10 replies to this topic

[sean]

I have bought a clutch kit as there is bad judder and I think I need to replace the clutch plate. I do not want to take the motor out so has anyone got any advice on doing this job.
It is a verto clutch.

[Guess-Works.com]

Replacing the clutch is not that difficult a job, and can be done with the unit in the car..

Could swear I've written this down before, but can't find it so here goes....

You will need..

Trolley jack, set of spanners and sockets, flywheel puller, braker bar, Torque wrench and ramps are useful if you have them.otherwise axle stands.

1. Jack the car up onto the axle stands, or drive up onto ramps., and disconnect Battery.
2. put the trolley jack under the gearbox, and just support the weight of the engine with it.
3. remove everything from the left hand side of the engine bay, water bottles, air ducting, brake servo, you need as much access as possible.
4. Remove grill and horn.
5. Remove Starter motor
6. Remove Clutch slave cylinder from bell housing.
7. Remove the two engine mount bolts from under offside wing.
8. Remove all bolts securing bellhousing to flywheel housing, some may be fiddly to get to, so you may have to raise the engine slightly using the trolley jack.
9. Remove thrust sleeve from clutch.
10. lock flywheel, either using a flywheel lock, or a big flat headed screwdriver through the starter motor hole.
11. Undo the flywheel retaining bolt, may need the use of the breaker bar.
12. turn the flywheel (and crank) so that the groove in the end is horizontal (This is so a C Clip on the inside does not get stuck ( if it does then you're buggered ))
13. Attach the flywheel puller, and again with the flywheel locked, tighten to release the flywheel. ( mind your feet )
14. Remove the flywheel, and then dismantle the clutch and replace plate.

perform the above in reverse...

Job Done.

Other necessary information...

Torque wrench settings...

Flywheel retaing bolt 112 lbf ft
Engine mounts 30 lbf ft

Edited by GuessWorks, 21 March 2005 - 03:04 PM.

[MiniMoi]

I could not have said it better, but I do stress you to use the appropriate tools. First time I ever did a Mini clutch I didn't have the flywheel puller or flywheel lock. It was a real pain in the ass, to the point that I just undid the main bolt and let it run to see if it would come loose. Mind you that I had never ever even seen a Mini clutch set up before and I had no idea what I was doing.

MiniMoi

[sean]

Excellent description Ta

I asked someone if they had a flywheel puller and they replied "what size", I think I will buy one anyway so what size is it or are they universal + what is a breaker bar

Thanks

[Guess-Works.com]

The flywheel puller is specific to the A series engine...

Sykes & Pickavant flywheel puller

But you can get them from mini spares, and with a show this weekend the perfect opportunity to find one at show prices...

and a breaker bar is a long bar with flexible joint at the end with a square peg to be fitted to a socket. You''ll get a 1/2 decent one from halfords. needs to be 2 to 3 foot long.

[Boab]

You can get these just about anywhere and it is actually called 'mini flywheel puller'. Funny that! :grin:

[iDustx]

Excellent description Ta

I asked someone if they had a flywheel puller and they replied "what size", I think I will buy one anyway so what size is it or are they universal + what is a breaker bar

Thanks

I believe Halfords sell the puller for around £12-15 if your in a hurry, or else eBay sell them too for a decent price

[tiger99]

Many of the so-called Mini flywheel pullers are flimsy junk that will usually fail. Look for one that is just a nice, thick piece of plate (maybe 3/4" thick) with a large central bolt with a very fine thread, and a set of 3 high tensile bolts, ideally grade 10.9. I had an anonymous one years ago that answered that description, and worked well. There is also a vital bit that fits into the end of the crankshaft and provides something for the main bolt to push against. Omit that at your peril, as some people have had the puller bolt jam into the end of the crankshaft. The plate was painted green and had been cut out with a flame cutter of some type. It was far from being expensive, way back in about 1976. Some of the lightweight modern ones are made from nicely finished but flimsy castings. The old one was unbelievably crude and utterly reliable. No money spent on making it look pretty.

 

I think that my fine old tool has been lost or stolen, but I will make one like it when needed. I will try to find a large UNEF bolt (finest thread pitch commonly available, for more force with less torque) and get a suitable tap.

 

The old puller was for a pre-verto clutch with UNF threads on the bolts, but when I had a later Mini with Verto clutch I redrilled the plate with a second set of holes at the appropriate centres and found that three bolts from the prop shaft donut coupling on a scrapped Opel Rekord D (worst car I have ever owned, albeit the ignition coil was better than any Lucas item) fitted perfectly. It worked rather well!

[blacktulip]

Be prepared for spending a lot of time undoing those pesky cover bolts lol

[Boycie]

Tiger, I had something very similar. It was home made and passed on to me as a young'un by an old boy who had retired. This thing was very heavy, of massive strength and was nothing to look at! It worked utterly perfectly. Sadly, over the years, I lost it. Just like you, I may have lent it to someone or thrown it out with the scrap by accident.
I really wish I could find something similar nowadays.

[tiger99]

I butchered a 1/2" AF spanner for these, by heating it across the stem with an arc welder (all that I had at the time) and bending it by hammering, in the vice. The bead of extra metal that was inevitably added went on the inside of the bend, and despite the spanner being chrome vanadium and the welding rod being standard E6013, it was adequately strong and did not crack. Nowadays I would heat it with TIG and it would look far neater. Don't have, or want, a gas axe, and I doubt that a propane blowtorch would have done the job.

 

It is usually very difficult to get the last bolt in. It helps to put it in the cover before putting the cover in place. Some people just leave it out, usually without ill effect, but I can't say that the casting will not distort or fatigue under the load of an extremely highly tuned engine. Certainly ok on a standard 998, driven hard for at least 100k miles, in my direct experience.

 

Jacking the engine and heaving it about as far as various bits allow does gain you some finger room.

 

We all had to do this at one stage, as Mini beginners. Have fun!

 

Edit: Sorry, this was about the cover bolts as mentioned by blacktulip. Boycie posted about his puller just as I was finishing my comment.

Edited by tiger99, 21 May 2017 - 04:32 PM.