Clutch is dead

My concern is having to alter the slave cylinder /release arm. Sounds like something has been misplaced.

Has the slave cylinder been damaged/ twisted by the original seized release arm. Are the seals in good condition?

That's a very good point from David . Classic Minis suffered from the same type of thing when the clutch thrust pin seized up . When you replaced the clutch and didn't notice that the release arm had been bent attempting to overcome the seized part of the clutch . No amount of adjusting and bleeding of the system would fix the fault . You would be better assembling it all out of the car and testing it with an assistant Christof .

The slave cylinder was changed to a brand new one.
See pics of the recent situation:


Still in mind: to extend the slave cylinders lever. Why not to remove the lever, cut in two and tap a threading to both ends. Then connect it with a long nut adding counter nuts, similar the mechanism of the modified alternator adjuster bracket (see picture from David, thank you for that):

This gave the ability to adjust the release bearing towards the clutch plate as necessary.
Will this work? I'm doubtful...
Any opinions appreciated.
Kind regards
Christof

sadly Im on my own right now, so even though I have the engine cover off I can't help, but what would be useful was if someone could measure the position of the centre of the pivot pin from the front of the seal on the slave cylinder with clutch in/out to determine what the overall travel is. Christof could then compare that to the range of movement he has.

Good idea!
Would be helpful.
Regards
Christof

Hello guys,
maybe I found the mistake!
Recently wanted to fit the new release bearing before getting the gearbox to my mechanic once again. Sprayed some brake disc cleaner to the shaft for cleaning it first. When I wiped it away I recognized the clutch fork was loose!
As I mentioned the upgraded arm had not the right sized thread for the original bolt DBM588L. Regardless I screwed it in with force until it stuck. But there were about 4-5mm gap from the bolts head (and washer DBM589) to the fork.
Removed the bolt, integrated a few washers and fixed it once more. Now the fork sits tight on the arm and doesn't move any more (except the arm moves her, of course).

Greased the shaft and mounted the LuK release bearing.

Well, now I don't have the heart to mount the gearbox yet. Can a loose fork cause these issues? If so, this was a case of "a small leak can sink a great ship".
Regards
Christof

So the retaining bolt is too long and bottoming out in the hole, you need to now piss that stack of washers off and either get a bolt of the correct length or cut the existing bolt to the correct length.

Wrote a message to MGMANIAltd and asked for the correct thread size (diameter and lead) in the uprated clutch release arm.
Will take the fork and uprated arm to the welder/metal specialist which welded the subframe nuts last year. I'm sure he has all the euipment to measure and/or cut the right thread. Only next week (weekend/bank holiday).
Regards
Christof

c.steffan wrote: Hello guys,
maybe I found the mistake!
Recently wanted to fit the new release bearing before getting the gearbox to my mechanic once again. Sprayed some brake disc cleaner to the shaft for cleaning it first. When I wiped it away I recognized the clutch fork was loose!
As I mentioned the upgraded arm had not the right sized thread for the original bolt DBM588L. Regardless I screwed it in with force until it stuck. But there were about 4-5mm gap from the bolts head (and washer DBM589) to the fork.
Removed the bolt, integrated a few washers and fixed it once more. Now the fork sits tight on the arm and doesn't move any more (except the arm moves her, of course).

Greased the shaft and mounted the LuK release bearing.

Well, now I don't have the heart to mount the gearbox yet. Can a loose fork cause these issues? If so, this was a case of "a small leak can sink a great ship".
Regards
Christof

Hi Christof . If you recall my previous post regarding the bolt . If the clamp bolt wasn't tight to the shaft it would spin within the clutch bearing carrier and not push the pressure plate to allow the center plate to spin .
I am sure if what you are saying about the bolt not being fully tight is the problem . I do hope so as I am sure all of us on the Tbar want you to enjoy driving this car .

John

Thank you all very much.
Yes, I do love this car. All the last summer I tried to repair the clutch, the subframe mounts, treat the corrosion and many more.
My mouse (beloved wife) made me remove the engine and gearbox once again as she felt it strained me to see the (also beloved) MG sleeping in the carport unable to be driven.
I'm looking forward driving her in the summer 2018.
Kind regards
Christof

Great wife, reminds me of my own.

Got a message yesterday from MGMANIAltd. They say the thread size was 5 1/16 UNF and the original bolt must fit in.
Took all parts to a family run metal specialist. He inspected the bolt and also the release arm to find both threads were damaged.
Great!
Now he wants tu re-cut the arms thread, but the 5 1/16 UNF isn't very common. Maybe he could try a metric one, but the bolt is a very special one (grabs into a smaller hole on the backside of the fork).
New bolt? New arm? Would mean another week (at least!) to get these parts.
Waiting for the metal specialists call now.
Regards
Christof