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Gunst Throw Out Bearing??

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Soup

Jedi Hopeful
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Greetings all! this is my first flurtation with this awesome site. I was drawn to it by a web search on info. regarding the infamous Gunst throw bearing sold by the Roadster Factory as part of a Magic Clutch Kit.

Here's the deal, believe it or not I bought the Gunst by mistake (won't get into that) So now I have it and all the internals necessary to replace the clutch. Bought everything the roadster factory requires to receive their 18-month warranty plus seals and gaskets and drive shaft u-joints because that's the way I am.

The Gunst will be installed with a Sachs clutch and pressure plate, not the Borg & Beck, which is recommmended.

Question, has anyone out there installed the Gunst bearing with true successes? Any recommendation or suggestions will be gretly appreciated.

Soup
 
Welcome aboard! I've not done a ~Tuiumph~ clutch R&R in years, never put in a Gunst T/O bearing, but: Don't run off, someone who has done one recently will be with you shortly...

This place (BCF) is VERY active, so don't just "hit n' run". You'll be pleasantly surprised by the rapid reactions. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif
 
Meantime, go intro yourself inna "New Members" forum, check in to th' Pub, hang out!
 
Thanks man. I'm kinda wondering if I should go with some other aftermarket/manufacture bearing.
 
Although I'm getting ready to replace my Gunst with a hydraulic throwout bearing from HVDA, it has performed flawlessly for over a year.

From what I gather, there might have been a bad run of these bearings from TRF about a year ago.

When you install these things however, you really need to take time to follow the instructions or you will definitely have problems.

If you have any additional questions, just ask.
 
I went through the trials and tribulations of a Gunst installation, not once, but three times. Because I'm a thick head and really try to use the best of everything and that bearing WAS being touted as the best at the time, I did it over and over again, to no avail.

I finally ended up with a TRF Magic Kit and the Koyo bearing, that I'm very happy with.

Now to be fair, I used it with the Borg & Beck, which it was supposed to be compatible with, but that has since been proven to be incorrect. I replaced everything that could possibly be replaced, so I know that it was done correctly.

I think that my biggest beef would be with Mr. Gunst. Dave at TRF was great, even though I got nothing back for all of the labor, I did get refunds on the bearings. Mr. Gunst and I had several exchanges via email and his arrogance was just a bit much for me and that's when I finally gave up on the product and was bound and determined to not let anyone make the same mistakes that I did. He is not concerned one bit about any type of customer relations, other than "I'm right and you're wrong" perspective.

Here are the pictures of a Gunst after very few miles and what the results are of dragging a bearing on a pressure plate all of the time.

Good luck!!!

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

I apologize for not welcoming you to the forum. I live in RI and there are several great Triumph owners on this forum from CT. Come around often and enjoy the show.

Where are you located in CT? In my job, I travel three days of the week in your lovely state.

Paul
 
Soup,

I've never really heard anything good about the B&B setup. As a matter of fact, two very expereinced installers in my area won't even touch the B&B clutch because of their performance (or lack thereof). One of them, in fact had one go bad pulling out of his shop for the first time.

I think the Sach's and LUK (Gunst himself recommends the LUK) are good pieces.

Welcome to the board!
 
who is hvda? I've run a McLeod in my 74 years ago. Worked with Red at McLeod in Anaheim Hills, Ca.(I lived in Rancho Santa Margarita, at the time). After we worked out the right size for the collar to prevent overextension, worked great, until I found out the seals(rubber) were incompatible with Silicone 5 brake fluid(at that time).
Replaced the o-rings and ran great.

Plan on putting it into one of my current projects, probably the 75 TR6
 
Everyone, thanks for the input thus far. The info has made me slightly more comfortable with the idea of installing the Gunst bearing based on: B&B should not be used (which I'm not); that there seems to be evidence that there was a supply of bad Gunst bearings in the past (hopefully still the past) and that Shannon has had luck with his for a year and still runnning.

Must say that I don't like Mr. Gunst apparent know it all attitude.

Shannon, you beg the question, if your clutch system is functioning flawlessly then why change it out??

Paul, seen your website, nice! Still waiting for the bumpers to go on.

Soup
 
Remember there are two versions of the B&B pressure plate out there. The newer model with the 'bent' fingers seems to be problematic while the older version with fingers similar to the Sachs unit has received positive feedback.
 
Another thought, what if I installed the Gunst bearing without the pre-load spring. In that way, wouldn't the Gunst bearing function just like an other??

Soup
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:] Another thought, what if I installed the Gunst bearing without the pre-load spring. In that way, wouldn't the Gunst bearing function just like an other?? [/QUOTE]

That actually makes it worse, since it will then drag and squeal even more. You can't believe the awful noise that these things can make. They are actually designed "TO TURN WITH THE PP", not spin independently (or intermittently) against it, hence the spring pulling it against the fingers. I had two springs, no springs, nothing worked, but again, B&B PP.

For what it's worth and I know these bearings have their fans out there, I had three different bearings, from three different shipments over a nine month period of time.

"Let the buyer beware"
 
Paul, didn't you end up going with a Land Rover T/O bearing? Do you know what the part number is and how much??

Soup
 
Sorry Paul, didn't catch on to the question about where I live. Reside up against the Mass State Line in Enfield. Have a brother in Portsmouth RI along with Aunts, Uncles and cousins in Newport.

Soup
 
Soup,

I think it's a Land Cruiser T/O bearing that your talking about instead of the Land Rover.

The reason adding a hydrualic T/O bearing is not because of the Gunst, but to rid myself of the less reliable clutch components (slave cylinder and the fork pin to name a few) and to greatly smooth up the clutch action.

Again, the Gunst bearing coupled with the LUK clutch has perfomed as expected.
 
Shannon is correct on the Koyo, Land Crusier bearing.

He is also giving you honest feedback, as he always does, about his experience with the Gunst. Had I known about the issues with the B&B, I would have bought the Sachs or Luk up front. The catalog at the time said that either would work and no one at TRF said anything different when I ordered it.

I wasn't very lucky with the whole deal and that is all that it really boils down to. I've talked to many other TR6 owners who did the same exact install as me and had no real issues to deal with. They didn't mind the noise, I hated it. Some are worse, some are less. It's over now and time to move on to new and better problems.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Paul, seen your website, nice! Still waiting for the bumpers to go on. [/QUOTE]

Thanks! I'm still waiting too!!

I've been to Enfield many times. Nice old New England town with the wide streets and tree lined avenues.

Next time you plan to be in the neighborhood, let me know and we'll get together.
 
I've got to say, I'm less than happy with the Gunst/Luk set up. I previously had a TRF magic clutch (koyo/sachs) which I was very happy with. I had some internal transmission issues which forced me to R/R the tranny. I thought while I was at it, I would install "state of the art" clutch components. Hence the Gunst T/O and carrier. I fully prepped the transmission (which had previously functioned flawlessly) and installed the dowells as instructed by Mr. Gunst. I have a very notchy sticky clutch. Unfortunately, I've found that the carrier hangs up on the snout of the transmission. I assume the bearing itself is fine. But, I'm going to have to R/R everything and try to sort out why the carrier is sticking. I would stick with the Koyo/Sachs
Joe
 
Soup,

Welcome aboard!!

I also purchased TRF entire clutch kit and all the
goodies and oil seals anywhere near the tranny.

Since I know nothing about clutches and I live in
a rather remote area, I researched the heck out of
clutches before I purchased.

Bottom line: I found almost NO positive feed back about
the Gunst T/O bearing.

Two weeks ago I installed the Koyo set-up and I'm well pleased.
 
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