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Post by geordiechris on Apr 25, 2019 16:32:34 GMT 1
Just come back from a nice 2 day outing to Harrogate in my 1981 N10 Cherry 1.3GL. As always the car ran beautifully but just as we were nearing home I noticed that under load in top (4th) gear the clutch started to slip for a few seconds. I'm going to replace it obviously and I think I've sourced the correct part (Borg and Beck HK8367) which is also listed for a B11 Sunny 1.3 and 1.5.
Not changed one of these for 30 years but I seem to remember it was fairly straight forward then (although I was much younger ha ha). Support the car on stands. Remove the driveshaft nut on the O/S and disconnect the bottom ball joint on the N/S then slide the gearbox out just enough to clear the pressure plate and rotate on the driveshafts until you can get your hand in to change the clutch. I seem to remember leaving the pressure plate bolts loose to aid locating the gearbox back onto the engine and then tightening them through the starter hole once the gearbox was bolted back in.
It was a long time ago but I'm sure it wasn't a bad job (Datsun parts weighed so much less than the Ford's and Austin's etc that I usually worked on).
Hoping to change it next weekend. I can still use the car for short trips but wouldn't go on another long run until the clutch is replaced.
Chris
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Post by gainsb1 on Apr 29, 2019 11:11:18 GMT 1
How did you get on with it?
Leigh (Area rep)
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Post by geordiechris on May 5, 2019 10:52:42 GMT 1
Well...here's how it went. On Saturday morning I raised the car onto large axle stands and assessed the job properly from underneath. Any vague memories of rotating the gearbox on the drive shafts were soon shattered when it became obvious that the sub-frame makes this impossible (I must have been thinking about other front drive cars from the 80's...it was a long time ago). Nevertheless it appeared that there was enough room to move the gearbox back without the need to break the driveshafts and get oil everywhere.
I removed the nut from the O/S driveshaft in the hub to allow for it to move inwards as required (You need to use a drift to tap it back a little when the gearbox starts moving but only until the end of the shaft is flush with the hub as that is enough). On the N/S I removed the 3 bolts that go through the wishbone into the bottom ball joint. Then once the battery is disconnected and the started motor removed, speedometer cable, reverse light switch disconnected and gear linkage disconnected you are ready to unbolt the gearbox.
The rear mounting needs to be unbolted (so place a jack with a piece of wood to protect the sump under the engine). The front mounting does not need to come off. When the gearbox was unbolted it refused to budge and I began to suspect I had missed a bolt somewhere but it was just down to seizing on the dowels after 37 years of English weather. With some persuasion it finally came away. You need to take care with the O/S driveshaft as the inner CV joint passes through a steel plate between the engine and gearbox, so it only goes so far before the boot touches it. The gearbox will rest on the sub-frame whilst in the position.
It is now possible to unbolt the pressure plate using a screwdriver against the starter ring gear to lock the engine while you undo each bolt. Unfortunately for me the bolts remained so tight as they were coming out that they risked snapping. The flywheel is drilled all the way through and the final thread of each bolt protrudes. Almost 4 decades of the aforementioned English weather has caused rust to make things very tight. Using WD40 (other penetrating oils are available) spayed liberally behind the flywheel and working each bolt in and out allowed them all to come out without snapping although the process took almost an hour for all 6 bolts.
The clutch now drops out of the bottom. With the clutch out of the way there is now room to get your hand in and change the release bearing which is held in place by 2 clips. The clips are transferred to the new bearing. It's a little bit fiddly but can be done.
Now the hard part...getting the new clutch in place. It is a tight squeeze and there is no room for a clutch alignment tool but it can be done. Take note of this next paragraph and save yourself an hour of turmoil like I endured...
The pressure plate only fits in one position. Normally when there is a master spline or dowel it is noticeably different from the others but not in this case. If the plate is not in the correct position it will seem to be going on but one of the dowels will not go through. I thought the pressure plate was incorrect but when comparing it to the old one it looked identical. Cutting a long story short there is a minute difference in the position of the dowel holes (about 1 mm) and every time I placed the new plate over the old one I must have got it right and didn't spot this. I don't know what the odds are of doing that but there you go!
As I mentioned it is very tight fitting the clutch. Put the pressure plate in on its own and make sure it is in the correct position (all the dowels fit). Then leave 2 bolts loosely in place and slide the friction plate in remembering that the flush side goes to the flywheel and the raised centre with the rattle springs faces the pressure plate. Rotate the engine using a screwdriver on the ring gear until all the bolts are loosely in place. You will need to fiddle with the friction plate to stop it dropping out as you do this. Tighten the bolts until the dowels are just located in the pressure plate and the friction plate is lightly nipped.
Lift the gearbox back into place and locate loosely on a couple of bolts. The O/S drive shaft may need some help coming back through the hub. Use the castellated nut without the thick washer behind it to pull it through a bit. When the gearbox is bolted in place it is possible to tighten the pressure plate bolts through the starter motor hole with a 12mm open ended spanner (you may get a ring spanner on them if you have the right angle. I have snap-on spanners so an open-ender is strong enough to do the job without slipping and rounding the bolt). Take the time to do them in steps so as not to distort the pressure plate. It doesn't take that long with a 19mm spanner on the front pulley to turn the engine. Use a screwdriver into the ring gear to hold the engine during the final tighten.
This all sounds harder than it really was. The most difficult part was the pressure plate bolts because of the restricted space. My car is a 4 speed with an E13 engine so I don't know if the pushrod engined cars are much different?
All working well now...and HK8367 Borg and beck clutch also listed for B11 Sunny 1.3 & 15 was the correct part.
Hope this helps.
Chris
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