Hi, Paul, and welcome aboard!
I was fortunate enough to visit your lovely city three years ago, and I'm
trying to figure out how to get back down there with a sports car. New
Zealand is one of the most breathtaking countries I've ever seen.
I believe the design of the clutch is self-adjusting to some extent because
it is intended that wear in the clutch disc friction material and wear in
the carbon bearing should cancel each other out. The bit about lengthening
the push rod is interesting. I replaced the clutch in my '73 Midget,
rebuilt the clutch hydraulics, and included a new pushrod from Moss due to
wear in the clevis pin hole. After getting it all together with the new
(correct, according to Moss) push rod, the clutch would not disengage. I
pulled out the new rod and compared it with the old one, and that's when I
noticed the old one seemed to have an extension welded to it, rather
crudely. Put the old one back in, and the clutch worked normally.
We have had this discussion about the pushrod modification on the list
before, and others have said they had a modified rod also, but no one has
come up with a good explanation for it. If it compensates for wear, I
don't understand why a new pushrod won't work with an all new clutch and
release bearing. There was a suggestion that the clutch fork might be
bent, but no explanation of how it gets bent. Since the rod extension
seems to be more than a rare occurrence, I don't think I believe the bent
fork theory.
Steve Byers
Havelock, NC USA
'73 Midget GAN5UD126009G "OO NINE"
"Truth is precious. Use it sparingly" -- Mark Twain
----------
> From: Paul Bacon <usbacons@ihug.co.nz>
> To: spridget list <spridgets@Autox.Team.Net>
> Subject: spridget clutches
> Date: Saturday, July 04, 1998 4:04 AM
>
> Hi everyone
>
> I'm a newcomer to this spridget news service and all the way from
> Christchurch, New Zealand. We are presently running a Mk II Sprite that
has
> an almost non functioning clutch. The problem seems to be wear in the
carbon
> thrust bearing.
>
> I suspect that the master cylinder needs attention also. I tried to bleed
> the slave cylnder and decided that you need to be a gynecologist to get
at
> it with a plastic tube fitted to it. Easy solution - I hooked up a
pressure
> bleeding system that uses the spare tyre as a pressure source, then
loosened
> the bleed nipple with a socket wrench and let the fluid dribble into an
oil
> collection tray underneath. And you don't even have to get under the car
to
> do it! Good excuse to bleed the brakes at the same time
>
> I understand a short term solution is to get a lengthened push rod
> fabricated at a machine shop. One problem I have is that the motor is an
A
> plus unit from a Marina 1300 (the one with the spin-on oil filter) so
there
> seems to be some confusion as to parts matching.
>
> re the discussion on suspension bushings. Some of the local one make car
> clubs here have contracted to an engineering company to manufacture a
dozen
> or so sets of urethane or nolathane bushes and then on sell them through
the
> clubs. The quality is at least as good (usually much better) and a
fraction
> of the prices charged by the major distributors. Any entrepreneurs out
there ?
>
> Hope these comments are of some use
>
> How do you adjust the front wheel bearings of the drum braked cars? I'm
told
> you shouldn't need shims but I still have movement with a new set of
> bearings. Help!!
>
> best wishes
>
> Paul Bacon
> Sprite Mk II and 1936 Austin 10 Lichfield (and a Jap crap)
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