delbene@homxa.UUCP (K.DELBENE) (07/03/85)
I've got a '79 MGB that's developed clutch spin. Since the car only has
23000 miles on it, I've got to assume that oil has gotten into the clutch
area from either the transmission or rear seal. Having lots of demands
on my time, I have a dilemma to face. Do I change the clutch myself
or allow myself to be ripped off to the tune of $300+. Hence, my questions:
1) Anybody have any experience with MGB clutches? Do I really have
to pull the engine? Is it really easier to just pull the
engine and leave the transmission in place? (I've
changed a number of clutches in my days, so I'm relatively
familiar with the generic operation). Where's the best place
to attach the tackle? Am I better off renting a "cherry picker"
to take the motor out?
2) I know the typical sources of oil/grease that cause clutch spin.
Anybody had experience with such leaks etc. on MGBs or other
such pieces of fine British craftmanship? How bad are the seals
to replace? Which ones should I suspect?
3) Besides enduring the clutch spin (I happens when I punch it
in a high gear), am I introducing any great risks in waiting
~1 month to do this job. The reason I ask is that I've got a
new head that I'll be putting on next month, and it would be
nice to do them at the same time.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Kurt D. Del Bene
...!ihnp4!houxm!homxa!delbenepoole@convex.UUCP (07/09/85)
Sorry to hear about your clutch problems my friend. I`ll give you a short history of my dealings with this problem and I hope that it may be of some help. I have a 75' MGB which developed some nasty clutch spin months ago. And yes you will have to pull the engine. I pulled the whole thing out tranny and all. Since you have done this sort of thing before you be one up on me I had never done any heavy car maintaince before. Before you start this be sure and have the Hanyes shop manual for your car handy. I also have Porter's restoration manual which has lot's of good photos of this operation. They do say that pulling the engine and trans together is easier and I think they are right. As far as where to hook your chains ... I removed everything possible from the engine which left alot of places to screw in bolts. BE SURE to remove the carb. and the gasket type gizmo which is between the carb. and the intake manifold. Any idea what this thing does? I think its some sort of emission control but can't find it in any of my books. My clutch problems stemmed from the fact the my master and slave cyl. were both shot. This caused the clutch to wear out and I mean down to the springs. So be sure and look carefully at both of these things. After doing all of this I decided to get the head redone and found that mine was cracked! I replaced this and have been doing everything you could think of to the thing while it's down. Money Money Money. Leaks, let's talk about leaks. The gasket on the pushrod inspection plate had never been on right and I was really leaking oil all over the bottom side of the engine on back. I have just heard of a good way to detect leaks before you put your engine back in. After you've done all your going to do to it and are ready to put it back in, get yourself a stethoscope and some vacuum hose. Hook up the hose to a running car (oh yeah have all the oil out of the engine your going to check for leaks) hook the other end up to the MGB engine. Any leaks will produce a audible hiss. Use some silicon to seal it up, the vacuum will pull the silicon into the crack. Sounds good but I have yet to try it myself. I'm still working on the carb. I could go on for days about the thing but I'll spare you. My last bit of advice...SELL IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please let me know how you're doing and if I can share some thing that may help you let me know. GOOD LUCK. Rick Poole P.S. Do you know what MGB really stands for...well I won't tell here it may offend a few folks.
delanie@trsvax (07/10/85)
In response to your questions about the MGB clutch: I, too, have a '79 MGB and had a new clutch put in about 10 months ago. After talking to 4 different garages, it seems that "technically" you do have to pull the engine to replace the clutch. In fact, most of the mechanics I talked to prefer to do that. However, if you have air conditioning, there is another trickier way to do it. They prefer to not pull the engine in this case because they don't want to re-charge the air conditioner. The way they do it is to jack the car up and "roll" the transmission out. Supposedly there's a trick to it because a friend tried to do that with his MGB and he couldn't figure it out. As far as waiting, well, I waited about 2 weeks and my mechanic said I had about another 1000 miles before I damaged the fly-wheel. If that happens, the fly-wheel must be ground down when the clutch is replaced. This, of course, means more money. In short, if I were you, I wouldn't wait. The price you quoted ($300+), fits in with all the quotes I got in Fort Worth, Texas. As a matter of fact, its a little lower than some. Hope this helps. delanie@trsvax.UUCP
ccs009@ucdavis.UUCP (Capt. Vandervecken) (07/25/85)
> I've got a '79 MGB that's developed clutch spin. Since the car only has > 23000 miles on it, I've got to assume that oil has gotten into the clutch > area from either the transmission or rear seal. Having lots of demands > on my time, I have a dilemma to face. Do I change the clutch myself > or allow myself to be ripped off to the tune of $300+. Hence, my questions: > > 1) Anybody have any experience with MGB clutches? Do I really have > to pull the engine? Yes, you really have to pull the engine. No way around it . This seems to work for me.. I detach all the miscellaneous attachments like manifolds, etc. then I remove the front cross member under the transmission( has the mounts on it ) Unhook the driveline by the four bolts on the output shaft. I usually pull the whole drive train in my garage ( I just prop up the cross members with two by fours)(( the whole drivetrain only weighs ~ 600 pounds)) A come-along or hand winch with a change will usually do it. I bolt the chain to the valve cover mount bolts( yes they hold just fine). > > 2) I know the typical sources of oil/grease that cause clutch spin. > Anybody had experience with such leaks etc. on MGBs or other > such pieces of fine British craftmanship? How bad are the seals > to replace? Which ones should I suspect? I haven't had any experience with the seals ( :-) yet...) but I've heard that they are a bi**h. > 3) Besides enduring the clutch spin (I happens when I punch it > in a high gear), am I introducing any great risks in waiting > ~1 month to do this job. The reason I ask is that I've got a > new head that I'll be putting on next month, and it would be > nice to do them at the same time. > > Any advice is greatly appreciated. > > Kurt D. Del Bene > ...!ihnp4!houxm!homxa!delbene Best of luck, I've had the engine out of my B three times, all for clutch problems....oh well if they weren't so damn much fun to drive.... Dennis "not tonight I have to fix the MG" Michaels @ U.C. Davis Computer Center p.s. dont lose the little retainer clips that hold the throwout bearing in place they cost around 2 or 3 bucks used !!!!
mff@wuphys.UUCP (Swamp Thing) (07/26/85)
In article <388@ucdavis.UUCP> ccs009@ucdavis.UUCP (Capt. Vandervecken) writes: >Best of luck, I've had the engine out of my B three times, all for clutch >problems....oh well if they weren't so damn much fun to drive.... > >p.s. dont lose the little retainer clips that hold the throwout bearing in place >they cost around 2 or 3 bucks used !!!! My God! Talk about penny-wise and pound-foolish. Never ever, for any reason, under no circumstances, for sure, should anyone ever NOT replace clips in a job like this. They get worn, especially when pried out. Do you really want to pull that sucker again to save a few bucks? You may get away with it for a while, but eventually, you'll get reamed. Believe me, I learned the hard way. Lost a stupid piston retaining clip and used an old one instead. It promptly fell out and passed between the piston and cylinder wall. Cost big bucks and alot of extra work. Mark F. Flynn Department of Physics Washington University St. Louis, MO 63130 ihnp4!wuphys!mff "There is no dark side of the moon, really. Matter of fact, it's all dark." P. Floyd