sense and it lasted me out.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Quick update:

New spigot bearing pushed in a couple of days later and a new clutch for good measure (Don't want to pull the g/box out again!) It appears that I hadn't aligned the clutch properly so when I got the bellhousing bolts lined up and tightened them, the input shaft damaged the spigot. In hindsight I should have stopped when the engine and box wouldn't mate together without force...lesson learnt!

This time I soaked the spigot in oil overnight after checking it's tolerance on the input shaft then borrowed a proper alignment tool to knock the spigot in and align the clutch. The 2 slotted together nicely and all is good the clutch functions as it should :) Thank you for the advice everyone :i-m_so_happy:

Harry

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Evening all,

I have recently swapped the engine over in my 90 after the last one fell ill, it's a 300tdi on the original LT77 box. I reused the original clutch because it only had 15k on it and it looked in good condition, along with the flywheel from the 1st 300tdi but a new release bearing was popped in.

It all went together nicely but even after a litre of fluid through it, the clutch still won't operate properly. It feels right on the foot but grinds when it goes into gear and the gears are difficult to engage also. If I do get it into gear then biting point is nicely in the middle as before.

The only think I can think that I may have done wrong is over-torque the clutch cover to 34 ft/lbs rather than 34nm - would this cause the above effect? I'm going to pull it apart tomorrow and look but does anyone have any suggestions? Master and Slave cylinder don't appear to be leaking and have recently been changed.

Many thanks,

Harry

Try resetting the clutch pedal to floor height as per LR workshop manual, if the 2 locknuts on rod are not tight the clutch won't operate correctly & if the measurment is wrong it'll make the clutch slip too.

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Thanks Western, IIRC I stumbled across a thread where you explained how to do it whilst trying to work out what was wrong with the clutch. Sadly I'm 3,000 miles away and the LR is tucked up in a barn but it's on top of the to-do list for when I return :)

I did give it a quick check before dropping the gearbox and the locknuts are tight but I didn't check the floor height, last time I changed the master cylinder I simply refitted to the same length on the rod. Going by the previous owner's bodge jobs, it's bound to be incorrect!

Harry

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