31 replies to this topic

[Austin]

Right then, im trying to replace the clutch on my a-plus 998 engine. I know how to do it but for some reason the pressure plate will not come off the end of the crank. It is completely and utterly stuck, up to the point that ive destroyed 2 heavy duty flywheel pullers trying to remove it. the slots are alligned properly on the crank and pressure plate so its not the 'c' washer stopping it. I really dont want to heat up the crank and weaken it so any ideas before the engine comes out? Any help appreciated.

[nomininolife]

Basic questions really

Have you tightened it a bit at a time and gone for a cup of tea?

Have you tried persuading it with a copper mallet(or similar)through the stater motor hole?

Like I said basic questions

David

[Austin]

Yes mate. Tryed everything. Left the tension on it all night last night and all i got was a banana shaped puller > . Im qualified as a mechanic and ive done this a few times before, but this one is just silly.Cheers for the reply though . Only advice i can get from mini 'specialists' is to get the crank red hot, but this will cause annealing on the crank and soften the taper, which is not good.

Edited by Austin, 13 October 2006 - 10:41 PM.

[nomininolife]

I'm sorry but I cant help you any further as I have been lucky so far and never had a problem getting a flywheel off.


Regards

David

[Austin]

No probs mate

[m1n1]

well, seing as you are not going to re-use the pressure plate why dont you grind it off? just cut through it steadily until you get near to the crankshaft then use a chisel to help seperate it? thus may help release it a little bit for you.
i say you are not going to reuse it as it should be a verto clutch on the a+ and you get a new one when you buy a clutch kit.

[Retro_10s]

agreed, you my well have to grind it off, also, the localised heat from grinding will help and the massive vibrations.

[Big_Adam]

always heat it off to pop off the shaft.

well unless i'm thinking about it wrong. its just an idea........don't hurt me!

[fikus01]

i know you dont wana heat the crank!! try heating the pressure plate!! idea being you should be able to expand it off thecrank a little!! when i used to work on busses to rmove some of the parts from suspension and gearbox/engine was to heatit, hit it and tighten the puller!! eventually it will go but by got it will make a big bang!!

if you are using a std mini puller try making your own one out of thicker steel plate!!(we had one made out of 1" thick steel) it mite just give you that extra bit of oomph you'll need!!

[Austin]

Its off. I borrowed a decent puller, tightened it as tight as i physically could using a big bar and left it for an hour. This did nowt so i heated the pressure plate just a little and smacked it stupid with a lump hammer. Off it came! The clutch slip turned out to be caused by oil contamination of the clutch plate due to the crank seal leaking. Thanks for the suggestions everybody.

[jordanc712]

Its off. I borrowed a decent puller, tightened it as tight as i physically could using a big bar and left it for an hour. This did nowt so i heated the pressure plate just a little and smacked it stupid with a lump hammer. Off it came! The clutch slip turned out to be caused by oil contamination of the clutch plate due to the crank seal leaking. Thanks for the suggestions everybody.

i have same problem i cant get the flywheel off and i have used a proper pulley it is stuck on solid can anyone give me any help and its a 1982 mini and i dont thing the clutch has been repaced since new as it is a restoration project

[Ethel]

Just the same really,

Make sure the 3 attaching bolts are the same length. grease the puller screw and the back of the crank nose adapter. Chock the engine in somewhere solid and use a nice chunky bar to wind it up. Letting it stand, bashing the puller bolt head and heating the flywheel may all help a little.

Sometimes they just won't shift at all.

[mwalsh]

Had to get on mine with a hydraulic puller and it STILL wouldn't let go. Eventually I had to get on it with the puller, some penetrant, and a bit of heat from a Mapp gas torch. It was when I was heating it that it finally let go, launching like a torpedo for a distance of 2.5 feet! Scared the bejezzus out of me!

[jordanc712]

Had to get on mine with a hydraulic puller and it STILL wouldn't let go. Eventually I had to get on it with the puller, some penetrant, and a bit of heat from a Mapp gas torch. It was when I was heating it that it finally let go, launching like a torpedo for a distance of 2.5 feet! Scared the bejezzus out of me!

thanks for the replys i have tryed heating it up and i placed the engine in between to big blocks of wood so it wouldnt move and it still will not budge anymore ideas please also ano this might sound stupid but the pictures that have been posted dont look anything like my flywheel i only have the flywheel on i dont have any of that metal plate or anything is that supposed to be on

and also i have taken the thermastat out of the engine and there is a load of brown stuff looks like sludgey sand a hope that makes sence can anyone help me with this please

[mwalsh]

thanks for the replys i have tryed heating it up and i placed the engine in between to big blocks of wood so it wouldnt move and it still will not budge anymore ideas please also ano this might sound stupid but the pictures that have been posted dont look anything like my flywheel i only have the flywheel on i dont have any of that metal plate or anything is that supposed to be on

and also i have taken the thermastat out of the engine and there is a load of brown stuff looks like sludgey sand a hope that makes sence can anyone help me with this please

Well mine is a Verto clutch, so it is going to look a bit different from a pre-verto, which should look like this:

Pre-Verto clutch

The Chinese hat looking thing (diaphragm) is going to fasten to the flywheel, and you can see the holes where your flywheel puller bolts go. This is what yours looks like, right?

So you've got the flywheel bolt out. And then you've taken the keyway out:

Keyway

And then you've aligned your crank so that they C-shaped washer holding the primary gear on can't slip down and block flywheel removal (someone else will have to help me out here....what is the crank orientation for the pre-verto setup?)

Primary gear C ring.
Primary gear backing ring

If all that holds true, then it's just down to persistence and the right tools for the job.

Edited by mwalsh, 27 October 2009 - 10:26 PM.