Clutch making sqreeking noise
Discussion
Same exact thing happened to me last year at Road Atlanta. Next lap my clutch was gone and I had to limp back to the pits. Luckily I was stuck in second gear when it happened. When my frineds and I took the gearbox out we found that the throwout bearing had disintegrated and little piece of it were all over the inside of the bell housing. We replaced the bearing, re-lined the clutch, re-surfaced the flywheel, and put it all back together good as new.
There's a few pictures of the job on the Images chapter of my EFF site.
Cheers,
Karl-Franz :-)
www.espritfactfile.com
There's a few pictures of the job on the Images chapter of my EFF site.
Cheers,
Karl-Franz :-)
www.espritfactfile.com
Hi,
I agree with Paul that the Spigot, often more commonly known as a Pilot bearing is the most likely culprit. This is not a particularly robust bearing, consisting of a number of small steel roller needles inset into a circular carrier.
This carrier is then set over the Input Shaft, where the two slide into a receiver machined into the rear end of the Crankshaft. A nylon Thrust Washer acts as an insulator to separate the Crank and Input Shafts and a spring keeps constant pressure between the two.
The fix is to replace the bearing and thrust washer, both are inexpensive parts totalling perhaps $15USD.
However to access and change them, you must separate the engine and transmission. This can be done without removing the engine or tranny completely from the car. Once transmission is separated enough to withdraw the end of the Input Shaft from the Crankshaft, the old bearing and thrust washer are removed and the new bearing and thrust washer (loaded with grease) are installed, along with the pressure spring in their place. You then bolt everything together again.
ONE VERY IMPORTANT NOTE! , failure to replace the nylon thrust washer will result in the Input Shaft augering itself into the receiver in the Crankshaft. This will not be noticeable at first for many miles. But, as the Input Shaft augers deeper and deeper into the Crankshaft, it is simultaneously being withdrawn from the splined receiver it sits in on the Primary Shaft at it's other end.
Eventually, the splines will disengage to the point where there is no longer sufficient contact between the two shafts and the torque and power from the engine will cause the Input Shaft to round out the splined receiver in the Primary Shaft.
Should all this occur, you will end up dismantling the lower half of the engine, pulling the Crankshaft, taking it to a Machine Shop to have it machined to accept an insert. Also, the Input Shaft will need replacing and finally, you will have to disassemble the transmission to remove the Primary Shaft and it's associated gears so they can be replaced. In total, about 40-50 shophours and about $2000USD in parts, all due to a missing or faulty $2-5 nylon thrust washer.
I helped rebuild the engine and transmission of a friend with an '88 Esprit because the dealer left out this silly, yet critical inexpensive nylon Thrust Washer when they replaced his clutch a year earlier. The total cost as I said was over $2000 in parts and it took us about 65 -70 total manhours, spread over two months, to complete the work. At the shop charge today for Lotus qualified mechanics, had he been forced to have the work performed commercially, his resultant bill could well have exceeded $5000USD!
If you think I am trying to horrify you with this tale, I am! It occurs with more frequency than most are aware of. So much so in fact, that Lotus actually sells the steel insert for the crankshaft, which you must have installed by a machine shop after they have machined the crankshaft to accept it. So, it would seem not to be that uncommon at all. Be certain, whether doing the work yourself, or having the work done by someone else, that this silly little nylon Thrust Washer is installed properly as part of the job. Failure to do so is simply too costly. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE
>> Edited by lotusguy on Monday 22 September 07:27
I agree with Paul that the Spigot, often more commonly known as a Pilot bearing is the most likely culprit. This is not a particularly robust bearing, consisting of a number of small steel roller needles inset into a circular carrier.
This carrier is then set over the Input Shaft, where the two slide into a receiver machined into the rear end of the Crankshaft. A nylon Thrust Washer acts as an insulator to separate the Crank and Input Shafts and a spring keeps constant pressure between the two.
The fix is to replace the bearing and thrust washer, both are inexpensive parts totalling perhaps $15USD.
However to access and change them, you must separate the engine and transmission. This can be done without removing the engine or tranny completely from the car. Once transmission is separated enough to withdraw the end of the Input Shaft from the Crankshaft, the old bearing and thrust washer are removed and the new bearing and thrust washer (loaded with grease) are installed, along with the pressure spring in their place. You then bolt everything together again.
ONE VERY IMPORTANT NOTE! , failure to replace the nylon thrust washer will result in the Input Shaft augering itself into the receiver in the Crankshaft. This will not be noticeable at first for many miles. But, as the Input Shaft augers deeper and deeper into the Crankshaft, it is simultaneously being withdrawn from the splined receiver it sits in on the Primary Shaft at it's other end.
Eventually, the splines will disengage to the point where there is no longer sufficient contact between the two shafts and the torque and power from the engine will cause the Input Shaft to round out the splined receiver in the Primary Shaft.
Should all this occur, you will end up dismantling the lower half of the engine, pulling the Crankshaft, taking it to a Machine Shop to have it machined to accept an insert. Also, the Input Shaft will need replacing and finally, you will have to disassemble the transmission to remove the Primary Shaft and it's associated gears so they can be replaced. In total, about 40-50 shophours and about $2000USD in parts, all due to a missing or faulty $2-5 nylon thrust washer.
I helped rebuild the engine and transmission of a friend with an '88 Esprit because the dealer left out this silly, yet critical inexpensive nylon Thrust Washer when they replaced his clutch a year earlier. The total cost as I said was over $2000 in parts and it took us about 65 -70 total manhours, spread over two months, to complete the work. At the shop charge today for Lotus qualified mechanics, had he been forced to have the work performed commercially, his resultant bill could well have exceeded $5000USD!
If you think I am trying to horrify you with this tale, I am! It occurs with more frequency than most are aware of. So much so in fact, that Lotus actually sells the steel insert for the crankshaft, which you must have installed by a machine shop after they have machined the crankshaft to accept it. So, it would seem not to be that uncommon at all. Be certain, whether doing the work yourself, or having the work done by someone else, that this silly little nylon Thrust Washer is installed properly as part of the job. Failure to do so is simply too costly. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE
>> Edited by lotusguy on Monday 22 September 07:27
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