Project The Austin 2dr 1100 story - Part IV - Now in sharleys hands

[SiC]

I did notice some oil at the bottom of the flywheel housing and on the spring metal of the diaphragm. Is it normal to have some, or should it be completely dry from oil?

[sharley17194]

TBf i use my rattle gun for just about everything now. I even have a battery ratchet for days where the bigun is too much. Lifes to short to waste doing manual labour when you have the correct tools for the job!

Got on with prepping for clutch removal tonight.

First up the plugs came out.


All oily and sticky on the threads, so I gave them a clean up with a brass brush. Possibly not helped by being blinking freezing cold out.


Turned to the business end now. Times up the engine to have the TDC marker at the top ready.

Removed the end cover. A couple of bolts are missing from the end. Apparently they're often left out as they can be fiddly to reinstall when in the car. I think I read that on here earlier in the thread.


Greeted with this.


I wasn't sure if I should remove the bolts on the plate first or on the flywheel. Thanks to the magic of the interwebs, I watched this video which cleared things up:

Left with this.


Knocked out the tabs with a screwdriver and mallet. Undid the bolts to get to this.


Now time for the big bolt. Knocked out the tabs and fetched my big socket.


I bought this for this sort of job. It was sold as a 1.5 inch socket, but 38mm appears near as damn it to that.


Tried with my breaker bar first. All this succeeded doing is rocking the engine around on the stand. So decided to crack out my number one favourite tool. Bought this because Dave numbers got on really well with his. It's not a tool that I use very often, infact I very rarely use it. Not a cheap bit of kit either - in fact it's bloody expensive considering how little I use it.


But where it comes into its element is exactly jobs Iike this. Note that one hand is holding my phone while recording. It's also on its lowest and slowest power setting.
[Video]

It was like it wasn't even there! Bonus too that as it's impact, the flywheel doesn't get too much movement through it either. Thus doing less damage to those teeth jammed with a screwdriver.

I always leave this tool to last as I fear it being too powerful, however I'm wondering on jobs like this it'll cause less damage than trying it by hand first. I'm still unsure if I should use this when trying to get the flywheel off. I guess it's probably no different than a mallet on a breaker bar though?

More tomorrow if my flywheel removal tool appears in the post. Hopefully flywheel will come off and see if the clutch problems are caused by a siezed clutch.

[sharley17194]

should be completely dry, the seal will have failed behind the primary gear. 

 

I did notice some oil at the bottom of the flywheel housing and on the spring metal of the diaphragm. Is it normal to have some, or should it be completely dry from oil?

[dozeydustman]

Interesting that they say it's a Mini unit - that would be an 1100 Clubman through and these arrived in late '74 with the rod change gearbox. Obvs. this still has the 1100 box.

I Went through every single engine code on that site and each one came up as Mini. There was also no option for 998cc A+, which I know was fitted to Allegros, Minis and Metros from 1981 onward. To be fair it is a mini specialist site.

 

Could also be the Australian Mini K as they were 1098cc, but i doubt anyone would import an Aussie A-series to bung in an 1100

[SiC]

More tomorrow if my flywheel removal tool appears in the post. Hopefully flywheel will come off and see if the clutch problems are caused by a siezed clutch.

Despite paying extra for 1st class Royal Mail delivery, the flywheel tool hasn't arrived today. I did get an email from FedEx to say a parcel should arrive today, but the status is still showing as somewhere around London.

 

So not going to get a chance of removing it tonight. FFS.

[purplebargeken]

Balls.

[SiC]

Balls.

Yeah I'm a bit annoyed as I was really looking forward to [attempt] taking the flywheel off tonight and seeing what was going on back there. More concerning is what on earth has happened to it and that it may have got lost. If it has, then it's going to be an even longer delay before I get it.

 

[sharley17194]

Id message the seller youve paid for something hes not done. Tosser

[SiC]

It's arrived now.

 

Do I need to remove number 16 from this diagram before putting the puller on?

[Mally]

Long while ago, but I think yes remove 16.

Logically it rests on the flywheel, which is what you are releasing from the crank.

There is a washer/disc  in the kit near the centre bolt. I imagine that may fit the end of the crank.

 

I used to remove 16, put the bolt back in loose and pull (press) on the bolt head.

