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Triumph TR6 - New Clutch = Remove Engine?

I read the Dumb Question # 11teen with great interest. It made it sound like I might not have to pull my TR's engine to renovate the clutch. I thought that would be the way to go.

As it is, my comression, oil pressure etc. are good. It appears it had been overhauled in the recent past (mileage-wise) so I hadn't planned on doing that.

On the other hand, the clutch demonstrates all the classic symptoms of impending death.

Any comments?

Charlie
EC Smith

Charlie,

Doing the R&R thing on the clutch assembly does not necessitate removing the engine. Actually it is much easier not to pull the engine. That said, the easy way is to pull the transmission from the cockpit area. Remove the carpet on the transmission tunnel, the passengers seat and the carpet on the passengers side, unless you have some way of protecting it that I have never learned. Oh yeah, remove the cardboard tranny cover too.

I would strongly suggest that before going any further, you obtain a copy of Robert Bentley's shop manual. It has the entire factory original manual included and lays things out very well. Not to say that it cannot be done without the book, but the crutch is nice.

Pay particular attention to the location of the two 3/8 inch bolts (some folks call them dowels) in the bellhousing, not the starter bolts. These are used to properly locate the transmission on re-installation. Failure to get these in place or use of a smaller bolt will almost guarantee problems down the road.

Take a look at the rear main seal and check the thrust washers while you are in there. Might as well give the front and rear tranny seals a peak too. Sorry, got carried away! Oh yeah, remember to re-install the slave on the rear side of the mounting plate. You will not have enough piston throw if you mount it on the front side.

You will hear a hundred different opinions on clutches, pressure plates and release bearings. I will not get into that mix as I have yet to have a problem with any combination that was installed as per the manufacturers instructions. Okay, there was the time when I installed the old style master cylinder and used a pressure plate known for its stiffness in the wife's car - she was not happy with me - but it worked just fine.

Plan on a day to do the entire job. Enjoy.

Don
Yellowdog

Charlie, no need to pull out the engine for clutch replacement. You will need to support the back end of the engine however. I used a small bubble jack and caught the edge of the engine plate. This will also make lining up the transmission shaft and mating to the engine easier. Make certain that you rebush the cross shaft with wider bushings, and replace fork pins. If the cross shaft is at all worn, replace it as well.
ps drain tranny fluid, as it will otherwise drain out the speedo connection where you don't want it to go!.
Cheers
Pete
Pete Russell

Charlie
No need to pull the motor as all have said.
I add to Don's suggestion that you also remove the radio plinith ( I am sure you meant to say this also Don:) and the drivers seat. Just makes it easier with both seats out as you or a buddy will be straddling the tranny as it goes back in. You will be the lucky one under the car lifting it up:). I also removed the prop shaft tunnel as I found I needed to remove the hand brake..again more room.
Agree on the Pete, re-bush the cross shaft bushings in the bell housing. Simply buy 4 instead of 2 and put 2 in each end. The clutch alignment tool is a must get.
have fun with the reinstall. Put tranny in neutral and turn the UJ attachment plate at end of the tranny to get the spline to align and go home....this is the fun part.
Rick C
Rick Crawford

"Put tranny in neutral and turn the UJ attachment plate at end of the tranny to get the spline to align and go home....this is the fun part" ummm, I think he ment put it in 4th. If you put it in neutral, turning the output shaft will not turn the input shaft to align the splines.

I have done this soooo many times I have it down to a science. I've had tree TR6s. Bad clutches, bad ring gears, bad transmissions...if you have a TR6 you will do this. The one thing that will make the job go so much faster is if you have a good cordless drill driver. Get a hex to socket adapter at your local hardware store and use it like a like small air hammer. You may have to break loose the bolts but then you can just zip them out and back in with the drill. Works great for undoing the seats and tunnel. With a long extention getting to the bolts at the rear of the engine from inside the car is a huge time saver. You'll have to put something on the other side of the backing plate to hold the bolts from turnning, I use some vice grips just tight enough to hold them. Get several so you don't have to get out move the grip and get back in for each bolt. It makes it go a lot faster than laying on your stomach under the dash and cranking a ratchett. of course you will have to tighten up the engine bolts by hand after you get them snugged up but still it really is a lot faster. I have a Dewalt drill driver I use for everything.
skikir

skikir
You are correct. HE said neutral and it should be fourth gear....DOOH! 2 mistakes so far today.
He... AKA Rick C
Rick Crawford

Charlie,

I've had my trans out twice and replaced the clutch once. Every suggestion given is spot on. I'll add a couple extra from my experience that may help.

If you use new bolts to mount the clutch housing to the flywheel...be sure they are the correct length. If they are even slightly too long they will bottom out in the hole and won't properly tighten the clutch housing. Someone before me put the wrong ones in and I could see where it had been moving around.

Be sure there are dowels in the flywheel that the clutch cover fits on. Mine were missing.

Check the clutch actuation cross shaft in the bell housing. If it's loose in its bushings replace the bushings and shaft if necessary.

be sure to check the clutch fork pin. They are known to break. Mine was broken. You should probably just replace it anyway.

Those are the problems I ran into. Hope it helps.

BTW, I used conventional replacement parts and clutch and have not had any problems. My clutch works great.

Henry
HP Henry Patterson

This thread was discussed between 17/10/2005 and 19/10/2005

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