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Wedge TR8 clutch

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DNK

DNK

Great Pumpkin
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The master cylinder went dry /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wall.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wall.gif ,dang, is the slave on the passenger side and what is the best location for jack stands and where is the best spot to use a floor jack on the front
 
My Vickey British catalogue says it is in the bell housing. Is that correct? You have to pull the clutch to bleed it??

Maybe they mean it is connected to the cluch fork which is in the bell housing?
 
Put a floor jack under the middle of the front subframe and start pumping. Just make sure you are not on the oil pan. Once you get it up in the air, you can place the stands under the front sway bar near it's front mounts. You can also put them under the rails that run from the rockers to the tranny tunnel. These rails are located under the pedals. If your master went dry, then I would bet that there is a leak at the slave. You should consider removing and rebuilding them both. The kits are around 10 bucks each. New units are around 75 each.
 
Maybe replacing the hydraulic tubing between master and slave cylinders also?
 
That tube in NLS. saw one on the net for $$. Any chance the seal got dry and from not being driven for a couple of years. Should have checked it when I got it. There is not a lot of liquid where I store it.
 
tr8todd said:
If your master went dry, then I would bet that there is a leak at the slave. You should consider removing and rebuilding them both. The kits are around 10 bucks each. New units are around 75 each.
Click to expand...

Who do you recomend for the kit.
Thanks for the jacking advice. the sway bar will support the front?
Is the slave on the passenger or drivers side?
 
The sway bar will support the front of the car if you put the jack stands near the aluminum retaining blocks at the front. Make sure you put them inboard of the blocks on the straight section of the bar. The slave is on the passenger side under the starter. It is easy to get to, and secures with two bolts to the outside of the bellhousing. There is a metal rod that protrudes from inside the bell and slides into the open end of the clutch slave. You won't see that until you remove the slave. Removing the master is alot more difficult. It secures to the bulkhead with two thru bolts. Getting at the ends that are high up under the dash is literally a real pain in the back. Kits are available everywhere but you should get to know Woody Cooper at The Wedge Shop. He has a web address https://www.thewedgeshop.com and his phone number is 508-880-5448. He is the expert on these cars, and with the dwindleing number of TR8s out there, he can use all of the new customers he can get. The hydraulic clutch piping for the TR8 is unique to the TR8. The TR7 uses a hard black plastic hose. In a pinch, you can use the TR7 hose on an 8. It is long enough to reach, and the masters and slaves are identicle.
 
TSI sells a replacement clutch hose. Probably WedgeShop will have one also.
 
Introduced myself to Woody and talked about suspension parts. Asked him about the situation and his recommendation was to replace the slave and repair the master. His logic makes sense.

Anyone have his springs and suspension parts on their Wedge?

I don't know if this is allowed, but is the stuff from Vickey British the same quality as from Moss. Moss wants a lot more money.
 
I highly recommend Woddys lowered springs and poly bushings. They take the SWING AND SWAY out of the rear end and make the curvey roads allot more fun.


I esp like his service, I recently got burnt ordering a starter that was a little cheaper and offered quick delivery. I was even able to order it Sunday. I had visions of putting the start on on Tuesday. Well it is Friday and I just got notice it will be here tomorrow. If I had ordered it Monday from Woody I would have had it Tuesday and been driving the rest of the week. I constantly sing Woody's praises and now you know why.
 
You still don't have that starter?

I found from BPNW lower prices on the slave and master for the clutch. I think they are both Girling. Is that the best brand choice?

Silicon fluid when I do my repairs??
 
So let me get this straight. You take up time out of his work day to pick his brain and then you order from someone else because they are slightly cheaper? Boy, I hope the guys at BPN have a good tech line next time you need advice on your TR8!!!!
 
I never talked to him about buying clutch hydraulics from him. as far as those are concerned there is nothing on his website that shows he even carries them. If he carries that stuff he should put it on his site and I probably would have bought from him. I picked his brain about the suspension parts and told him about my clutch issues and he recommended a cure. I said thank you for that and told him I would be purchasing the front end parts .
Todd I don't appreciate the inference in what you are saying. I am a business person and loyalty is important to my customers and to me. I think you know more than you are letting on and maybe you should share it with me too.
 
Excuse me. I was under the impression that this thread was about clutch hydraulics. I am sorry if I stepped on your toes. I just had a customer take one of my proposals, that I prepared for his insurance company, and use it to get lower bids. My perception of your actions hit a nerve. Woody has just about everything for the TR7/8; both the available and the unobtanium parts. In the interest of full disclosure, Woody's shop is about 20 miles from my house. I am able to stop by often when work takes me in that direction. He runs a first class business. I do not work for him or gain any monetary benefit from knowing him. He has, in the past, and hopefully in the future, helped me out tremendously with his parts inventory and his knowledge of TR8s. I own and have owned several TR8s, including 3 SCCA Improved Touring race cars. The fact that his shop exists is the main reason I can continue to run such an unusual car by SCCA standards. There simply is not the wealth of performance knowledge out there for the TR8 racer as compared to the Mazdas and BMWs I go up against. If there is something more specific you wish for me to share, I would be happy to do so.
 
I've got Woody's springs and am very happy with them. Car has a tighter feel and looks better sitting lower.

Tom
 
"County" brand parts are from India. I recently had to rethread a wheel "county" brand wheel cylinder because the threads were bunged up from the factory. Not real badly, but enough so the brake pipe wouldn't seal. They are cheaper. BPNW sells both "County" and Girling brands, you'll pay more for Girling.
 
Thanks for the refresher course on the brands. I use to talk to the folks at meets from BPNW but they quit showing up. To bad Woody doesn't have the resources ( I know it takes a lot) to come out to the other coast to show his wares. Would like to meet him. As Todd said this is a post on clutch parts and not to go off course I do plan to spend a couple of thousand this winter with him.
 
How in the blazes do you get the dang spring of the thimble?. It says to bend the prong. I don't think the prong is even holding the spring on??

clutchinners.jpg
 
You have to spring (or bend) the tab and pull the thimble off of the piston first. The thimble has a key-hole shaped slot in it, so once the thimble is off the piston, you can compress the spring a bit and move the link (the rod through the center of the spring) in the slot until it's head slips through the large end of the slot. Then remove the foot valve & link, and pull the spring off the thimble.

The tab doesn't hold the spring at all, it just holds the thimble to the piston. In turn, the piston holds the link head in the center of the thimble, which keeps it from slipping through the large end of the slot.

When you put it back on, be sure to check that the tab is firmly engaged with the lip on the piston. It bangs back and forth every time you push the pedal, and can cause strange problems if it comes apart.
 
So instead of pushing the tab down to get the spring off,I should be prying up to get the thimble off the plunger?
 
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