alanrichey

Thanks for that, I hereby eat my words (although only if he didn't clip the release bearing into the release arm)    But as you say, I will not replace it until something else forces me to drop the engine/gearbox.   It's been rattling for 25K miles and doesn't seem to be getting worse.

I've seen the pictures, it would need a miracle to recondition that plate.  

Dean: The code I passed you before (Exedy MZK2100) is the one that Chris used to replace his clutch plate.   Have you tried that ?  Euro Car Parts carry it, you should get a discount with the Club membership.

Looking at the pictures he/her has a huge job on his/her hands.  I hope they know there is 16 years of knowledge on this forum and lots of people keen to help

Nasty.   

Yes, I have brochure which has the lightweight, the 2B Plus and the Superspec as the product lineup.

OK, that theory has been advanced before.  I am still a bit sceptical as if that was the case I would expect the rattle to be there all the time, whereas we know it disappears the moment you press down on the clutch pedal and force the release bearing against the pressure plate.  Hence  my theory that it is related to the release bearing.  Unfortunately if your mechanic fixes the bush and clips the bearing into the release arm we will never know which of the two caused the rattle  But regardless, it’s good news for you as you will have the quietest Superspec on the road

I gather you posted a picture of the broken clutch on another site, can you post it on here ?  Or PM me a copy ?

Cheers

Al

Wow, I wonder what caused that.   Was it just the clutch plate, or the pressure plate, or both ?  Good news that a new clutch should fix it.  

I don't fully understand his comment about the MT75 needle roller, I have never seen anything like that on an MT75 and it doesn't match up with anything else that has been reported.   Maybe he is talking about the bearing that was originally fitted to the gearbox input shaft to match the hole in the output shaft of the Granada engine.   We know that didn't fit the Rover engine, which is why RHE machined the phosphor bronze (I think) bush as a replacement.   But even though we know the tolerances were a bit iffy I don't understand why a slightly loose fit of the gearbox input shaft into a phosphor bronze bush would create a metallic rattle.   I would have thought it would just wear away the bush.   But I am prepared to eat my words if his fix works.

Is he using the old home made release bearing or a proper new MT75 one?  And could you ask him if the release bearing should actually be clipped into the release arm ? 

Fascinating stuff, keep the information coming, it's incredibly useful for other Superspec owners.

I wish they would list them so we could buy what we think we might need.  At the moment it’s guesswork.

I've just ordered one.  Cheaper than 2 new front tyres    And yes, to adjust camber you have to break the top ball joint.

16 hours ago, richyb66 said:

http://www.trackace.co.uk/

I have one of these, takes a bit of setting up but works well.

Looks good, but I did note this on one of the sites:

Please note: Trackace requires a minimum of 100mm under vehicle ground clearance so for low vehicles it may be necessary to raise the vehicle by placing suitable blocks under the wheels.

Is that a problem ?

I haven't heard of any Superspec not fitted with the MT75 (LHD Granada model).   Was the gearbox actually different or was it the release arm ?   And I don't think the turbo aspect makes it any different.

OK, it seems Chris simply handed in the original clutch plate and pressure plate and that is what he was given in return.   So there is no explanation as to why a different clutch plate was used.    Sorry, not much help.

OK, ignore previous post.   I just did a side-by-side comparison of the site map and the (old) Google Earth shot.    They have certainly lost a lot of room with HS2, it's going to be quite cosy if a lot of people turn up.   In previous years I have never strayed up to the band stand area so that will be new.

I see the kit car entrance is labelled 'Main Gate' (as against 'Main Public Gate').   But in previous years the road has been closed in front of Exhibition Hall so getting to the Band Stand area could be a bit of a challenge.  Looks like take second right just before the Westfield drift then first left and then right at the T-junction.  I think I will follow someone else

Although I have been there a few times I am having trouble matching the site map to my memories of the layout.  Has it changed completely because of HS2 ?   And there is no sign of a kit car entrance, which we always had in the past.  And I don't remember a band stand.

So very confused

I’m afraid I don’t know, I am just passing on information I was given by Chris. However the clutch plate and release bearing are not connected in any way so I don’t see why not.  I’ll ask him why he went with separate items.

Got my confirmation this morning.   I see they have moved our Club stand back to our usual place just by the entrance.   So it's going to be a busy weekend, Stoneleigh on Saturday then Stamford on Sunday .  I will aim to get there between 09:00 and 09:30.  Hope we have a decent turnout (and decent weather)

17 hours ago, deano266 said:

The clutch pedal won't even press more than inch even if I put all my weight on it.

