throw-out bearing

Hey anyone...What makes a throw-out bearing go bad in less than 50 miles? I got it all together in time for the 4th of July parade in Troy MT, drove it home (4 miles), and hauled it back to Kalispell. When I went to town for a checkout ride there were major noises. Looks like the bearing is fried. This means an engine out, right? I keep dreaming there is a way to fix it without major surgery. If I ever figure out the pic posting thing I'll put some on here to prove I actually have a car. Thanx, John

Wrong throw out bearing?

Bent fork?

Bad clutch plate, where the throwout bearing pushes against?

I put in a 3 in 1 kit from VB so everything was new xcept the fork. It looked ok. I'm thinking the slave cyl (not new) might be the problem.

Oh god, and what brand was the three and one kit. Quinton Hazel? If so it is my personal opinion that the throw out bearings are 1/4 inch too thin on those.

John,
Question please, if you were to disconnect the slave pin from the fork and pull the fork back toward the rear of the car back by hand where does it stop “by hand”?
Does it look like the fork end is 90deg (straight out) from the gearbox? Is the end “pointed” toward the engine or back toward the gearbox?
Dug

John-Unfortunately it's an engine out job. It could be a bent fork, but I'd suspect the carbon bearing was of poor quality. I got the 3-n-1 clutch kit from VB and decided not to install the supplied carbon bearing. I went with a roller bearing suppled from another source.

alot of us have the roller bearing...
can we get a pic of the bad one? ....z

It seems hard to imagine that any of the standard forms of abuse, such as sitting at traffic lights with the clutch depressed, could kill it in 50 miles. I vote with Jim that something simply broke--it happens. You won't know, unfortunately, until you pull the engine again.

What kind of spridget do you have? I concur in the suggestion of putting in the roller throw-out bearing. I'd put one in my Bugeye in a heartbeat if one were made for it. If you have a later car for which a roller bearing is available, I strongly suggest using one.

Hi! The car is a '65 with a newer 1275 in it. The bearing is gone and I'm thinking that my slave cylinder is the problem. Do they make different length rods for these cylinders? The fork arm sticks out at about 90 degrees to the trans but when I released the pin it seemed that the rod was holding the arm too far back--bearing engaged. Also, where do I get a roller bearing? I'm thinking of putting an electric fan on and was wondering if that is a good move or does the stock system work well enough. The car was overheating but I found that the fan belt was loose when I got the radiator off.
Thanx for any info--John.

948 and 1098 had 2 3/8" slave push rod, 1275 had 2 11/16" according to Moss. Maybe make yourself an adjustable one.

Or if you have the short one and need it longer put a 7/16th nut in the slave cylinder between the piston and the rod.

YOu can make the slave rod adjustable easy enough, the just by luck happen to be the perfect size to run a 5/16-24 die over, What I've done in the past is cut them say about 1/4' from the bolt eyelet, thread them 5/16-24 on each side of the rod where i made my cut, then use a barrle nut ( a long hex nut) and two short jam nuts ( half height hex nut ) and wa~la you have a adjustable slave rod.

I've looked and looked and can't find a roller throwout bearing. Anyone have any sources? thanx

When I tore up second gear in my 73 midget, when I was young and foolish, the first thing the mechanic did [who worked out of his house] was to weld a bolt onto the clutch push rod and grind it to the same diam. BTW this had nothing to do with me tearing up 2nd gear.

He had the Midget trany out and in pieces in 30 minutes. He hated the Midget clutch so much, he put a Datsun trany in his.

try e-mailing Colin Dodds https://www.spriteparts.com.au/ He might have a source. Others have found them on e-bay.

Lots of good ideas here but I like Haps best.

ebay: noslocators had them (I think)

that is correct trevor......z

I've never been a fan of adjustable slave cylinder rods. Over the years playing with spridgets I’ve seen all kinds of concoctions that have made it into the trash. Some with so much effort into them you have to stand in amazement of what someone came up with.

My understanding is that when the cars were rolling off the assembly line (new) they didn’t need to be adjustable.
Not seeing an adjustable slave cylinder rod listed in any of the AKD books leaves me guessing that they may not be needed.
I do understand that over the years different components from different years with different part numbers have been mixed up via past owners. Also an understanding that aftermarket parts may not have been made to the same specifications as the original parts were.
In these cases a need or reason for an adjustable rod maybe valid.

Speaking of road going cars only (no racing demands)the object would be to double check that all the components that make up the system match.
With all the components, engine, gearbox, clutch and throwout bearing all put together the clutch fork was to be at an angle favoring slightly (very slight) toward the front of the car. As wear occurs it moves back favoring the back of the car (maybe 3-5 degs each way from 90 degs). There is a range here that the slave cylinder is designed to work in and the rods are designed to fit. It’s this range that was originally designed to keep all things operating without premature failure (excluding part failure). Can you fine tune the operating function of a clutch with an adjustable rod? Yes! But what are you compensating for? What part isn’t correct?
Dug

There is a guy who regular lists them on ebay!