New Clutch Won't Disengage

[Stevo309 0]

Hi guys,

 

Have spent what seems like months trying to get my 306 back on the road and i'm now at my wits end with it!

 

Fitted a newly rebuilt gearbox on the 306 t16 from Miles with shot peened gears and new bearings and took the opportunity to have the helix cerametallic clitch re-lined. I was very careful to do my best to get the clutch release fork in behind the release bearing and it has all gone back together as i would expect, the clutch pedal feels normal (very heavy) and the arm was in the normal place.

 

The problem is that the clutch simply won't disengage. When i push the pedal down i can hear the release bearing chattering which obviously isn't good. I can select all gears with engine not running but when running it won't select gears as the clutch doesn't appear to be working?

 

Any ideas?

[Anthony 1,003]

Can you feel through one of the openings on the bellhousing to confirm that the release bearing is definitely still clipped tto the clutch fork? Very easy to knock them off the fork when fitting the box, and that would make a racket and stop the clutch disengaging.

 

Otherwise, if it's still attached, sounds like it's gearbox off again to see what's amiss.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Has the auto adjuster in the cable fails somehow so that it isn't pulling the release arm far enough? Is the pin between the arm and pivot shaft in place properly?

[Stevo309 0]

Thanks for the quick reply,

 

Not sure i can even see in there let alone feel inside the bell housing? Seems to be no gaps anywhere?

 

I left the release bearing in place and assumed as the pedal feels heavy and springy that the fork did go in behind as it must be pulling on the fingers of the pressure plate?

 

I fear it might be a case of taking it all off again as you say though but i also think i could very easily make the same mistake again? How can you test that it's all in place as it should be before going too far with the rebuild?

 

[Stevo309 0]

Yes Tom the pin is definitely fully in and i can see the arm is getting a good pull, nothing slack and obvious to stop the arm moving as it should.

 

I did wonder if it was a cable adjustment issue but not sure how to check this?

 

Not sure why the bearing would be noisy either when it was fine before?

 

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

I've seen a few people drill holes in the case to check, make sure it's round thou but normally they go on fine, I always look at the arm when fitting as it moving generally means it's engaged into the bearing

[Stevo309 0]

Thanks guys,

 

I can't believe the pedal would feel normal at all if the fork was not pulling the bearing but i'll check the arm travel tomorrow, as it's got new lining i guess the arm will need more movement to stop the clutch from dragging.

 

I could eliminate the cable as the culprit i suppose by manually pulling the arm back with a g-cramp or similar and seeing if that works with the engine ticking over?

 

I did also notice a lot of give in the rubber bung on the end of the cable, i guess a heavy clutch like this will push rubber and cable harder.

[fletch 0]

Are you 100% sure you've put the friction plate on the right way round when fitting?

[Stevo309 0]

Yes 100% sure the friction plate is the right way around because the T16 flywheel seems very shallow and i remember offering it up both ways and realising that the wrong way around would mean the pressure plate probably not going on properly. Basically it's sitting with the middle part that sticks out more facing away from the engine.

 

I took the clutch cable off today and using a length of threaded studding, nuts and washers managed to clamp the arm right across as far as it would go. The clucth was still engaged though so i know it's not the cable.

 

Having taken the cable off too and using a metal bar to manually lever the arm i can feel plenty of spring so i'm convinced that the fork is in behind the bearing.

 

It remains a mystery but the only way to know i think will be to take it all off again.. Sigh. I suspect that the new clutch lining has too much meat on it. That doesn't explain why the bearing is so noisy though.