RE: Clutch pushrod/throwout bearing

["T. Reed" <treed2@u.washington.edu>]

> Haha! I had the same "problem". I had worked for TWO DAYS to get that damn
> clutch in (hey, it was my first time). Got the tranny in and everything

Heh, same here (on both things). It would have gone a lot smoother if
some previous owner Godzilla hadn't torqued the pressure plate bolts
to 6000 ft/lbs causing me to round off one of them by the use of an
impact wrench. I finally had to use a dremel tool and a cutting wheel to
remove the washer-like "lip" from the bolt so I could fit a deep socket
over it and get a tighter fit. After about 20 seconds with the impact
wrench it turned right off. Boy did that feel good after 3 hrs of fighting
with weird ass SAE socket sizes like 28/64, trying to pound them on, then
trying to get a dremel tool up in there with those weird angles with
sparks flying in my face.

Oh- that, and the 3 hours I spent trying to get the tranny input shaft
lined up with the splined hole in the clutch disc when re-installing the
tranny. Finally a combination of four jack stands, a scizzor jack (for
careful maneuvering) and some rocking and pushing and I was able to get it
to work. But I only thought of doing that after about an hour of laying
under the car with the tranny on my chest, benching it up and then trying
to push it on to the motor by hand (driver side motor mount kept hitting
the body).

Rant, rant, rant...

> bolted together. Then, just before hooking up the clutch cable, I pushed it
> with my hand. It moved with no tension for at least 3" and then seemed to
> hit a brick wall. I thought I had f'cked up my whole clutch job and had to
> start all over! I was so mad I just about lost it.

Same here. My brother thought it was a bent and thus binding pushrod from
me maneuvering it around so much possibly letting weight fall on the
pushrod at times (although I tried desperately not to let that happen).

> For some reason, I decided to hook up the clutch cable anyway just to make
> sure. Good thing I did, 'cause that's the way it's supposed to be! The cable
> took all the slack out, and my 2L pressure plate is simply too hard to push
> with your hands. Feels fine from the clutch pedal though.

Yeah, I had the same experience. I guess I failed to mention my whole
"dealie" in the prior message. I hooked up the cable anyway and tightened
her down until there was like 1/2" to 1/4" of play. I was able to drive
the car but the friction point was like an inch off the ground so as soon
as I even started to let off the clutch it bit like crazy and it was like
learning to drive a stick all over again :P After I figured out precisely
where it was I took it for a spin around the block and was unable to slip
the clutch so I pronounced the job a success and decided that (tomorrow) I
would adjust the clutch cable further to move the friction point back up
to where it's supposed to be. Hopefully I will have enough "lever" left so
that the clutch can be fully disengaged if I step all the way down on the
pedal, rather than just half-ass disengaged.

Whew. I think I'm going to bed now.

Thanks for your comforting words, Neal.

-Toby


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