 

It does say there's a book behind the packaging.

[SiC]

Yeah what do those washers for near my thumb in that picture? I know the big lump of metal goes on the end of the flywheel but no idea on the two washers.

 

The destructions included don't really tell you at all. The Haynes and BMC workshop manuals have far more detail.

[sharley17194]

Washers go under bolt heads to stop the tool from being eaten, as dudes says about remove 16 then screw the bolt back in a fair way but not all the way, wouldnt tighten the main puller bolt into the end of the crack. Will fuck your crank up.

 

Yeah what do those washers for near my thumb in that picture? I know the big lump of metal goes on the end of the flywheel but no idea on the two washers.

The destructions included don't really tell you at all. The Haynes and BMC workshop manuals have far more detail.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 

Picture modded to remove the Verto nonsense.

 

Yes, 16 comes off.

[Slowsilver]

Yes you do need to remove item 16. It fits into a slot in the end of the crankshaft and a slot in the flywheel to lock them together. You will never get the flywheel off with it in place.

It may be safer to set the timing marks ninety degrees apart rather than at TDC as recommended in the manual. When reassembling the clutch the C washer should be slid in vertically downwards with the timing marks aligned, in which case setting to TDC will stop it dropping out, but unfortunately if it has already been apart previously it is also possible to fit the C washer vertically downwards with the marks 180 degrees out at BDC (Bottom Dead Centre). If this has been done (which it hopefully hasn't) TDC is exactly the best setting for it to fall out. Setting to ninety degrees apart (in either direction) is the best position to prevent the C washer falling out even if it has been refitted incorrectly in the past.

Tighten the puller as tight as you can using a breaker bar then tap the end of the centre bolt with a lump hammer several times. If it still doesn't come off try leaving it under tension overnight and hopefully it will come off (probably at some unearthly hour and the noise will frighten you to death).

If still no joy, bash it again and repeat as necessary.

I have had to do this on several A-series clutch changes and have never yet failed to get one off eventually (assuming the aforementioned C washer hasn't fallen out of course).

On the puller I have there are three washers which go under the heads of the three bolts that screw into the tapped holes in the flywheel.

No idea how only two washers would be used.

 

EDIT:

Just seen the comment on putting the crank bolt back in loosely and tightening the puller onto it.

On all the ones I have done there is a small pip sticking out of the centre of the crank bolt head which stops the end of the puller bolt seating properly.

Is the round black thing in the centre of the card just above the puller body an adaptor which will fit into the end of the crank and take the end of the puller bolt?

This is what my similar puller has.

 

 

[SiC]

I need to remember to inspect the clevis pin and the release arm. Just in case they're fairly worn and not helping the clutch situation.

 

Any tips on removing/replacing the crank end seal if the other side is a bit oily? Read there is special tools but also read people have got it out and a new one in without them.

[SiC]

It may be safer to set the timing marks ninety degrees apart rather than at TDC as recommended in the manual. When reassembling the clutch the C washer should be slid in vertically downwards with the timing marks aligned, in which case setting to TDC will stop it dropping out, but unfortunately if it has already been apart previously it is also possible to fit the C washer vertically downwards with the marks 180 degrees out at BDC (Bottom Dead Centre). If this has been done (which it hopefully hasn't) TDC is exactly the best setting for it to fall out. Setting to ninety degrees apart (in either direction) is the best position to prevent the C washer falling out even if it has been refitted incorrectly in the past.

Well we know who to blame if it is in the wrong way around.

 

Would it be safer to just turn the whole engine so the flywheel is facing upwards? It's on the engine stand so not hard for me to do.

[SiC]

Tighten the puller as tight as you can using a breaker bar then tap the end of the centre bolt with a lump hammer several times. If it still doesn't come off try leaving it under tension overnight and hopefully it will come off (probably at some unearthly hour and the noise will frighten you to death).

If still no joy, bash it again and repeat as necessary.

I have had to do this on several A-series clutch changes and have never yet failed to get one off eventually (assuming the aforementioned C washer hasn't fallen out of course).

On the puller I have there are three washers which go under the heads of the three bolts that screw into the tapped holes in the flywheel.

No idea how only two washers would be used.

