General Multipla Clutch

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General Multipla Clutch

Bing163

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Jul 8, 2013
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Hello,
I have read all the threads on changing a Multipla clutch and I thought it might be interesting to others planning to do this job a few points that I noticed having just completed mine. With regard to the remove or not to remove front subframe debate, I did not remove mine as it was not necessary to do so. Likewise with the driveshafts, I simply removed the two bolts at the bottom of each strut that attaches it to the stub axle and it allowed enough clearance to get the driveshafts away from the box. There are six hex bolts on the nearside and the offside driveshaft needs it centre bearing knocked out having removed the three bolts holding it in place.
Dropping the box meant rotating the diff unit to the vertical as it comes out i.e. the window in the bellhousing which is normally at 12 o'clock end up at 9 o'clock. Putting it back was the same although I removed the long stud from the bellhousing to stop it prodding the clutch on the way in.
The other couple of observations that I hope are helpful is the inner starter motor bolt which is awkward. What I did is fitted the bolt to the starter with just the end of it poking through its hole. I then cable tied it around the body of the starter so that it is more or less in position. The stamped on washer below the bolt head allows enough room for a socket to go over it. I fitted the two easier bolts and then feeling my way with the socket got it on the end of the cable tied bolt, cut the cable tie off and away I went. Much easier than faffing about trying to get the bolt in the hole without.
Putting the centre mounting back in was another challenge. With just the end mountings the engine/gearbox has a tendency to move towards the front of the car making it difficult to get the mounting back in its hole on the subframe. I used a couple of webbing cargo ratchets round the gearbox and sump to tug it back to allow it to be refitted.
The last bit is a bit off piste, I had a very noisy thrust bearing on my car [115 JLX 1.9JTD] coupled with a chuntering noise which I knew was the dual mass flywheel. I replaced my DM flywheel with a solid one from an Alfa I think, new clutch and a deeper thrust bearing to counter the thinner flywheel - and of course shorter flywheel bolts. My old flywheel was shot. You could rotate the clutch on its bit of the flywheel 20mm without the ring gear part moving.
The result is a much better feel to the clutch and a complete absence of the noises and juddering that was was present prior to the work.
I hope all of this is helpful to anyone reading the various posts [which were very helpful] on clutch changes. Not a bad job just a big one.
Regards
Stephen
 
Please can you give a comparison on the "feel" and operation of the solid flywheel. I need mine doing this year and can't make up my mind which to get… I'm on my second clutch(changed at 64k now has 141k) but the flywheel is starting to chatter a bit now. I can get both for around the same price….
One other item that should be change is the top hat plastic bushes on the fork.
They go hard and expand contributing to a stiff pedal over time. This was suggested by a Fiat trained tech friend. I also have a drive shat oil seal leaking and will do the rear main. Aim get mine done by summer or soon if funds allow.
 
Thanks for the valuable feedback. Can you please tell us from which car the flywheel came from and what clutch kit you used. I am assuming from the same Alfa.
 
Hello, answering both of the above posts with this information. I believe the clutch and flywheel are from a diesel Alfa 156. I got it from these people :

http://www.solo-italia.co.uk.

Very good and helpful they are too. The clutch is also Alfa 156 which must use a similar gearbox. It is chunkier than a Multipla clutch especially in the driven disc department but is of course the same diameter. The whole kit and caboodle cost me £200 which is just a little cheaper than an non-standard clutch and DM flywheel kit on Ebay. However, I do not like DM flywheels as I had one fail on a Golf which cost me a fortune in damage so going solid was a backwards step into familiar territory for me and if Alfa don't use a DM flywheel I do not see the point of having one on the same engine only in a different car.
With regard to the feel, remember my flywheel was very noisy plus there was a lot of juddering and the bite point of the clutch varied as to whether the flywheel was cold or hot. The new flywheel is noiseless, rock solid [as I suspect a brand new DM flywheel might be] and it is much more precise then the rubbery feel of the old one. It is also as light as a feather. Not to sure about the top hats you refer to. My old thrust bearing was entirely made out of metal and the new deeper Alfa one has a plastic body with obviously a metal thrust bearing attached. It was easy to fit with a lug on the lower fork which clips over and the shape of the thrust bearing is that it can only be fitted the right way on the forks - unlike the old thrust bearing. The new one is quite noiseless in operation and my old one was completely shot. You see my car was laid up for three years with a broken cam belt and its owner - who was the first owner - sadly died of cancer and his wife was sick to death of the car sitting in the car port so she gave it to me. I liked the look of it [weird] so I rebuilt the engine but the demon damp had seized the alternator, one of the auxillary belt idlers and the starter motor did not last very long either. My noisy clutch thrust bearing was another victim of the laying up process I think. However, I put up with it for a year during which time the DM flywheel gave up the ghost to the extent that I thought a substantial part of it with the clutch attached was going to appear through the bell housing. Hence the decision to bite the bullet and heave it out.
Another interesting point [I don't get out much] was that I too thought that my rear crankshaft oil seal had gone due to dripping oil from the engine end of the bellhousing. but when I got the gearbox out the first motion shaft oil seal carrier cum thrust bearing guide was leaking around its periphery. The silicone sealant that must have been used by the factory was incomplete and the two 10mm headed bolts that hold it on were only finger tight. I should sample engine and gearbox oil if I were you for taste to see which one you have leaking out of your bell housing.
Yet another factoid for you. When I took the cylinder head off, an unexpected lump of metal fell out of it and when I cleaned it up I found it was the broken end of the socket that had been used by the factory to tighten down the head which had obviously failed when my engine was built. Lucky it did not get into mischief among the cam lobes!
I rather got the impression that Friday afternoon arrived daily in the FIAT factory.
Regards
Stephen
 
Thank you Bing for a really useful write up.
I have several jobs to do on my old Bug: clutch, rear radius bushes and a cam belt/water pump.
Not looking forward to it but it's got to be done, just waiting for a bit better weather...(no garage :eek: )
All these hands on write ups are a blessing, thank you.
Oletimer
(George)
 
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