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Clutch Still Slipping after replacing 30W-Non-Det. for Red Line

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In 1965, the clutch in my BN 2 was slipping badly. On the advice of an old school mechanic, I went to a pharmacy and bought some Fullers Earth. It is an oil-absorbing powder and makes a lot of dust when blown around. I don't remember where I blew it in, but used a bellows-type bulb. It actually worked. I never looked inside to see what the results were, but I could drive the car. On a college kid budget, replacing the clutch was out of the question.
 
re: Clutch longevity:

Too many variables (like brakes). Mostly highway miles, you should get well over 100K. Short trips in hilly country less, maybe much less. Quality of replacement disks probably varies as well. Technique counts. I got about 125K on my BJ8's last clutch. Have 134K on my Mustang's and it's going strong (for now).
 
Hi All,

John is definitly correct when asserting that positive statements usually are remembered when they are followed with a negative related result. So if Bob's clutch craps out now ........

My father, who had no mechanical interest or aptitude used one phrase related to my interest in adding to my car's performance. "When the car runs good, Don't lift the hood." Reflecting on the cause of my clutch issue, it is a perspective I wish I had followed but know I never could.

Update: Nothing done yet.

All the best to All,
Ray(64BJ8P1)
 
Ray

The Force Is Strong with this one :highly_amused: It will not crap out for a long while. The mechanic was ultra careful (me) with good parts. - could have replaced it when I rebuilt the engine some 6 years later but it was as good as new so I did not bother.

As an aside My Audi A3 2.0 litre diesel has just turned 212,000 miles and I have replaced the clutch possibly for the first time 'cause it was bought pre-loved at 80,000 with no sign of a clutch renewal in the book.

:cheers:

Bob
 
Well, I try not to be superstitious but, yeah, I thought twice before I posted that. I've heard of clutches going 200K miles, and my miles are predominately highway so I'm hoping for 150K or more.
 
Hi All,

Well, for those interested, I raised my Healey on jack stands and got under to use brake cleaner on the clutch. This was not as simple as thought at first since the head of the rivet in the bell housing drip hole was too large to get the thin tube of the pressurized can of cleaner past. Also, my suspicions were confirmed and removing the cover plate around the shift fork would not gain sufficient forward access and be solidly blocked by the diaphragm cover.

However, I had forgotten the round hole at the back of the fork mounting that did allow access into the bell housing and through some openings of the diaphragm cover. However, although the car is still on the stands and untested, I believe the brake cleaner never was effective in cleaning the clutch and the stream of cleaner would have, at best, hit the pressure plate and not the clutch face.

Yes, I expected this would be the result of this activity, however, even a slight chance was worth the cost of the can of brake cleaner and allowed me to grease all maintenance components on the chance the clutch/Healey got well on its own.

Tomorrow, I will take the car for a short drive and see if anything has changed.

All the best,
Ray(64BJ8P1)
 
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Hi All,

Just came back from a short 10 mile ride through the local hills that was both pleasant and showed no indication of clutch problems. Although feel positive, I must admit being here before, and I don't believe my test drive was sufficient to build heat in the clutch that would cause any absorbed oils to migrate to the surface and cause slipping. But, it was a nice day (for a change) and I was with the Beach Boys (on tape).

So, hopefully, the brake cleaner did do something, and if not, maybe it was not as bad as I thought. Either way, I would hope to be able to postpone any clutch work till fall or winter.

Crossing my fingers,
Ray(64BJ8P1)
 
I didn't see it mentioned, so please forgive me if it was, but did you have someone/something holding the clutch pedal down while you were spraying?

Whatever the odds of the brake cleaner solvent working are, I'm certain they'd be improved if the friction disc wasn't clamped up tight.
 
Hi Randy,

You are correct. I didn't mention it in my update but I first sprayed the brake cleaner and realized the spray could never have gotten to the disk. I then asked my wife (who is sensitive to smells and gave me a very hard time) to hold the clutch down while I sprayed the rest of the can. Since I penetrated the bell housing through a hole on the back of the fork pivot mount with a 7" tube extended from the nozzle, it was only luck if any cleaner actually arrived on the clutch disk face. However, I expect that all oils collected at the bottom of the bell housing that didn't escape through the drain hole, loosely closed with the rivet head, must have been flushed with the draining brake cleaning fluid.

Ray(64BJ8P1)
 
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Hi All,

All seems good. I took the Healey for an drive on a beautiful and warm Friday and all seemed perfect. Although I hate to be so positive when not being able to examine problem parts directly, but the clutch did not show even a hint of slipping through multiple start-offs as well as up and down shifts at slow and high speeds. Looking back, I believe the clutch slipping was due to the great red-line escape and contamination of the clutch. However, I wonder if the synthetic oil actually was able to penetrate the surface of the clutch material and, if the brake cleaner did not clean the surface, it may have burned off. Either way, I am a happy person (so far) and will be "On the Road Again" as the song goes.

Thanks all for your support,
Ray(64BJ8P1)
 
That’s great Ray. Now turn her SE and head for the Hershey Hill Climb. That’s where my Healey is heading in about 5 min.
 
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