 

EDIT:

Just seen the comment on putting the crank bolt back in loosely and tightening the puller onto it.

On all the ones I have done there is a small pip sticking out of the centre of the crank bolt head which stops the end of the puller bolt seating properly.

Is the round black thing in the centre of the card just above the puller body an adaptor which will fit into the end of the crank and take the end of the puller bolt?

This is what my similar puller has.

No one has said if it's safe or not for me to go gung-ho on the bolt with my impact wrench yet.

 

I did think that one of the washers were missing (and should be 3 of them), but the packing looks like it can only fit 2 in there. There is a lump of metal that fits on the end of the big black bolt which I assumed was to not let the crank thread being damaged.

[Slowsilver]

Would be a good idea to do it with the engine vertical if you can hold it securely enough to put much wellie on the puller bolt.

I have only ever done this with the engines still in the cars, so didn't have that option.

To remove the primary gear oil seal you need to remove the C washer and the other washer behind it, then pull the primary gear outwards and the oil seal will be pulled out with it. However, this is not easy without the proper tool. There is a narrow groove in the splines of the gear just in front of the seal. You need to be able to hook something into this narrow groove and then apply pressure to the end of the crank to pull it out.

You may be able to do it with a 3 or 4 legged puller if the ends of the jaws are thin enough to stay in the groove. Try putting a cable tie or a big jubilee clip round them to keep them pulled in.

The clutch casing should be completely free of oil. If there is any in there at all, the seal is leaking and the oil will eventually find its way onto the driven plate, causing it to start slipping.

I have always replaced the oil seal as a matter of course when fitting a new clutch, even though it can be a bit of a pain. You don't want to ruin a new driven plate and have to do the whole job again for the sake of one oil seal.

 

[Slowsilver]

Using an impact wrench on the puller bolt should help to jar the flywheel free.

Provided you remember to remove item 16 first I don't think you will do the engine any harm. The worst thing that will happen is that the puller will break if it's a cheap and nasty one.

As I suspected, the lump of metal you mention is to protect the threads in the end of the crankshaft. I would use this rather than refitting the crank bolt loosely.

[Mally]

I would only use the impact wrench as a last resort, you may strip the thread.

I think 1 washer is for the head of the centre bolt and yes, use the blank in the centre of the crank assuming it fits just inside the flywheel. If its too small it could damage the threads.

[SiC]

Just having tea and then off to have a go with it. Rechecked the packaging and turns out I can't count to 3 - there was more than 2 washers.

 

Might try to see if I can video it if I can find a way of mounting my phone upright.

[Remspoor]

if I can find a way of mounting my phone

 

 

[SiC]

Here is a video of a slightly posh sounding, southern bloke pulling a clutch off an A-Series engine.

[Video]

[/Video]

 

Surprisingly hard to video yourself while doing a task like this. I certainly don't feel like I'm a natural!

[sharley17194]

There's nowt wrong with oil seal that oil is minimal. It's missing the dust shield I must have forgot to fit it. That clutch is the one I fitted so has done hardly any miles. You will be able to reuse it for sure.

[vulgalour]

"that's, er, starting to CLANG... go."

 

At least you found out what was wrong with the clutch.  I had been told that they have a habit of doing that when they're stood for a while but that you can usually free them off by driving it.  Obviously I couldn't, try as I might.  Apart from that it all looks very clean and tidy inside with nothing particularly alarming jumping out, which is what you want to see.  The amount of oil seems normal too and that seal looks really healthy, no point fannying about replacing that, especially since Sharley looks to have done a nice job in there for you already.

[Rusty_Rocket]

That flywheel came off very easily! They can take a week of continual tightening, a little bit more every day until the threads start to strip. This is usually because the last person there didn't torque the bolt up correctly and the flywheel micro-welds itself to the crank nose.

 

Your crank looks good, as does everything else.

 

Minispares have a selection of primary gear seals, I use the later Rover type which works just fine. You can fit the seal cover, but that was an A+ thing.

I have an original Sykes primary gear puller and refitter which also does the seal; you can get away without it but be very careful not to damage the gear, its deva bush or the new seal.

Nice progress!

[SiC]

Pulled apart the clutch release arm off the clutch housing. It's the big pole in this picture if you're not sure what one looks like.

