Replace clutch
Discussion
It's doable by those means (in fact, just doing mine and some other transmission bits exactly like that now) but hard work grovelling around on the ground - there's two or three good walk-throughs on here so well worth a search. Get your head around the remote linkage mechanism as that is where most of the grief lies (it is well obscured)
The last one I changed was on a mk 1 Mini, in 1975. Changed the gearbox too. After three weeks of struggling I finished it, took the old box to the parts place for my exchange refund and asked them, while chatting, what they would have charged to do the job. I could have cried.......it was so little more than it had cost me in tools and bits.
So get a quote from your TVR specialist first, so that you know how much you will be saving doing it yourself, would be my advice.
So get a quote from your TVR specialist first, so that you know how much you will be saving doing it yourself, would be my advice.
It's not the most entertaining way to spend a day, I would get a quote for someone else to do it first too. Took me about 6 hours to do it on a 4 post ramp, I'd probably knock a couple hours off that now I've done it once but it's your first time too. Wouldn't want to do it on the floor the first time, wouldn't want to do it on the floor at all to tell the truth 
As it's been a few years and you're using axle stands I think you'll need to allow yourself two days (and a lot of swearing). As has been said, the remote linkage on top of the gearbox is a pain and the bolts round the top of the bellhousing could be easier. It's all pretty basic stuff but access is the issue.
The key things to have in mind are that the linkage is dog-legged and passes over a chassis cross member and some of the body tub; that's why it has to be disconnected from the box - it is attached at three points. They are:
At gear stick - there is a pivot cross-bolt that needs to be removed. The gotcha here is there is a plastic sleeve the bolt runs in that extends full width of the linkage and through two plastic thrust washers. If anything like mine, the plastic will be destroyed in the removal; Racetech seem to be the only source for spares but bend over. The stick itself will just lift out the carrier.
At the box selector stub (on the tail housing) - another cross-bolt and plastic sleeve arrangement as before.
At the bellhousing - a rod-eye fitted with a sliding rod (male) that mates with the female sleeve on the linkage to give back and forth movement. This is held in place by a 13mm nyloc (two 13mm spanners needed to undo). With the mounts out and box dropped roughly the height of the mounts, the linkage can be wriggled out from inside the car - will slide off the sliding rod if that is necessary.
All of this can and been done from underneath but you'll be working entirely by feel and access is tight. Far easier from inside the car with the centre trim off.
Another way to allow box removal with the linkage staying undisturbed would be to undo the two carriers on the box for the shift stick and shift stub - both will lift off but the latter will expose the tail housing internals to the risk of crap dropping in - the sliding rod would still need to come off the bell housing before that could be removed however.
Search Google for Chimaera gear linkage and click on mages - there's plenty there that will help you visualise what is a pretty horrible layout.
As a sanity check, just make sure yours has the linkage at all - as a later car, it's not impossible yours came with the shift directly on a different tail housing - lucky sod if so!
At gear stick - there is a pivot cross-bolt that needs to be removed. The gotcha here is there is a plastic sleeve the bolt runs in that extends full width of the linkage and through two plastic thrust washers. If anything like mine, the plastic will be destroyed in the removal; Racetech seem to be the only source for spares but bend over. The stick itself will just lift out the carrier.
At the box selector stub (on the tail housing) - another cross-bolt and plastic sleeve arrangement as before.
At the bellhousing - a rod-eye fitted with a sliding rod (male) that mates with the female sleeve on the linkage to give back and forth movement. This is held in place by a 13mm nyloc (two 13mm spanners needed to undo). With the mounts out and box dropped roughly the height of the mounts, the linkage can be wriggled out from inside the car - will slide off the sliding rod if that is necessary.
All of this can and been done from underneath but you'll be working entirely by feel and access is tight. Far easier from inside the car with the centre trim off.
Another way to allow box removal with the linkage staying undisturbed would be to undo the two carriers on the box for the shift stick and shift stub - both will lift off but the latter will expose the tail housing internals to the risk of crap dropping in - the sliding rod would still need to come off the bell housing before that could be removed however.
Search Google for Chimaera gear linkage and click on mages - there's plenty there that will help you visualise what is a pretty horrible layout.
As a sanity check, just make sure yours has the linkage at all - as a later car, it's not impossible yours came with the shift directly on a different tail housing - lucky sod if so!
Did my clutch last year over a number of weekends off axle stands, but was only able to work the odd hour here and there and I'm slow (read novice!).... could probably do it in a weekend without interuptions etc. Wasn't too hard to do and lots of help in this forum. I did the linkage from above having removed the trim which wasn't too bad to do. The best tip was to make up a timber 'cradle' to sit on top of a trolley jack to support the gearbox as you remove it since it weighs 25-30kg and too much to support when lying on your back. Also advisable to replace as much as you can whilst you're in there (spigot bearing, thrust bearing, rear crank seal, clutch fork arm etc.
In a past life have done too many clutches on my back, unless you want the experience of doing it or are tight on funds give this dubious pleasure to an expert, with this you also have peace of mind should any problems arise after installation, don't take this the wrong way and I applaud anyone wanting to do it but having been there and done that I know which route I would take these days.
Rich
Rich
latham91 said:
Did my clutch last year over a number of weekends off axle stands, but was only able to work the odd hour here and there and I'm slow (read novice!).... could probably do it in a weekend without interuptions etc. Wasn't too hard to do and lots of help in this forum. I did the linkage from above having removed the trim which wasn't too bad to do. The best tip was to make up a timber 'cradle' to sit on top of a trolley jack to support the gearbox as you remove it since it weighs 25-30kg and too much to support when lying on your back. Also advisable to replace as much as you can whilst you're in there (spigot bearing, thrust bearing, rear crank seal, clutch fork arm etc.
As an alternative to the cradle, and given the box only will balance generally on the casting lugs right below the tail housing joint, the method I used was to get an axle stand under the shaft as high as poss by tlting the box back, then lifting the tail manually enough to get a small scissor jack under the mount plate.... lift the rear with that until enough height is gained to get a trolley jack under the middle lug - if the trolley jack is oriented front to back and lifting forward, the box will naturally end up in the right sort of alignment to slot in just by wheeling forward (a bracing hand may be necessary to keep it vertical but once up and in the cavity it's not going to rotate). It's certainly a big lump and not what you want on your chin so small gentle movements.As to why? Well, I could post up a pic of what a specialist installed and billed me for as an AP Racing 240mm clutch - it was an Ebay special, painted red, at about a third of what the component I was expecting would have been. Not the first time I've been had in TVR land; was the last.
Edited by Pupp on Friday 22 April 22:41
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