clutch change

[alan.barker]

Well i've at last bitten the bullet and removed the engine to change the Clutch on my Elan sprint.
The Clutch was no problem when first started but a real pain in the butt when hot.
You cannot imagine the amount of Clutch judder when hot. It put me off driving it.
So i've looked at past posts and i will follow the Rohan method, that is get the Flywheel skimmed.
New Pressure Plate, new Release Bearing + new Friction Disk.
As a matter of interrest i checked with steel rule edge and feeler guages the flatness of the Flywheel.
It seems to be convex by about .004" .
Anyway i have decided to get it skimmed and start from a solid base.
Alan

[rgh0]

Good approach ... even If I say so myself Hahahaha

change the pilot bearing and throw out bearing also and check the state of the gear box front bearing when its apart

cheers
Rohan

[alan.barker]

Yes, i must order a spigot needle roller bearing.
I thought you would agree unless your schizophrenic
How do you check the bearing in the gearbox and decide when it needs changing.
Alan

[pereirac]

It might be worth checking or replacing the ring gear at the same time?

Carl

[gjz30075]

And, don't forget the seal in the input bearing retainer.

[alan.barker]

Is the input bearing retainer on the gearbox.
Can the alloy retainer be removed and the bearing + lip seal be replaced without stripping the gearbox.
Alan

[gjz30075]

Yes and partially yes. Only the seal can be replaced

[alan.barker]

Many thanks, for the cost of the seal with the engine out i think i will replace it.
Alan

[2cams70]

If the engine's out and the flywheel off I'd be replacing the rear main seal as well especially if it's a six bolt crank. You just need to go one step further and remove the sump. These seals because they are of a large diameter are under a lot of stress because the high contact speed. Well worth the extra effort if the seal that's in there hasn't been recently replaced.

[alan.barker]

I have changed the lipseal on the crankshaft. You do not need to remove the sump. Assembled with rtv and lip on seal lubricated with grease to slide in place easily.
Flywheel being skimmed and waiting for delivery of spigot needle bearing.
Alan

[2cams70]

You don't have to cut the gasket if you take the sump off and its also easier to get the seal centralized over the crankshaft if the sump is off. It's critical to get the seal centralized otherwise it won't wear evenly and will leak again soon. The later 711M lip seal carrier is an improvement over the earlier type because it has little locating tangs that make it easier to get things centralized over the crank.

[alan.barker]

There are also improved lip seals with a double seal from Burton available.
I always leave sump in place when removing the alloy cover.
I also leave the old cork seal in place in the alloy housing because it is already compressed and taken a good shape.
I clean and degrease with acetone. Then use RTV sealant with not too many problems with leaks in many years of working on Twin Cams.
Maybe i have just been lucky. I also have 2 TVRs to keep on the road so i try to do only what i think is needed.
The question always is how far do you go and how much money you want to spend
cheers
Alan

[2cams70]

That's interesting about the seal. I didn't realise Burton's sold two different types. The "double lip" description is a bit of a misnomer though. Most seals including the Burton's standard seal are double lip. The outer lip is just a dust deflector. It doesn't do any sealing as such. If it too was a proper oil sealing lip it wouldn't last very long because the first lip would have stopped all the oil so it would be running dry !!

The only difference I can see is that the "Double Lip" type is listed as genuine Ford whereas the standard one isn't. It's 22 GBP though !! (around 3 times the price of the standard one).

It may still be a current part available from Ford directly. Does anyone have a current part number? It's probably changed a few times through history. Maybe the Ford Ka (OHV Valencia engine) still uses the same seal? The Cosworth YB is listed by Burton's as having a different seal but I'm not sure why as the Pinto is listed the same as the Crossflow/Lotus and the YB is just a souped up Pinto.

Where possible I prefer to use Genuine Ford bits on my engines.

[alan.barker]

I have used a Ford Lip Seal for the crank which i already had in my stock of goodies.
I saw the double Lip Seal at Burton's and wondered if it could be interresting for someone whose Twin Cam crank has a groove worn in the journal. Maybe one of the Lips would be in a new position and so no leak problems.
Cheaper and easier than correcting the worn groove in a crank journal.
Alan

[joe7]

While the crank lip seal is the same size, I recall that there are 2 types of rear lip seal carriers. 730E 6335A, from 67 - 73 is the early type which uses a cork pan seal. The later type of rear carrier, 681F 6335 A-A, 73 on, uses a wider rubber pan seal.