Well, here's my first advice request since purchasing my '73 Midget in May.
It has been on the road for about 3 weeks, but then I ran into clutch
problems.
Since the first drive, there was a mild clunk when releasing the clutch
pedal, especially, it seemed, in reverse. There also seemed to be a large
amount of miscellaneous noises in the trannny (loud first gear, etc.).
Often it was difficult to get into first gear after a stop, and even going
2nd to 1st sometimes produced a slow, mild grind before slipping into 1st.
These may or may not be related to the current problem:
During a typical drive home, I found that shifting was becoming difficult,
requiring me to rev the engine to slip into each gear. When I stopped in
my driveway in neutral and running, I could not get into 2,3,or 4 at all,
and any attempt to slip into first (with clutch in of course) was met with
a high speed grind. Pedal pressure seemed much lower, but I haven't driven
the car enough to have a definite feel.
This is where the plot thickens, possibly splitting into two problems. It
seems that the clutch pedal/slave cylinder was not functioning, so we
checked clutch MC level -- very low, despite no evidence of a leak. After
refilling and bleeding, pedal pressure seemed better, but maybe not as good
as original. While securely up on stands, I started the car and carefully
shifted thrrough all 4 grears at idle -- seemed fine, although the first
gear grind happened the first attempt only. The car came down, and as I
pulled out for a test drive, there was a new, disturbing whine from the
bell housing area while in gear with clutch in. During the drive, the car
shifted, but I still experienced difficulty getting into 1st after a stop,
and had some resistance from 2nd to 3rd. Back into the garage.
The question is: Does this sound purely hydraulic, as in I didn't bleed
the system sufficiently), or does it sound more serious (thrrow-out
bearing, linkage, etc.)? I'm planning to attempt bleeding once more before
diving into engine/tranny removal. I'm not too concerned about the removal
(I have space, equipment, and good help), but I'd rather wait until winter
if possible, so I can do the while-I'm-at-its without losing summer driving
time.
Sorry for the long message, but I wanted to give as much background as
possible. I suspect these are typical symptoms of something. If you made
it this far, can you give me some help?
Thanks,
Dustin Howarth
howarth@pulsenet.com
'73 Midget
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