• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

New clutch SQUEEEELING!!!! HUH

Share this page

T

triumph_tim

Freshman Member
Offline
Ok, so took everyones advice and after lots of reading, I pulled the tranny of my 1974 Triumph tr6. it was challenging but very manageable. now that i got it done (with new throw out bearing and pressure plate included) I was driving for about 20 minutes when all of the sudden the cluch started squeeling when I went to depress the clutch pedal. Is this normal for awhile or does this mean the throwout bearing is faulty? It starts to squeel right as I start to press in the clutch, I dont have to go far. When it gets all the way through to the floor It does not squeel any more. Help me please, anyone know what this could be. Also I have picks of the project im going to try and upload later.
 
Well, it definitely sounds like the throw out bearing. They don't require any break in, so no, it's not normal. If it is pretty silent (as in no grinding sound) when the clutch is fully disengaged, I don't think I would dig back into it yet.

Did you press the new bearing on or tap it on?

John
 
Did you use a stock bearing, or one of the many "upgraded" bearings (eg Gunst, Magic Clutch, etc) ?
 
i had the shop press the bearing on, could this be because they screwed up? I used the throw out bearing that was in the clutch kit, are they reliable? you say not to dive back into it yet, should I wait ti see if it goes away?
 
Tim,

I don't think this squeal will go away on its own.

You mention a shop. Did they do your clutch job? Should stand behind their work, and could bring it back to them to sort out.

Do you know what components your clutch kit included? Have you studied the Buckeye Triumph technical sections on clutch issues?
May get rid of the squeal by pre-loading the the throwout bearing using a spring set up to draw the bearing into constant contact with the pressure plate, but have to decide whether you want to risk some additional wear on the crankshaft thrust washers. Would need to routinely check the crank end float, something we all should check anyway.
 
I just rebuilt my engine and renewed the clutchworks while everything was out. I went ahead and fashioned a preload spring, although it is not as heavy a pull as was found by Dick Taylor to ensure the heavy and stiff Koyo bearing would need to force it to spin constantly with the pressure plate. I can adjust it to be though. I am still in the breakin phase of the engine etc at about 400 miles so far. Clutch is working perfectly and quitely. Here's a pic of what I made up (if I can remember how to add a pic)
 
Well I put in the clutch myself but it worked fine the first 20 minutes. Also dont know why the sound would go away when the clutch is completly pressed to the floor. Frustrating. about the spring, a little unsure what you mean. where would you attach the spring and why would the sound go away is it is the bearing? wouldn tbe worse if it was alawys spinning?
 
The stock bearing is a special free-turning design, which is supposed to spin all the time just from friction with the fingers of the pressure plate. There should be a light spring inside the clutch slave that supplies the minimal force to keep the bearing turning.

However, many of the "upgrade" bearings (as well as some being sold as original replacements) do not turn as freely, and need more force on them to keep them spinning. The screech is from the bearing face dragging against the clutch fingers as you start to disengage the clutch. Once you start to release the clutch, the increased force stops the bearing from turning against the fingers, and the noise stops.

Of course this is just theory at this point, you may actually have a bad bearing. But it is a common problem and the symptoms match.

PS The article at https://www.buckeyetriumphs.org/technical/clutch/ReliableClutch/ReliableClutch.htm discusses the problem some more, and includes diagrams of one solution.
 
^^^^^^^^^^ Interesting ^^^^^^^^^^^^

Great analysis. I can see how the rubbing of the fingers on a dragging TO bearing could really amplify the sound. You should be able to confirm this by slightly engaging the clutch to control the drag against the bearing and make the squeal start and stop with the pedal... no?

Is the thought that the bearing may become more free as it wears so the screeching goes away?

EDIT: Just read the now attached link. The answer to my question of the bearing loosening up over time appears to be NO.
 
GBRandy said:
EDIT: Just read the now attached link. The answer to my question of the bearing loosening up over time appears to be NO.
Click to expand...
I heard there was a batch of "bad" original type bearings some years ago that would sometimes free up. I don't recall the theory now, seems like it was something about the grease installed at the factory and improper storage. But in general, you are right, it doesn't get better on it's own.

And in addition to the noise, the bearing is wearing away the clutch fingers. If it goes on for too long, it can actually wear through them. Had that happen some years ago on a Chevy that used a similar clutch.
 
This image is enough for me to get under the car and start over with a new TO bearing before real damage is done....

From the link that Randall posted and to drive home his point of fingers wearing out:

Wear.jpg
 
And that is from the bearing not spinning with the pressure plate. Tim's issue may also be that the bearing sleeve/carrier itself is spinning on the front cover/the input shaft cover that the sleeve slides on, as a result of the recent move by suppliers to eliminate the bearing/sleeve pin that makes contact with the fork pins and prevents sleeve rotation. When enough force is applied to the peddle - forcing the TOB against the fingers, the sleeve/carrier will stop spinning and the bearing should take over and spin with the pressure plate. So what to do about squeeling? Either force the bearing to constantly turn with the clutch cover or make it stay clear. The second option can still result in some chirping or squeel when the bearing first makes contact with the clutch cover fingers, new bearing or worn out one.
 
Thanks everyone. Guess I will pull it apart and put in a new bearing. Shouldnt be so bad this time aroud seeing as I dont have to do a total dismantle. Thanks again for the help:smile:
 
Tim, did you make use of the alignment dowels? A lot of folks believe our TR6 tranny/clutch setup is pretty sensitive to minute alignment problems that these dowels are intended to minimize.
 
BINGO Simpson!

I wrestled with a squeeling clutch for two years and two changes were the fix:

-Make sure both alignment dowels are in place and not bolts. The dowels are carefully machined and ensure the engine and tranny are perfectly aligned.

-over the years the shaft off the tranny - the transmission cover- developes fine ridges. Those ridges can hang up the T/O bearing while depressing the clutch. The result is that the pressure plate just touches the fingers enough to cause a squeal. That shaft should be ultra smooth before putting the bearing in place to make sure free movement.

You may not need any new parts, just extra "practice" slitting your car open!!

Cheers,

Doug
 
Tim, if I remember right, you have a TR3, don't you? All the talk above about preloading the bearing doesn't seem to apply to the TR3 when I read the manual. There is a spring on my fork that withdraws the bearing from the fingers (not a diaphram). If it's not a TR3, then I stand corrected...

John

I stand corrected!
 
CJD said:
Tim, if I remember right, you have a TR3, don't you?
Click to expand...
The original post specified 74 TR6.

Of course, some of us have diaphragm clutches in our TR3 ...
 
Re: New clutch SQUEEEELING!!!! HUH Problem solved

Hey every one, I remebered someone saying something about the pin on the bearing sleeve and I dawned on me about what could be wrong. I actually installed the bearing incorrectly. Instead of placing the prongs onto the collar, I put it to the rear of the collar, just behind the grooves where the pin sets, so this whole time the bearing and collar have been spinning together on the axle shaft. I can't belive it, it hit me all of the sudden. Well now to tear it down again. Me and my car are getting very close and the girlfriend is not happy! You all helped a great deal and appreciate the help.
 
Back
Top