Club 80-90 Forums

Hi, just trying to sort the van out before the spring and just remembered that last year she was occasionally slipping when changing up gear.
It was only apparent when hot i.e: after 50 miles or so?
There is a small gap between slave piston and input lever to gearbox. Is this indicative of anything? It is the "only when hot" bit that has me wondering really.
Maybe oil in the clutch? Just trying to eliminate everything before dropping the clutch.
Thanks for your help,

Sounds like the friction plate is worn - worse in high gears ??

How many miles has the clutch done ?

Yes classic last knockings .
I regularly do a longish motorway trip where I am either poodling along in the slow lane or thrashing along in the fast lane with the Disco's, Sales Reps. and White Van Men. Year before last on a thrash it took about 75 miles from first sign of slipping on hills to gently slowing down and chopping lanes to the hard with the rev counter grossly at odds with the speedometer.
On reflection I recalled smelling burning clutch some months before on a tricky stop/start steep/winding entry to a pub/restaurant while on holiday.
Trouble with hydraulic clutch over cable actuation is that you tend not to get any indication of change in biting point.
Cheers
CS

I always change entire clutch on one change, then on the next, I just do the friction plate. The latter is much easier since you don't need to remove entire gearbox. Always done it that way with my own vehicles and saved a fair bit of money as well as time over the years.

Excuse ignorance but don't both cases involve removal of pressure plate assembly in order to slide friction plate off first motion shaft?
Or is a Homer Simpson style Doh! on the cards for me? Got to say I do find it a bit of a faff whatever.
Didn't one of the earlier Vauxhalls have a cassette style quick change clutch plate?

CS

I always replace the entire clutch assembly - generally too much work involved in getting a gearbox out to be bothered messing about again, whatever the vehicle. Mind you T25's are easier than many.

Unless I know the history of a clutch I also generally replace them if the gearbox / engine is out for some other reason. Whatever you do, make sure that you replace the guide sleeve and needle bearing. I've had to do a clutch job on more than one occasion because the previous owner had a clutch change but didn't replace these two cheap components (about a fiver each) that don't come in a clutch kit.

Also buy a decent branded clutch. The "cheap" products from ECP and GSF have issues. I had one that only lasted 10k miles before it needed replacing. Only made that mistake once.

[quote="Citizen Smith"]Excuse ignorance but don't both cases involve removal of pressure plate assembly in order to slide friction plate off first motion shaft? [/quote]

Yep, they do. And having actually seen a clutch swapped without removing the box once before it's bodgery of the highest order.

Ian

Tosh Ian. If the pressure plate is fine and bearing is quiet, absolutely no reason not to change friction plate. After 25-30 years of doing just that, I rest my case. Garages will always change entire assembly (no choice) but an owner who knows when they last had a clutch fitted is a wise owner indeed. The only reason its an 'accepted' practice to change the lot is a) the scarcity of friction plates in many places and b) we have moved into an era of not repairing anything, with parts sold as units. You only need to pull gearbox off engine to do a friction plate. I can do it in under 20 mins now. Entire clutch can take hours if the gearbox doesn't want to go back.

The one I saw done that way knackered the clutch pipe and a CV joint ....

there is not point messing about, do the job once, do it right.... drop the box, change the lot, peace of mind that you wont be needing to mess with it again for several thousands of miles

I bought a Polo GTi once, it had a sized engine. Except it hadn't. Clutch had failed and some "garage" had put the new clutch in without removing the box. If they had they would have seen that part of the failed clutch was still in the bellhousing.

It had jammed in the flywheel a few thousand miles later, giving the appearance of a seized engine.

My gain

[img]http://www.937carrera.co.uk/IMAG0214.jpg[/img]

Changing the clutch is just a part of the job, personally I would re-grease the CV joints as well as checking the flywheel, gentle lube of the spigot bearing and clutch slave rod socket ... preventative maintenance. Not half-arsed bodgery.

Perhaps you should add your opinions to the WIKI

Thanks a lot fellas.
Only had the van a year so not sure of clutch age, think she is going to have to come out!
Forgot to add that I also get the occasional shudder when taking up drive so not looking good.
With that in mind can you advise on any special tools I will need to replace the whole unit plus the extra bits discussed?
Hoping to do it on the driveway when the Easter "beast" has been and gone.

Not exactly a special tool, but make sure you have a good quality bit that you can use with a ratchet for removing the CV bolts. It could be hex or spline, so get under and check first. Derust, clean the crud out and use a hammer to ensure the bit is fully home before trying to undo.

I have a couple of old dowels / input shafts for clutch alignment for different cars, but these days I tend to simply ensure the edge of the friction plate is an equal distance from the edge of the pressure plate all round, just using feel from my fingertips.

Can be done as a one man job, but easier with a friend, or at least another pair of eyes when dropping the box. Watch out that you don't damage the clutch pipe as you lower the box.