Worn Spigot Bearing
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 6:33 pm
My gearbox was excessively noisy, and I managed to acquire a 2nd hand engine and box (engine rattly, box apparently OK).
So I decided to replace the clutch - and discovered my one was nearly gone so just as well. However during assembly I noticed a lip at the back of the bronze spigot bearing in the flywheel (lip = bad sign, usually...). I found a small socket which was a snug fit in the spigot bearing on the other engine, and checked mine... and I rechecked twice because I couldn't believe how loose it was! There must have been 1mm of play in it. I'd guess that about half the bush was gone!
So how do you have that much play without the clutch plate getting very wobbly and rattling or vibrating? Does it self-center somehow? And would it cause excess wear to the gearbox and/or make the gearbox very noisy?
I used the bread method to recover the bush from the other engine (thanks to this forum... wow... who would have thought...). It came out easily but was damaged by burs in the surrounding crankshaft metal (someone else had been a bit heavy handed with a hammer). I couldn't find one anywhere locally, but I managed to find a 2 inch length of bush with the correct inner diameter and slightly too thick outer diameter. So a little 'machining' was needed (think electric drill in vice with file), but the result was good. Mostly reassembled now, but I haven't tested yet (paws crossed).
So I decided to replace the clutch - and discovered my one was nearly gone so just as well. However during assembly I noticed a lip at the back of the bronze spigot bearing in the flywheel (lip = bad sign, usually...). I found a small socket which was a snug fit in the spigot bearing on the other engine, and checked mine... and I rechecked twice because I couldn't believe how loose it was! There must have been 1mm of play in it. I'd guess that about half the bush was gone!
So how do you have that much play without the clutch plate getting very wobbly and rattling or vibrating? Does it self-center somehow? And would it cause excess wear to the gearbox and/or make the gearbox very noisy?
I used the bread method to recover the bush from the other engine (thanks to this forum... wow... who would have thought...). It came out easily but was damaged by burs in the surrounding crankshaft metal (someone else had been a bit heavy handed with a hammer). I couldn't find one anywhere locally, but I managed to find a 2 inch length of bush with the correct inner diameter and slightly too thick outer diameter. So a little 'machining' was needed (think electric drill in vice with file), but the result was good. Mostly reassembled now, but I haven't tested yet (paws crossed).