Didn't help at all. If anything it's worse with the longer S/C. 

I have a nasty feeling the gearbox is coming off again soon to see WTF is going on, but am going to do the engine stuff first.

Edited 3 August, 20205 yr by Wino
sp

Bugger. That's a shame ☹️

When slave cylinder was removed, was there any free play when pushing the fork or was it firm? I wonder if there is free play when the clutch is new and if free play dissapears when clutch is worn and pressure plate fins come out toward the gearbox.

Seemed firm as judged by the push-back as I inserted the latest slave cylinder.

Thanks for your continued interest by the way.

I'm now wondering if I could get USB endoscope camera in via that hole (or any other?) to get a visual on the clutch cover plate.  

Thinking I may have damaged some of the fingers while fitting replacement gearbox??

You are welcome although I have very little experience to be helpful.

 

But could it be that on your engine, low clutch biting position is normal?

On my SDI it is more or less the same at 150000km as was on 60000km, very high.

Good idea to check with a camera either trough the inspection hole or by removing the starter?

 

 

 

Looking at this image from an ebay listing, the starter hole is going to give much better access for viewing than the slave cylinder; looks like it might be hard to get round the release lever from there.

Still might try there first 'cos there's a lot less disassembly involved, two screws.

 

Not the best pictures in the world, better ones to follow, but the misbehaviour may have finally been diagnosed.

'Finger trouble' almost certainly caused (or started off) during the gearbox swap of Easter 2019.  

 

I'm fairly sure the fluid evident in the bellhousing is coolant that's worked its way down there very recently, as the engine head was removed yesterday too. Plenty of metal fragments and swarf about though.  ☹️

 

Looking like a new clutch cover, new release lever and release bearing reqd, as a minimum?

 

 

 

 

 

 

No amount of peeing about with the clutch hydraulics was going to overcome this little mess. 

Edited 6 August, 20205 yr by Wino

Two of the fingers look snapped, yes?

 

The release bearing looks too far back in the fork, was it not making an awful noise?

Edited 6 August, 20205 yr by TMB

Yep, two broken off, one or two others bent, most of them machined a bit by incorrect contact, release lever also machined a bit (see bluing of side nearest camera). Right old mess.

 

The only time it really showed itself (other than the low biting point) was in the last couple of months, when taking off from a standstill without first giving it some revs. 😮

Then there was the violent lurching/jumping described in the first post.

 

There has been a high-pitched whine occasionally audible with front windows open, but I put it down to an aero effect like when you have one rear window open and get that throbbing. I guess that was actually something rubbing.

 

New clutch kit ordered, should start going back together again after work tomorrow.  Planning to be super-careful with alignment as engine and gearbox come back together again! 😁

 

 

Edited 6 August, 20205 yr by Wino

I'm amazed it didn't make more noise. At least you've got to the bottom of the problem even if it's a lot more work than you wanted. Never a dull moment with cars.

 

What code is the box, Pete?

Edited 6 August, 20205 yr by TMB

I don't think this has been caused by assembly but something looks to have happened with the release bearing to me. It looks like it's moved back for whatever reason, allowing the fork to touch the fingers.

Edited 6 August, 20205 yr by TMB

JJL-code gearbox.

 

I reckon the release bearing and lever have both been subjected to trauma due to bent fingers 'ravaging' that general area. 

 

I remember struggling more than previously to get the gearbox back aligned/on after the box change. Bet I clouted those fingers with the input shaft.  

 

I'm surprised it's taken over a year to really affect the running of the car, and in such a limited way, although I suspect it wouldn't have been much longer before there wasn't enough clutch mech travel to find gears any more.  Must get some fresh oil in there as well.

 

 

 

Yeah, thinking about it again, the fork has touched the fingers mainly in one place, suggesting that the fingers haven't been in an even plane.

Be sure to check the release bearing guide-bush and oil seal while you are at it.

Any news for the impatient audience 😀

Edited 17 August, 20205 yr by pavinjo
typo

Just now, pavinjo said:

Amy news for the impatient audience 😀

Who is Amy is she famous?

Yes she was, pitty she ended like that 😜

10 minutes ago, pavinjo said:

Any news for the impatient audience 😀

Thanks for asking.

Yeah, just yesterday I got everything back together. Clutch problem is gone.  You wouldn't believe how slowly and carefully engine and gearbox came together this time round. Millimetre by millimetre, with an assistant (the owner) watching like a hawk.

There looks to be a residual problem with crank bearings that I had never previously noticed, which may have contributed to the clutch issue, but I don't think it would have been the only problem that caused the clutch to mash itself.

 

Edited 17 August, 20205 yr by Wino

2 minutes ago, pavinjo said:

Yes she was, pitty she ended like that 😜

She did whine a bit though and didn't listen to her Daddy and go to rehab.

Glad to hear all went well, timing chain too

I think so, only been for one short local test drive so far. 

Recon head fitted too.  Seem to have fixed the longstanding exhaust leakage problem, which has been annoying me for a very long time. Possibly the head's front face was distorted on the original head?

Took me so long I'm briefly quite unenthusiastic about engines!

 

If the crank bearing issue kills it soon I may well cry a bit.

Well done, Pete 👍

 

What is happening with the crank bearings?

Edited 17 August, 20205 yr by TMB

Partner just came back from another test drive without any bad news. 😊

 

That jiggle  of the crank pulley bolthead visible in the video looks scary to my untrained eye?

 

She has been known to blithely ignore sounds of labouring from the engine when gear change just seems like too much trouble; so possibly bearing wear...

Can't really tell if it's actually jiggling about from the video. I would have thought that if the whole pulley was moving about that oil would leak past the oil seal. Have you pulled it about to check for play without the belt on?

It definitely seems to jiggle when seen 'in the flesh'.

 

Sequence of events went like this:

Spun it over on the starter with plugs out and injectors disco'd to get some fresh oil round the place.  Refitted everything and started it it for real. Ran tappety but pretty evenly straight away, quietening down pleasingly fast.

Stood watching/listening from O/S wing and noted with some joy that the engine was virtually not vibrating at all.

A short while passed then it switched modes, presumably after cat light-off or whatever, slowed its rpms and immediately started vibrating; big downer cos I thought briefly that the head change had sorted that. Not dramatic, but not as it used to be, say a year or two ago. Then my eye wss drawn down to that crank puley bolt, presumably by the fact that it seemed 'wrong'. 99% sure it wasn't jiggling til the revs dropped.

 

Haven't done any investigation yet, but I'm reasonably sure that it smooths out above idle revs, possibly as oil pressure climbs and floats the crank properly?? I think it couldn't drive OK if that kept happening. Am thinking it may have more to do with the clutch failure than I was earlier.

 

Aux belt tensioner also seems not to be back on perfectly cos the belt's not symmetrical on it.