new clutch problem

[kirkstanton]

hey guys,

I've got a new clutch in my gc with a 5speed behind it, the thrust bearing isn't making enough contact with the fingers on the pressure plate. after trying a different bearing I still had no luck, ones thing I did notice was the fingers were sitting flat, not protruding outwards. and body had similar problems? any ideas on how to fix it?

thanks,
Kirk

[75wagon]

Is it a new clutch?
Are you sure the clutch plate is in the right way round? I've seen it done before... That would make you clutch fingers sit flat.

Dave...

[kirkstanton]

yeah its new. right way round as in lined up with the right bolts? ill get a pic soon.

thanks,
Kirk

[kirkstanton]

here's the clutch on the motor

[75wagon]

That looks normal to me? And by your description sounds normal too.
Have you compared the your new thrust race with your old one?

This may be silly but, you have adjusted your cable up haven't you?

Dave...

[kirkstanton]

yeah we adjusted the cable all the way, we also tried a sigma 5speed bearing aswell as the galant bearing, I'm going to pop the gearbox on again and see if it was maybe a one off unexplained thing. thanks Dave!

[75wagon]

Kirk, I just went out to my garage and checked. My brand new heavy duty clutch fingers sit just as flat as yours in the pics, same as the old one that I have right next to it.

What sort of condition is your cable in? Maybe it's stretched or the wrong one. Is it the same cable that came from the car? If so did it work fine before?
Just to give you some reassurance my 5 speed used the same cable and clutch and worked fine.

Dave...

[kirkstanton]

yeah it worked fine before, that was the first thing gb_bb4c checked when he came and had a look, we also tried another cable that I had laying aroud, had the same issue as before, I'm thinking of sticking one of the 4 speeds on temporarily, to see if I have the same problem

thanks,
Kirk

[75wagon]

Maybe measure the distance from the thrust bearing to the front of the bell housing on both boxes (4 and 5) and see if there is a difference?

[77GDWAGON]

I had the opposite problem once i had a 5 speed box and i killed it. found a 4 speed box and fitted it. Drove it down the street and the clutch was slipping pulled it apart and found the clutch release bearing was touching the clutch fingers. Looked through my spare parts and found the original 4speed clutch didnt protrude out as far as the clutch i had for the 5speed

[astronturbo77]

ive encountered a simillar problem when installing a jap 5sp. so what you're saying is the throw out bearing insn't pushing against the fingers enough to engage any gears? Ive always used the mating 5sp thrwo out bearing with a 4sp clutch and never had any issues with any of my cars. I did once have a problem where i didnt have enough cable adjustment and had to machine a 40mm spacer to sit in the clutch cable fitting where it comes through the firewall. Insure you are using the 5sp throw out bearing and that the cluch lever arm on the side of the box isnt bent as this will limit the travel.

Your new cluch plate ( not the pressure plate) should have either 'engine side' or 'gearbox side' written on it near the center. if it has no writting the cushion springs in the center of the clutch plate should be offset away from the engine.

[DanTurboLancer]

Well it looks new,
But ill ask anyway.
Have you replace the pressure plate aswell as the clutch?

or is it just a new clutch, and using the old Pressure plate?


Or have they givven you the wrong pressure plate, or Clutch?

Perhaps there is a difference between the clutch and pressure plate which is causing the issue??

[oldn64]

Well it looks new,
But ill ask anyway.
Have you replace the pressure plate aswell as the clutch?

or is it just a new clutch, and using the old Pressure plate?


Or have they givven you the wrong pressure plate, or Clutch?

Perhaps there is a difference between the clutch and pressure plate which is causing the issue??

I am going to go with this. There is a number of combinations for MMC clutches and pressure plates. When I ordered mine they supplied the wrong pressure plate (company rang store to tell them, luckily I am a trade customer at the store and they rang me... I haev already fitted the clutch and spent the last 1.5 hours trying to fit the gearbox to the motor, would always misout on seating by 8-10mm. Glad that it was wrong was starting to think I was tired. What I ordered was a heavy duty clutch for a 2L Jap 5speed narrow block, not sure what the part numbers were sorry (by the way mine looked prettier....it was pink eeeek!

Cheers

[Superscan811]

Had the same problem a while ago.

I ended up using an old thrust bearing housing and a press fit thrust bearing.

Just measure the current distance between the thrust bearing surface and where the forks press on the housing.
Make sure the next set are slightly longer.

Cheater may remember which bearing and housing we used.

Cheers.

[DanTurboLancer]

Oh and Kirk,
do you still have the old clutch, Throwout bearing and Pressure plate?
So you can inspect, and measure for direct comparisons?


It may be too late for you, but may help others
As a general rule,
Its a good idea keep the old stuff, even if it is absolutely flogged out,
until after your car is back together and running.

[Sigmaproject]

I was going to suggest clutch plate wrong way round, but even I couldnt get that wrong

[kirkstanton]

ok so after, the 4 speed going on then off, then the 5 speed going back on, then different bearings going on (3 different bearings infact!) i decided to do some measuring, and i came to the conclusion that the pressure plate is wrong. i called ABS and they told me that there are a couple different height? pressure plates, so tommorow their going to swap my pressure plate for a different one. hopefully all goes well!

thanks for all your help guys! i have pics of all the different bearings if people want to see them, ill also take note of the correct part number for the clutch, so other members dont run into the same issue.

thanks,
kirk

[pistorf]

From memory,there were 5 different clutches for galants.

[kirkstanton]

I took my flywheel, clutch, bearing and 5 speed to a clutch place today (can't remember the name) and they had a look at it, the Guy who seemed to know what he was talking about said their was only one other pressure plate, and the fingers just sat out more, what he ended up doing was throwing a HUGE thrust bearing onto the shaft, (something like 8mm thicker than normal) and hopefully tomorrow things will go better tomorrow

[DanTurboLancer]

Good stuff Kirk.

Yeah mate any pictures and relevant information is great