Hello, all:
Just this weekend I've begun the process of replacing my clutch on the TR6.
Right now I have the 'box out, the flywheel is off, the old clutch parts
are in the trash, figuratively speaking.
The question here is: How do you remove WHAT'S LEFT of the old release
shaft bushings from the bellhousing? This is something I've never done on
the previous three occasions that I've changed the clutch in the 12 1/2
years I've owned the car. So, needless to say, the bushings, particularly
the one on the lever arm side, appears to be all but gone. I do see the
REMAINS of that bushing, (I think) but it seems like it would be much
easier to remove, say with a slide hammer, a completely intact bushing.
Correct? Any suggestions?
I had been putting this job off, for financial reasons, since January of
this year. Since that time the release bearing apparently seized, and the
clutch itself continued to get worse and worse to the point that on Friday
I could get the clutch to slip in virtually any gear by nailing the
throttle. When I took it all apart, I found the release bearing TOTALLY
separated from the collar, the inner race of the bearing still in place
around the collar but the outside is now only a loose shell with a few ball
bearing rolling around loose inside. The fork pins are flattened on one
side, and there are two broken fingers in the diaphram spring on the
pressure plate. Not only that, but there's a nice groove worn into the
ends of the fingers that are left.
I'm glad I finally got the opportunity to take care of this... it was time,
alright!!
I'm replacing the fork pins, the collar, the taper pin, the shaft, the
bushings, and I'll be drilling the fork and shaft and adding a grade 8
bolt. The new clutch is the heavy-duty kit offered by British Parts
Northwest.
That brings up another question regarding the release fork: Apparently
there are two different forks used in the TR6 production. An earlier
(presumably) rather bulky fork, which is rather wide where the shaft goes
through it, and this fork has a large boss cast into the fork right where
you would drill the hole for the extra bolt. Then there's the later (?)
fork, which is much slimmer and compact and has no boss cast into it. The
latter is the one I find on my TR6, and its part number, or the number that
is cast into one arm of the fork, is 105999. Looking in TRF's parts
catalog, (page 150 volume 1) I see they show only one style of fork, their
part number is 106022. According to the illustration, this fork is
identical to mine. I've a couple of spare TR6 gearboxes at my folks' place
and both of them have the other style fork that I spoke of above.
Should I not drill through this particular fork even if it has no boss on
which to drill? Can anyone else out there confirm this observation of the
different forks? Does it matter which fork you use?
Thanks for the help!
Pete Chadwell
1973 TR6
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