Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi All,
Wondering if any of you can shine some light on my clutch cover problem as I have two Borg & Beck clutch covers in my garage and the only ID on them is 8 - 81/2"..i'm pretty sure they're off a twin cam but not entirely sure.
If they are suitable, which thrust bearing should I use ? I normally use the heavy duty AP clutch cover with a thrust pad fitted.
As these do not have a thrust pad, will I need another thrust bearing and carrier ?

Thanks for any help.
Gino
Milano
Italy

Hi Gino

The 4 speed Elans and Plus 2 all had the pressure plate / cover with the thrust pad and an 8 inch clutch disk. The 5 speed plus 2S 130/5 had the pressure plate / cover without the thrust pad and an 8 1/2 inch clutch disk. You need a different thrust bearing with a round nose rather than flat face. I think the thrust bearing carrier was the same but I have never actually measured them up to do a comparison check.

I don't know what the Cortinas or twin cam Escorts used for their clutch so it may also be off one of those..

cheers
Rohan

Hi Gino & Rohan, you definitely need a different thrust bearing carrier for the four speed and five speed thrust bearing.
Cheers Lyn...

Thanks Lyn - now I know for sure.
cheers
Rohan

Hi Rohan and Lyn, thanks for your feedback....i'll do some further invstigation to see if i csn successfully use them or i'll sell them. Gino

Gino, you'll need an adapter for installing the round face release bearing to the standard carrier when using a pressure plate without the "platten".

Hi Jeff,
Thanks. Do you have a pic of the adaptor I can use ?
Gino
Milano
Italy

Hi Gino, when Ford created the mk1 Escort Mexico they replaced the Twin Cam engine with a 1600 x/flow engine that used a clutch cover without the thrust pad and replaced the thrust bearing carrier with the one shown on the left below which carried a round nosed bearing.

Cheers
Brian.

Thanks Brian,
All i would need to do is create a spacer to raise the height of the bearing carrier and pop in a new round nosed bearing.
Next clutch that fails i'll try this one out.
Thanks for your help.
Ciao
Gino

I acquired an S3 with a 'Heavy duty' Borg and Beck cover last year and about to put it on the road for the first time in a long time.

Even though the car has a new clutch m/c and slave cylinder and is fitted with a braided hose from the m/c to the slave and has been bled both conventionally, vacuum bled and "reverse" bled, the clutch is very heavy and the biting point is only about 1" from the floor, which makes moving it even on the drive a bit challenging.

Questions -

1) what is the accepted wisdom for the max output to put through a standard clutch cover and plate. My engine is about 150hp
2) are there any modifications that can be done to increase the mechanical advantage of the standard clutch fork?
3) given the low biting point do folks believe that it could be using a clutch cover without a thrust pad and the incorrect spacer/carrier for the clutch release bearing (CRB)? Is it possible to see any of the CRB setup w/o removing the box (which I understand I need to remove the engine to do)?

Thanks in advance!

Check this link out and my issues.
The only way to change the mechanical advantage is by “moving” the carrier position.

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=49179&start=15

Cheers

Thanks Mark. Useful post.

Did this reset your clutch biting point higher up on the pedal?

Note the extended nose release bearing carrier has been reproduced for Ford Escort application. A round nose type and not the flat faced type release bearing should be used in combination with pressure plates not having a thrust pad. See link

https://stage1.org.uk/product-category/ ... o/page/18/

Hi,
The bite point with the adjustment maybe half way down the adjusting screw is fine. You can’t really adjust the bite point externally imho. Before I had the carrier made the bite point was on the floor as the adjustment was maxed out any the carrier had to move to far.

Cheers
Mark

mark030358 wrote:Hi,
The bite point with the adjustment maybe half way down the adjusting screw is fine. You can’t really adjust the bite point externally imho. Before I had the carrier made the bite point was on the floor as the adjustment was maxed out any the carrier had to move to far.

Cheers
Mark

Thks. This is my problem at the moment. I need to raise the biting point of the clutch.