Jon Lind wrote:
>
> Howdy. It's been a while since I've been on. I'm having a problem with my
> clutch. About 2 years, though only 3000 miles, ago I paid a guy to replace
> the clutch on my MGB. When I picked it up he assured me that it was normal
> that the clutch engaged at the very end of the clutch lever's travel. Just
> as you release the lever it would finally engage. I suspected at the time
> this wasn't correct, but what could I say? It worked and it's not
> adjustable.
>
> Recently the clutch started slipping when it was warm. Finally, on Friday,
> it started slipping so badly that I could barely drive it home. What could
> cause this? The fluid has been replaced several times. Even if the slave
> or master were bad (they shouldn't be, but you know how that goes) it would
> seem that it would cause it to no longer disengage, but if everything else
> failed it would always engage.
>
> Any ideas what I can do to fix this? Thanks guys.
Hate to tell you this, Jon, but chances are it's a power-train-out
situation. What happens is that the clutch has been set up wrong in
some way. It's not necessarily the fault of the mechanic. Sometimes
it can just be a matter of outer-edge tolerances Murphying together
coincidentally to put the whole assembly out of tolerance. They hope
this won't happen, but Murphy is always in the equation, if you know
the rules.
When the clutch starts to slip, the pressure-plate assembly starts
to get hot. If the car is driven any appreciable distance with the
clutch slipping, the pressure plate springs or diaphragm will get
red-hot pretty rapidly, causing them to lose temper and stop
providing the strong pressure needed for complete adhesion. This
then continues to deteriorate logrithmically.
You need the engine-transmission unit out of the car and the clutch
disc and pressure plate replaced with new ones. I would advise
replacing the clutch-release bearing at the same time. I do this
over a weekend, outdoors, on the driveway, if it's not raining or
snowing. I am not smarter, bigger, or stronger than you. ;)
You can bite the proverbial lead projectile and become a master
mechanic, or you can pay some fool to half-fix your car, put you in
deadly danger and charge you more than a week's pay. ;)
If you simply aren't willing to take this on and you know somebody
who is a genuine mechanic and who won't rob you, I hope you
understand he's more important to you than your dentist or
oncologist. I would rather spend three weeks of my spare time
finding the Morgan 3-wheeler expert in my area than to buy a stack
of books and think I understand them. ;)
He (or she) will say to only use the Timken bearings and the Gates
belts or something similar that will save me enormous amounts of
hassle.
If you don't have one of those master mechanics, relatively free of
insane greed, I advise you to find an enthusiast near you who knows
his shit and pay him generously to help you redo the clutch. Perhaps
there will be somebody who also owns a trailerable cherry-picker to
pluck the whole thing out easily. This will allow you to learn how
(and how not) to do it yourself next time. It will save you at least
half of what the local clueless shop was going to charge you for
ruining your LBC, and the job will be done right.
My opinion.
-Rock http://www.rocky-frisco.com
--
Red Dirt Rangers (Rocky on piano): http://www.reddirtrangers.com
JJ Cale Live (w/Rocky): http://www.rocky-frisco.com/calelive.htm
The Luggage Fan Club: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/luggage-fans
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