Ric Golen crys out for help with his 1500 clutch:
If your sure that the clutch has been bled to the point of absolutely no air,
then stop looking there. Clutch hydraulics are fairly simple and straight
forward, although the 1500 Midget variant tends to be a pain to get bled right.
There are three other possible causes of your woes:
1500's are known for their weak thrust bearings on the crankshaft. They will
actually wear to the point that the half-moon bearings will fall out. This will
allow the crank, along with attached flywheel and clutch, to walk back and forth
up to half an inch. It's hard for the slave cylinder/release bearing to
disengage the clutch when it has to first chase it down. :>
Try prying fore and aft on the front crank pulley. If it moves more than one
eighth of an inch, it's time to look at the trusts.
1500's are also known for dropping the pivot pin out of the release arm. This
allows the arm end to slide about half an inch rearward til it bottoms on the
back of the bellhousing. When this happens, it totally screws up the geometry
of the release linkage. It's also kinda hard to check on a Midget. Look at
the bellhousing exactly 180 degrees from the slave cylinder. You'll see the
outside of a "pocket" were the release arm pivots. There is a 5/16" vertical
hole in it. There should be a roll pin through this hole. If not, try to
pry the release arm into position, and drop a 5/16 x 3 inch bolt in from the
top. Grade 8 if you can get it. I consider this a permenant fix. :>
Last, and most likely, you could have a failed pressure plate, where the
diaphram spring has a weak spot or a crack. This will cause it not to release
fully, but still "take up" in the normal spot. The only cure is to replace
the clutch with a known brand name.
Randy
randy@taylor(.UUCP)
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