Clutching at straws.....

[Mr Cerbera]

Hello Lads and Lassies,
Get yourself comfortable with a container of your favourite, There is a question at the end of all of this but I must go into
:rant mode
As some of you may remember, I had a ‘bit of trouble’ with my Clutch a couple of years ago but, after replacing Master Cylinder and Slave seals I have had almost 12000 trouble-free miles. Yes, that was only 12000 miles !
Selection problems returned again and after checking for oil traces I serviced the ‘new’ Master and ordered a Slave from RP. It arrived and, after taking the Bellhousing off, I found


Now I’m nothing special as a driver but , as an example, I’ve driven approx Half a million kilometres in the last 30 years in Peugeots and NEVER had a Clutch problem. This should give you the idea that I’m not some kind of nutter behind the wheel so when a component such as the fingers of a Clutch break then I’m drawn to the conclusion that AP – whom I believe were the suppliers to the factory for these items - have sold parts that “are not suitable for purpose”.

Now I know, from reading many posts on here, that I am not alone so I am wondering that it would be a good idea to create a Group legal case against AP for costs for lost time, parts replacement, labour charges and most seriously, the emotional turmoil suffered at the hands of their faulty quality control measures.

Anyone interested ?

/:rant mode

Oh, by the way, that’s not the question I mentioned at the beginning of the post.
After removing the Clutch Basket I found this …..




Is there something missing from this picture ?
Like an 8th retaining bolt ?

Lemme know what you think if you have time.

Many thanks for your time.and finally……
:rant mode

A suitable salute to the quality of AP engineering….


/:rant mode

Edited by Mr Cerbera on Friday 20th April 09:10

[anonymous-user]

No idea on clutches as mine is fine, but my flywheel only had 7 bolts too and did wonder the same as you, APM didn't say anything when I delivered my engine. So might be normal.

Others with more knowledge will be along shortly!

[Tanguero]

The extra hole made me panic too when I first took the gearbox off. Don't worry there is nothing missing. If you look carefully there is no threaded hole in the flywheel behind the spare.

Clutches are consumable parts on cars of this power, yours has worn out and when they wear out the fingers break. I think any judge would laugh you out of court if you ever got that far with a class action, not that you would find a lawyer who would take it on. That said, they did change the design of the clutch a few years ago and I think the diaphragm spring on the later ones is stronger.

Edited by Tanguero on Friday 20th April 09:16

[ukkid35]

Tanguero said:

If you look carefully there is no threaded hole in the flywheel behind the spare.

Why???

[Mr Cerbera]

Phew ! Ta Gents !

Was quite surprised to find no fragmented bolt bits in the basket and then panicked that the last assembly engineer had mislaid one from his parts tray

Thanks for putting my mind at rest

[Tanguero]

ukkid35 said:

Tanguero said:

If you look carefully there is no threaded hole in the flywheel behind the spare.

Why???

Because there isn't meant to be.

ETA My guess is that it is there to balance the studs that locate the plate to the flywheel.

[ukkid35]

Just so I understand – The crank flange has 8 holes, but only 7 are threaded, the 8 hole flywheel is therefore secured with 7 bolts – and this is intentional?

[Tanguero]

ukkid35 said:

Just so I understand – The crank flange has 8 holes, but only 7 are threaded, the 8 hole flywheel is therefore secured with 7 bolts – and this is intentional?

No, there are only 7 holes in the flywheel, but 8 in the clutch.

[sonnylad]

To try and limit the fingers breaking off you need to check and adjust the travel of the foot pedal, if no stop fitted then one needs to be made up.

There usually broken by too much travel, that is not needed for the clutch to operate as you need.

Hope this makes sense.

[Gazzab]

I havent had broken fingers on my Cerbs - have had to replace worn out clutches on two occaisions. The fricton material was getting thin and with engines out already it was worth doing.
They do need to be fitted properly and I think this reduces the chances of broken fingers.
I have never had to replace a clutch on any car I have owned (except the cerbs) and I guess I'm like you, gentle on the clutch.

[itsallyellow]

The 8th hole is for a locating dowle from crank to flywheel.

Mike

[skidoo]

ukkid35 said:

Just so I understand – The crank flange has 8 holes, but only 7 are threaded, the 8 hole flywheel is therefore secured with 7 bolts – and this is intentional?

the flywheel has 8 holes but one hole is bigger as it is for a dowel pin in the crank and 7 bolt fixing why i dunno maybe for alignment/balancing HTH

Edited by skidoo on Friday 20th April 17:02

[Cyclone1]

That's not too bad to be honest, I can remember when mine failed, it was deemed the worst ever seen by Joolz, god knows how it survived so long but with no fingers.......

Here's the thread, pity the picture no longer works though...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...


Jules

[Tanguero]

Tanguero said:

ukkid35 said:

Just so I understand – The crank flange has 8 holes, but only 7 are threaded, the 8 hole flywheel is therefore secured with 7 bolts – and this is intentional?

No, there are only 7 bolt holes in the flywheel, but 8 in the clutch.

Edit for clarity.

[ukkid35]

Tanguero said:

No, there are only 7 bolt holes in the flywheel, but 8 in the clutch.

itsallyellow said:

The 8th hole is for a locating dowle from crank to flywheel.

Mike

skidoo said:

the flywheel has 8 holes but one hole is bigger as it is for a dowel pin in the crank and 7 bolt fixing why i dunno maybe for alignment/balancing HTH

Thanks guys - much appreciated.

[Mr Cerbera]

ukkid35 said:

Tanguero said:

No, there are only 7 bolt holes in the flywheel, but 8 in the clutch.

itsallyellow said:

The 8th hole is for a locating dowle from crank to flywheel.

Mike

skidoo said:

the flywheel has 8 holes but one hole is bigger as it is for a dowel pin in the crank and 7 bolt fixing why i dunno maybe for alignment/balancing HTH

Thanks guys - much appreciated.

.... and from me too !

[Mr Cerbera]

Oh Buggah ! The cheapest clutch pack I can find is £534 incl.

Is that the going rate ? I thought I remember reading on here a Scottish Garage doing them for £400 (but of course I can't remember - or find - where )

Anyone know any other sources ? - please don't suggest breakers

Mr Thinwallet

[anonymous-user]

Mr Cerbera said:

Oh Buggah ! The cheapest clutch pack I can find is £534 incl.

Is that the going rate ? I thought I remember reading on here a Scottish Garage doing them for £400 (but of course I can't remember - or find - where )

Anyone know any other sources ? - please don't suggest breakers

Mr Thinwallet

I've been looking recently too and RG do a replacement friction plate and diaphragm for about £340 if memory serves, if you dont want to buy a full replacement. They;re not cheap but I'll be replacing the whole thing just for peace of mind.

S

[Gazzab]

Mr Cerbera said:

Oh Buggah ! The cheapest clutch pack I can find is £534 incl.

Is that the going rate ? I thought I remember reading on here a Scottish Garage doing them for £400 (but of course I can't remember - or find - where )

Anyone know any other sources ? - please don't suggest breakers

Mr Thinwallet

£513.59 at Power....

http://www.tvrpower.co.uk/store/slug/genuine-a-p-r...

[Gazzab]

at 11.35 today it has 50 mins to go and almost a new clutch (I think S6 and AJP are the same...?):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-TUSCAN-CERBERA-T350-...

Edit to add that they are the same on Cerbs and T cars (same part no).

Edited by Gazzab on Saturday 21st April 11:45