Okay, I have 29,000 miles on the 4 speed beast known as #618 so I took
it to a local clutch shop because the darn thing was slipping. I
instructed the shop on proper door technique, proper jacking technique,
etc. I left the car with the order to call me when they had it up and
they decided that, yes indeed, it is an AMC drivetrain with an 11"
clutch disk. They called and asked whether the car had been leaking oil
and for how long. Yes, I said, that when I took it out of its garage
indeed there was some oil there, for the first time. What had happened
was that the bolts holding the fuel pump (and I am not the person who
installed this -- it was the previous owner) had backed out. And boy,
the oil was a flowing out that hole. Now this is obviously not on the
pressure side of the system and I imagine that the pump would have
stopped working before all the oil was gone but nonetheless, it is an
issue that is avoidable and we shouldn't have to deal with if we use
good maintenance techniques. By the way, on the way to the shop I heard
an unfamiliar tappet or exhaust leak sound that was rhymic with the
engine. Now I know that the issue was the tapping of the mechanical
fuel pump. Oh, and yes indeed, the clutch is toasted. Kim
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