Am i Worrying to much???

[Falkon]

Just last week i got my freshly rebuilt engine back in my Midget. Knowing that rust in the cylinder walls was the main cause for the needed engine rebuild, every day or two i have been hand turning the engine to scrap off any potential rust forming on the cylinder walls. But with the engine now in the car and the possibility of starting it soon being delayed by lack of money, I decided to put the starter on to help me turn it over once or twice. Good news is that it does turn over. What i noticed was when i left it in gear, it did not spin the back tires. But when we first put the engine in and turned it a little, I watched the drive shaft and saw it move a little while we turned it. After that the engine slide right in. So my question is, What exactly does it mean if the engine turns over in gear but the wheels don't move?


FYI: It does look like i might have to replace some of the clutch hydraulics cause the clutch pedal does not move when you step on it. Could that be the cause of this.

 

[ralph_s]

good place to start!!!

 

[StarkM]

With your foot off the clutch pedal the clutch is engadged, this means your engine is connected to the transmission and the driveshaft. If the engine is turning this would turn the input shaft of the transmission, which, if the trans is in gear, will turn the driveshaft. The differential is what transmits the power from the driveshaft to the axles, which by definition allows the two rear wheels to turn at different speeds so you dont skip the rear end while turning corners. Because of this when the engine is turning with the starter, only one wheel may turn, and if both wheels are turning they would probably be turning in different directions, and very slowly.

 

[Falkon]

Then i think I'll ge back and take another closer look.

 

[Falkon]

Well I turned the engine over in gear some more and noticed that the drive shaft turned some but not continuesly with the engine. So then I went to the wheels and started spinning the wheels by hand and I could hear the clutch spinning while the engine stayed still. Now I'm 99.99% positive that I put the clutch in with the flywheel side facing the fly wheel. My only other guess would be the clutch releasing mechanism is stuck at either all the way on or half way? Any other suggestions.

 

[Sarastro]

Obviously something's bunged up in the clutch. Unless there's some bizarre problem with the hydraulics or release mechanism, there isn't much you can do to diagnose it from the outside. So, at this point you probably need to take it out and see what happened.

The usual problem with clutches is inability to release them, not complete inability to transfer power (at least, not without a lot of wear). You have the opposite problem, so something is seriously wrong.

 

[Gerard]

Well I turned the engine over in gear some more and noticed that the drive shaft turned some but not continuesly with the engine. So then I went to the wheels and started spinning the wheels by hand and I could hear the clutch spinning while the engine stayed still. Now I'm 99.99% positive that I put the clutch in with the flywheel side facing the fly wheel. My only other guess would be the clutch releasing mechanism is stuck at either all the way on or half way? Any other suggestions.

A couple things...

I just want to be sure you realize that turning one wheel with the wheels off the ground will transfer motion to the other wheel.

If that's not the issue then it would have to be that the clutch fork is not all the way at rest. And if you had the disc in backwards, it would not release no matter what.

Did you align the pressure plate correctly on the locating pins? Did you confirm that the flange on the pressure plate was flush on the flywheel?

Is it a new clutch assembly or are you reusing an old one?

 

[Falkon]

I did get a new clutch kit and alignment tool to use. From what I know everything was put in correctly. The side marked flywheel was put up against the flywheel and as for the pressure plate, I really don't remember. I know it went on the locating pins correctly but I can't confirm the flange part.

 

[Gerard]

... but I can't confirm the flange part.

Well, you probably did. It was just a thought, so I'd check the fork movement and make sure that the fork has free movement off the contact surface for the throw out bearing. With the push rod off the fork, you should be able to push the fork off the contact pad and hear a distinct tap when the TO bearing makes contact and stops.

 

[Falkon]

Well crawled under the car and noticed that the clutch slave cylinder is rusted in position. Witch explains why I can't press on the clutch pedal at all and why the clutch is spinning.