Sorry I didn't see this earlier - I had the same problem on a Fiat many years ago, and could have saved you some head scratching. Glad you have it worked out.
CIAO! - Jim M
--Previous Message--
: I find it odd to reply to my own post but
: this is the 10:00 a.m. updated.
:
: My son and I confirmed again that there
: was no crank end float problem. We
: also clamped the slave piston in place
: and confirmed the master would both
: move the piston and build pressure.
: Once those tests were done we pulled
: the gearbox. The problem was
: immediately apparent.
:
: The fingers on the pressure plate
: diaphragm had failed. The were not
: broken, they were worn paper thin and
: "caved in".
:
: My explanation for this is last year's
: release bearing failure. 10 months ago
: my son limped the car home after a
: total disintegration of the release
: bearing. The diaphragm looked good to
: me so all we replaced was the release
: bearing. Apparently while the
: diaphragm fingers did not appear worn
: from using the clutch with a
: non-rotating bearing... the fingers
: must have overheated and lost their
: temper. Today they were simply worn
: ridiculously thin to the point of
: folding over/in.
:
: We are leaving in a few minutes to see
: a friend an hour south of here. He has
: a stack of new and used early and late
: clutch parts. He says he should have
: some 1500 parts to help us get the car
: back together quickly and get my son
: back to college after the Easter break.
:
: Hopefully we'll have a happy concluding
: post by the end of the weekend.
: Unfortunately... today is the only dry,
: non-rainy day out of the next three.
:
: Doug L.
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: Good Morning Glen,
:
: While waiting for my son to wake up I
: went to the car with a pry bar to see
: if it was the thrust washers. I did
: not put an indicator on the pulley but
: visually there was little to no travel
: so I assume I am still within the upper
: limit of acceptable end float. There
: certainly was not enough travel to
: suggest the washers were
: gone/missing/badly worn.
:
: I think the clutch pedal was catching
: about 1/3 of the travel up from the
: floor. We have already pulled the
: starter and bell housing bolts so there
: is no way to test this again for a
: while.
:
: I will put a C-clamp on the slave
: cylinder and press the pedal to see how
: firm it gets. I have a new slave
: (purchased years ago) ready to install
: so I may put that on "just
: because" and also check (with the
: c-clamp on the slave) that the master
: is building up pressure.
:
: I will be very discouraged if I find
: out this is yet another failed pressure
: plate.
:
: Doug L.
:
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: Doug it sounds like it isn't getting
: full
: release???
: When you start it in gear, how is the
: pedal release/engagement height, as
: compared to normal? It should be about
: halfway down/up. If it's lower than
: that, I would check hydraulics first
: and make sure that there is sufficient
: release travel. The fact that the
: reservoir is full suggests that it
: isn't caused by a leak but the master
: cylinder could have an internal bypass.
: If it is getting enough travel, then it
: gets ugly...
: Glen
:
: --Previous Message--
: My son has experienced a problem with
: the
: Spitfire. He suddenly cannot select
: any gear at idle. Pushing the lever is
: like pushing against a brick wall. You
: can select gears with the engine off
: and you can put the car in gear, then
: start the engine (once it is warm).
:
: The pressure plate is about 2 years
: old, the release bearing less than a
: year. I pulled the slave back and
: found that it was still actuating when
: the pedal was pressed and the reservoir
: level in the master is full.
:
: I bought a decent clutch kit from Ted
: at TSI last time so I doubt it is the
: pressure plate again. I will be
: checking the crank axial play this
: morning in fear that it is the thrust
: bearings. If it's not the thrust
: bearings we'll pull the gearbox to look
: at the clutch in detail.
:
: Do you guys have any suggestions for
: other areas to check?
:
: Thanks,
: Doug L.
:
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