 

Clevises required a good few bangs with a mallet to get them out. Utterly knackered I think is the phrase that best describes them.

 

The hole in the clutch pushrod looks especially elongated.

 

The one on the arm didn't look too bad to me. However the ball joint on the end had a bit of play into the clutch release bearing pushrod. Not too bad though

 

The two clevises and clutch pushrods I'm definitely going to replace, but I'm not so sure on the clutch release arm and clutch release bearing pushrod. Apart from those bits being expensive, the wear isn't that bad on them. I hope replacing the rest will reduce the tolerance stack up enough, that the wear on the ball joint isn't a big deal.

[SiC]

Forgot to take a picture, but a single tap with the mallet split the pressure plate and clutch friction disc apart. This is good as it means I can definitely reuse them! Also explains why it wouldn't go out of gear at all, no matter what Vulgalour or Mike did.

 

The metal facings has rust on them - is it worth giving them a light sand down before reassembling? Or will they clean off quick enough once in use?

 

Got on with removing the clutch housing. Just a bunch of bolts to undo. The housing itself required a fair bit of wiggling to split. I try to avoid using a screwdriver to pry it apart as I didn't want to damage the surfaces.

 

Once off, I was faced with this. Oil pump is the round thing in the top left.

 

3 bolts undone and a quick pull it was off.

 

Turning the shaft sounded rather graunchy. Decided to pull it apart and see what was going on inside - despite not quite sure what to measure. Took a bit of fiddling to figure how to disassemble it. One screw but looked like pins that held it on too. Turns out just needed a pry between the two halfs to come apart

 

Pump body had a fair amount of ground in black bits. Grit or metal? I guess grit?

 

Which meant the outer rotor was heavily scored.

 

Inner faces didn't look much better either.

 

Thus the inner rotor has score marks on it too.

 

Not sure what you guys think, but I feel that these marks can't be good and it's definitely worth replacing it? Especially as it's not smooth turning. Shame as it looks pretty original.

 

Had a turn of the gearbox shaft and looked inside with a torch. I couldn't see any damaged teeth from this angle. I'm still debating if I should split the box from the engine still. Turns nice and smoothly though.

 

Are these marks on this gear face normal?

 

The needle roller bearing in the middle of this didn't feel super smooth either. Is that normal, or would it be a good idea to change it?

 

I don't have the tools to pull or push a new bearing in mind. Possibly could go to my local garage and get them do it for beer money though.

 

Generally though, this engine seems pretty clean and tidy inside which is a big bonus. Need to go down to Moss parts at lunch to pick a few bits up. If they have everything in, I can get it all back together again pretty soon. Just need to put together a shopping list of bits I need.

 

Off the top of my head I reckon at least: clevis pins, clutch pushrod, oil pump, oil pump gasket, clutch housing gasket, tappet chest seal, extra bolts for the missing ones on the clutch endplate and possibly that idler gear bearing.

[stonedagain]

That's the worst oil pump I've ever seen!

[Geep]

What I have noticed is that the bit behind the flywheel is loose. Surely if the clutch was siezed on, this bit wouldn't move?

[Video]

 

 

Looking at SIC's first attempt, it was the leveller that caused the problem. Chain fixing points that far apart close to lifting points will induce huge side loads as it tries to move the chains vertical for a lift. (or as near to) Second attempt shows the lifting chains to be nearer vertical heading up to the lifting hook.

 

Good work SIC, the flywheel normally comes off reasonably easily. I used to have a genuine puller which was just a thick round plate with a large bolt through middle and holes drilled all around the edge to suit different applications. Was about 10mm thick or so. A tap to the side of puller helped it on it's way. You don't need anything massive or complex to remove it but be ready to catch it as it comes off. 

 

 

Good to see you making progress and finding the reason why it wouldn't go in to gear. Those clevis pins would be a problem too, in days gone by, people would bend the arm to get a clutch to clear. 

 

Follow the procedure for the 2 large nuts on the end of the cover, the release bearing carrier. Has been known to do them incorrectly and not having the clutch clear. Can't remember the procedure now but think it was fully push in, do up nut until just touching cover then back off for a small clearance then lock up with second nut. (feeler gauge clearance)

 

Your welding has come on in leaps and bounds too. All going in the right direction SiC