I'm not one of those owners who have ever had a problem to the thrust
washers "wearing out" prematurely, or otherwise. I DO set them up snug
(.003 clearance) so the crankshaft doesn't have much room to bang back
and forth. Mostly because of this tighter-than-spec clearance, I got
into the habit of not using the clutch on cold starts. My thoughts here
is that I want more room for the oil to get to the working sides of the
washers. When the clutch is used, this clearance is reduced to the film
of oil that may or may not have been present before starting the engine.
What does all of this add up to? I have no way of proving that this
startup method does anything to prolong the washers life. I do know that
the ones in place have been in there for 50,000+ miles and I still see
no movement when levering the crank pulley back and forth.
Dick
From:
lang@isis.mit.edu(Robert Lang)
On Mon, 5 Nov 2007, im sloane wrote:
BTW while on the subject of cold starts, the worst thing you can do to
your motor (well maybe not the worst, worst) is cold start with the
clutch in. >
Get in the habit of putting the thing in neutral EVERY time you start
the car.
David,
Please elaborate. I'm not disagreeing, just curious.
This is a reference to the supposed weak link of the TR6 thrust
bearings.
I guess the theory is that they wear prematurely if you push the clutch
in while you crank the engine.
However, if you use a quality lubricant, and if your oil pump is up to
snuff, the thrush washers should be able to take the force of the clutch
while you start up the engine.
The cause for thrust washer failure is usually improper installation
(the washers are installed backwards), the motor oil maintenence is poor
(long intervals between changes or the wrong oil) and over-revving the
engine.
But some folk sseem to think that adding stress to the bearings by
pushing in the clutch will reduce t/w bearing lifespan. My personal
feeling is that the possibility is over-stated.
Sloane :)
69-Six
regards,
rml
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