Well, I took the transmission out of my MK IV Spitfire last evening,
in preparation for putting in my recently-imported overdrive transmission,
and I was horrified to notice that my clutch was in pretty bad shape!
After only two years and 10,000 miles, the throw-out bearing had worn
a deep groove into the flat springs in the pressure plate, where
it pushes against them. The springs had been worn to about half
their original thickness. I immediately suspected that the throw-out
bearing had gotten seized up, but it seemed fine (it was replaced
when I last did the clutch). All the parts were OE Borg and Beck.
I hadn't noticed any funny noises, and the only symptom was a
slight judder when engaging the clutch. The hydraulics had also
been rebuilt 2 years ago.
What could cause this? Are the Borg and Beck parts intrinsically
no good? The parts that got replaced 2 years ago were the same brand,
and the pressure plate was also ruined.
On the Spitfire, since there is no adjustment, it looks like the
throw-out bearing is always pressing lightly against the pressure plate
springs, and thus always turning. Is this really true? Should
the face of the throw-out bearing be lubricated at all?
Enquiring minds, etc.,
Doug Braun Intel Design Technology
408 765-4279
dbraun@scdt.intel.com
or maybe:
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