clutch continued

[brdave]

I have removed the interior of my TR6 and plan to remove the gearbox soon. I have made a previous post regarding clutch replacement and have gotten some excellent information including link to the web site recommending the TRF magic clutch kit with the Koyo bearing and had decided to go that route. Before proceeding to remove the gearbox I thought I’d better order my Magic Clutch Kit so I can complete the job during the holidays. Much to my dismay this kit is on backorder without any projection of when it would be available. In the meantime I can attend to repairs to other LBCs that are in need and roll this project into the corner.
From the vast experience available at this site, in event that parts I was going to order do not come available, is there another recommended clutch replacement. It is my understanding that many clutch replacement problems and failures are due to poor replacement parts available today. Has anybody successfully had their original clutch rebuilt and reused with success? Any suggestions are welcome
Dave

 

[bash]

Hi Dave

I replaced my clutch this summer. I bought the kit from British Parts Nortwest (www.bpnorthwest.com). From my understanding, it is the same items as the TRF kit - Sachs pressure plate, Koyo bearing (pressed onto a new sleeve) and pressure plate (mine came in an AP box, but I hear they are all much the same these days - I am prepared to be corrected on that issue though!). The TRF kit may include some dowel pins and such (not sure) but the BPNW kit costs about $100 less (last time I compared), so plenty in the budget to pay for new hardware.

I have only driven the car maybe 150 miles on the new clutch but I was very happy with it. I would suggest you pick up an alignment tool while you are ordering the clutch - only $5 or so, and it makes life a lot easier.

By the way - if you plan to cross drill the shaft and fork I have a large bag of roll pins here - just PM me your address and I'll post you a couple!

Hope that helps
Alistair
Edit to add that I checked the friction plate box and it was a Borg and Beck, not AP.

 

[ALLAN]

BPNW offers 2 Sachs clutch kits, one with a koyo bearing and one with a Gunst bearing, the one with the koyo is the same kit as the RF(back order factory). BPNW offers 1 AP kit and would be less desirable than the above. If the pressure plate came in an AP box it must be an AP plate unless it got switched. Most of the clutch problems have come from the Plate and bearing being mismatched and the B+B Plate and the AP Plate has given too much pedal pressure for most. The Sachs pressure plate (from most reports) last longer and has a softer pedal pressure. According to most the old sytle B+B was the best but it is almost impossible to find. One thing is for sure they are not almost all the same. My recomendation is the Sachs. It will probably take the RF a long time to get that kit in, I would cancell that order and order the one from BPNW.

 

[Brosky]

Get the Sachs/Koyo combo even if you wait a bit longer. Make sure that you use the dowel pins and definitely get the alignment tool.

If you haven't seen it, here is my adventure and tale of woe from using the Gunst/B&B setup. Bad, bad mistake and the pics show exactly why.

https://www.74tr6.com/clutchreplacement.htm

Good Luck!!

 

[brdave]

Thanks for the great info Bash and Allan. I got to work today and the gearbox is sitting on the bench. The throw out bearing is pretty well shot and and intend to contact BP Northwest to order the Sachs plate with the Koyo bearing kit. I did not have the heart to put the wrench on the tapered fork pin, but will tomarro. I have read and Brosky suggests replacing the dowels. I did not see dowels as I know them and found on MG's etc but there were two heavier bolts in the 3 and 7 oclock positions which were very snug to remove after the nut was removed. Are these the locators which are the dowels?
As well, are there any tips to removing the fork pin, or just put the wrench on, be gentle and give it a twist. I do not want to order the clutch kit until I know whether I will need additional parts etc.
I really do appreciate the help.

 

[bash]

Hi Dave

The dowels were originally special bolts (not sure exactly what made them special, but I think they had a thicker than usual unthreaded section?), and they are no longer available. I used the dowels from TRF (the part number is shown in their catalogue in the clutch section) and they do go in the two locations you mention - I put them in the gearbox holes and then they helped to align things on reassembly.

When I removed my gearbox I convinced myself that the pin wasn't broken, but decided to remove it anyway since everyone says you should replace it as a matter of course. I had to use an adjustable wrench because it was the only thing that would get it loose - the 7/16 wrench just wasn't long enough.

I would suggest that you order at the very least new bushes for the shaft - I was surprised at how much play there was in the old bushes. Before you order anything though, just turn the pin - if it is broken then I found it a lot easier to replace the whole shaft/fork than try to drill out the old pin in the limited space available. I got the shaft and fork kit on sale from TRF for about $75 delivered, so an easy choice - I think that BPNW have the parts for about that same amount, and given the amount of work involved in getting the gearbox out again, I would say do all you can this time.

Using a new shaft and fork also allows you to practice the cross drilling on the old one - I found out (on the scrap one luckily!) that using a hand drill makes it pretty tough to get the hole to be straight and acceptably round.

Well, I seem to have gone on a bit. Hope something was helpful!
Alistair