Flywheel clutch lining

[Brice]

Dear all,

Replacing the lining to the flywheel, can it reasonably be achieved in situ?

[David Cochrane]

Not reasonably, no. Very much easier to remove the flywheel first. You will need a flywheel puller and a new flywheel nut lockwasher, both available from the cherished suppliers.

[Ruairidh Dunford]

As suggested by David, it is possible, but not ideal.

You will have to chisel the back off the existing rivets, rotating the flywheel every so often, to remove the existing lining

You will then need to devise a g-clamp to crush the new rivets or use suitable sized pop rivets to attach the new lining.

Clutch linings are very long lasting in my experience (80k miles easily achieved before wear becomes an issue), what is your reason to replace it?

[Parazine]

Clutch linings are very long lasting in my experience (80k miles easily achieved before wear becines and issue), what is you reason to replace it?

I find that the old, (asbestos - shh!) ones tend to "sweat" condensation in cold weather when oily and this promotes clutch slip when cold for the first few miles. It goes away after warming the engine up thoroughly. Mind you, I don't use the car much in winter these days, so it can sit for some weeks in a concrete garage but it's still a good reason to change the linings.

The modern, health-and-safety sanitised linings are very good and grippy but I've had to change the Chummy ones twice in the last five years because the lining has pulled off the rivets, causing drag. Probably due to doing hill starts on a 1 in 4 with a "breathed on" engine and a handful of revs.....

[Brice]

Thank you all kindly for the advice.

Ruairidh, The saloon is new to me, and it seems to be that the clutch is slipping. On a mild hill, engine revs held steady on the throttle will increase unpredictably and forward motion is reduced leaving you with feeling that you’ve lost drive to the wheels, after which you to put it in first and then rev it up the hill. In third gear it shudders when we try to get it to jog along. Hence the decision to lift the engine out and take a look, I think they’ve been oiled up historically by an over filled gearbox, either way whilst I’m here might as well fit new linings.

[Steve kay]

An anorak asks, what hill has a start line at 1 in 4? Historians on the forum think we should be told!

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Do compare the new lining thickness carefully - some new linings are too thick and, when assembled, they prevent the clutch from opening.

Spacers can be used to remedy this but do check operation, before reinstalling into the chassis.

[Brice]

Thank you Ruairidh, the new linings I have appear to be slightly thinner than those fitted, though hopefully that doesn’t cause another issue. I’ll make sure I do a functionality test before reinstalling it all, as the clutch did work well with regards to gear selection.

Just as a thought as it was mentioned, is it visibly obvious that the old linings (picture) may have asbestos in any way?

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Thinner is desirable.

I think that it would be highly likely that they contain asbestos.

[Steve kay]

Follow the instructions from Scotland! Try to do so from the forum, to avoid testing the patience of Saint Rhuairidh by having to ring him up a dozen times! The minimal clutch travel does mean that correct thicknesses and clearances are absolutely essential.