That was what made me wonder if the clutch cable had seized.    Although mine have never seized I have had one get so stiff it was almost impossible to move.   Hence my suggestion you see if the release arm still had movement in it.  Although I accept that if the release bearing has jammed somehow that the release arm would still have movement.   Just making sure you eliminate the 'simple' answers before you make the big step of dropping the gearbox.

Also, you should be aware that I don't know anyone who has managed to release the gearbox without dropping the engine as well.  I suspect that after removing the prop shaft and the bolts holding the gearbox to the mounting plate you won't be able to move the gearbox back far enough to get it out.   I await your attempt with great interest, as if it works that makes life much simpler

As to the rattle, we still don't really know what is causing it.   If I was doing it I would try and get hold of a proper MT75 release arm and bearing.   Again, I have no idea why Richard didn't use the official one.  Maybe when he bought the gearboxes they didn't come with a release arm of release bearing so he decided to save money by making his own bearing and fitting any release arm he could find.   Or maybe the proper release arm was too long to align the cable with the hole that was drilled in the mounting plate.    We are in undiscovered territory here

In an ideal world it would be nice to run the engine while it is out, to test if the rattle has been fixed, as it would be annoying to have to drop the engine/gearbox again to try a different attempt.  Not sure how you do that, maybe just connect the sensors up without using any of the engine mounts when the body is first dropped down.

3 hours ago, deano266 said:

The clutch pedal won't even press more than inch even if I put all my weight on it.

I take it you have eliminated the cable as the failure point ?   Can you still rattle the release arm or is it seized ?

I've asked him to post the details, alternatively he is on Facebook, Chris Mccormack.   However, I have found some information that he sent me:

Clutch Plate -   Use EXEDY MZK2100  -  £100

Pressure Plate - This is slightly confusing as he quoted LUK 623 3350 00.  But when I googled that I got the full 3-piece clutch kit - £135. 

My spare clutch pressure plate has URB10009 0215 stamped on it so that is another option to search for.

Release bearing - While you have it apart you might as well try the official MT75 release bearing.  Google 500 0071 10.   However there must have been a good reason why Richard made up his own bespoke bearings, I just don't know why.  But at £20 it's worth a try.

I will be interested in how you get on, my belief is still that the release bearing is meant to clip into the release arm, and ours aren't, hence the rattle.

Let me know if you need any more information.   I would also like to know how you manage to lift the car up

  I know someone who has just changed his clutch and can tell you everything you need to know.  Not sure he’s on here so I will get him to post a reply.  Alternatively ‘wanderer’ has also just done his clutch so he might reply.

Hi, welcome to the Club.   Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be an Area Secretary covering Cambridge.  Perhaps you need to volunteer ?    If you look at the Member map you will see there are 3 members relatively close to you.  Jago, Gav888 and Leslie Walters.  Might be worth Messaging them.

As it turned out there were only 2 of us so we just went and sat under the trees at Burghley House and talked kit cars

My car started to run like a pig on the way home.   Easy to diagnose when I looked at the trace of the lambda sensor in my log file:

When I looked underneath.  The lambda sensor wiring had come adrift and was scraping on the road.   Soon one of the joins gave up the ghost.

Quick fix

Not sure the cat is relevant here ?   Like you I assume it is the CO we are talking about which needs to be below 0.3  As I understand it the CO level is to do with the mixture which should be controlled by the lambda sensor.   The purpose of the cat is to clean up the hydrocarbons and they were not mentioned.   I agree we need a lot more detail.

As an aside, having struggled with emissions during the early years, I blocked one of my exhaust outlets (a Superspec-specific design, not relevant to a normal 2B) then every year I add an injector cleaner to the fuel tank one fill up before the MOT and do a 40 min run just before the MOT, doing it all in 3rd gear so the revs sit around 4000+ rpm.  It's worked for the last 3 years, with straightforward passes

And very relaxing it was too, just watching the boats and chatting (it was at the junction of the Grand Union and the River Nene').    Now the weather seems to have started to settle down we intend to make the most of it.   Our next meet will be next Wednesday lunch time.  We haven't decided where to go yet, so it will be a surprise

Weather has been against us for the last few days but it looks to be getting better.  So for a first one we are going to go for a picnic lunch at a village called Wadenhoe on the River Nene on Tuesday .  Anyone that wants to join us let me know.