Fit your own clutch, Alternator and fan resistor?

[Jamie]

First an appology for being...erm... absent for a week or so...blooming Tiscali braodband has been dead for over a week!!

Anyways I have a huge technical challenge on my hands recently after the ratbag who fitted a Duff alternator on my car, I decided to order a proper MGR unit from Rimmers, A real bargain at less than a £100 (£100 srucharge) and fitted the blighter on my driveway....

however I decided that whilst the front of the car was up in the air..... I would have a go at changing my clutch too...having consulted Keith and a rather helpful chap from the dark side, I did it this week! its a big job to tackle on your driveway, but parts are resonably priced and I managed to change the friction Plate, Pressure plate and Release bearing & flushed the master cylinder with a good basic tool kit, two axle stands, one trolley jack and the jack out of the boot...oh and a few bottles of stella!!

its a very straightforward job and I would say any competent home mechanic could manage the job with patience and care....but a warning for you...I also found several areas where parts Chaff badly on the Facelift ZT/75...take notes and check yours out;

1.the gear selection cables had chaffed right through over the back of the subframe
2.the clutch master cylinder pipe had chaffed against the brake pipes near the battery carrier
3.the Intercooler pipe had chaffed through on the front left headlamp wiring loom!

Not satisfied with all that, I decided to sort my dodgy Fan resistor with one of Jules' upgraded Resistors....and it works perfectly...jules kits is easy to fit and the instructions simple to follow.

Any Questions?

[Zeb]

Jamie you are a star....now where are the photos of the bits that chaff?

[podge]

Hi Jamie,
did you remove the sub frame and gearbox completely, or was their enough room to just drop the n/s subframe and leave the gearbox resting on it? I am going to do this soon for my DMF but busy rebuilding the engine on my MG at the moment....picture on social forum.."can you see etc "
Regards, P.

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by Zeb

Jamie you are a star....now where are the photos of the bits that chaff?

There you go....Chaffed Intercooler pipe, Chaffed Cables over the back on the subframe....new Jules resistor....and a ZTT in a state of stripdown!



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[Jamie]

Originally Posted by podge

Hi Jamie,
did you remove the sub frame and gearbox completely, or was their enough room to just drop the n/s subframe and leave the gearbox resting on it? I am going to do this soon for my DMF but busy rebuilding the engine on my MG at the moment....picture on social forum.."can you see etc "
Regards, P.

You will need to drop the whole subframe...its easy though....6 big bolts, split the ball joints (2 bolts), unbolt the Steering rack (4 bolts) and be sure to release the pipes which are attached to the subframe (2 bolts) and the engine stabiliser (2 bolts) and if you have self levelling suspension & Xenons uo need to detatch the sensor on the drivers side wish bone (2 small bolts) ....its a 45 minute job, unless its pouring with rain and you have had six bottle of stell ( ahem...not me of course ) the engine stays put as its mounted at the top, then youn have free access to the gearbox.

I would suggest start early and assign two days to the job, It could be done in a day, but if Id rushed I would have missed the parts which Chaff and I wouldnt have had time to bleed the system through....bleeding is not needed but I preferred to do it, the fluid came out suprisingly black.

Be sure to get the later Modified Clutch....with the cushioning springs in the friction plate and softer flatter springs on the pressure plate...I also opted to change the slave cylinder....but that was me erring on the side of caution.

You will also need 2 litres of the MGR 94 MT Gear oil which is a GL4....NEVER use GL5 oil in these gearboxes as the EP additives in GL5 dissolve the soft metals that are used for the synchromesh.

[Phil]

Well done Jamie! What sort of state was the clutch in?

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by Phil

Well done Jamie! What sort of state was the clutch in?

It wasnt bad....the pressure plate had Blue'd a little as had the flywheel, the friction plate was close to the rivets, perhaps another 10 - 15k miles of life left in it....the real suprise was the cushioning springs in the friction plate which were totally shot...rattling loosly in the plate...the car is actually quieter at idle speed now....so they must have been rattling quite badly, interestingly the earlier clutches have no cushioning springs and much heaftier springs in the pressure plate (hence maybe the high rate of master cylinder and slave cylinders?)

The combined slave cylinder/release bearing was fine, but it shoots across the driveway as you drop the gearbox as it is two halves.

The Blue'ing is probably down to me pulling a caravan last year for around 4000 miles and my rather enthusiastic testing of Rons tuning kit...it wasnt bad though.

[podge]

Thanks Jamie, I have allready enquired at Rimmers regarding clutch plate and they only stock later one. The clutch rattle is an interesting point....could it be my "knock" and yes isn't the performance impressive with Ron's box of tricks!P.

[Kandyman]

Very nice work there Jamie, Hats off to you for taken on such a task

One thing to watch out for is make sure you don't damage that drive way, very nice it is to

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by podge

Thanks Jamie, I have allready enquired at Rimmers regarding clutch plate and they only stock later one. The clutch rattle is an interesting point....could it be my "knock" and yes isn't the performance impressive with Ron's box of tricks!P.

The original clutch is made by 'AP' however I bought a Quintin Hazle which comes with a lifetime Guarantee...the kit was £98 + VAT