Technical Gearbox main shaft stuck in spigot bush. Ouch.

[1500500]

The bush was in a new crankshaft so not sure of its origin.

A while ago I helped a friend replace one and after seeing a YouTube clip about using bread to remove the bush we gave it a go…. And it worked. It is a bit denser than grease so less likely to squeeze out… attached video of the successful extraction that time

Thanks again to all.

I am waiting for the new bush so will update when it comes time to replace it.

Cheers

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I've been greatly enjoying following this thread. At first I thought it was going to be the shaft hanging up on the driven plate splines and was about to suggest unbolting the cover assembly, but I was beaten to it with that suggestion. As many on here will know I've spent a lot of my working life in and around the motor trade and I've never actually come across the problem you have. Usually, if it's the spigot bearing, it would be clutch judder due to excessive wear allowing the shaft to flop around a bit.

As we should all know it's important to correctly lube the driven plate splines and especially not apply too much grease or it will be thrown off onto the friction lining. What doesn't seem to be common knowledge is that "special" grease which is specifically formulated for use on clutches is available: https://aftermarket.zf.com/us/en/sa...-tips/clutch-systems/greasing-the-hub-spline/ Could be worth buying a tube?

Edit. PS the reason I mention the grease is that one of it's qualities is that it's especially "sticky" so resists being flung off.

 

[fiat500]

I've been greatly enjoying following this thread. At first I thought it was going to be the shaft hanging up on the driven plate splines and was about to suggest unbolting the cover assembly, but I was beaten to it with that suggestion. As many on here will know I've spent a lot of my working life in and around the motor trade and I've never actually come across the problem you have. Usually, if it's the spigot bearing, it would be clutch judder due to excessive wear allowing the shaft to flop around a bit.

As we should all know it's important to correctly lube the driven plate splines and especially not apply too much grease or it will be thrown off onto the friction lining. What doesn't seem to be common knowledge is that "special" grease which is specifically formulated for use on clutches is available: https://aftermarket.zf.com/us/en/sa...-tips/clutch-systems/greasing-the-hub-spline/ Could be worth buying a tube?

Edit. PS the reason I mention the grease is that one of it's qualities is that it's especially "sticky" so resists being flung off.

On my old Austin Ten I remember powdered graphite being suggested on the splines.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

On my old Austin Ten I remember powdered graphite being suggested on the splines.

And it'll have had a carbon thrust release bearing? Slip one of those for more than a few minutes at a time and you'll wish you hadn't, eh?

 

[bugsymike]

And it'll have had a carbon thrust release bearing? Slip one of those for more than a few minutes at a time and you'll wish you hadn't, eh?

Fitted a few of those in my youth.
One thing taught at college that I have never needed to do is set up a clutch on a dummy flywheel to adjust the fingers. Even though this was before diaphragm clutches all our Borg and Beck clutches were ready to fit.
Adjusted a few two bobbin voltage regulators and the RB340 later ones.
It came in handy when I fitted a 12 volt Wartburg voltage regulator to a 6 volt dynamo on a BSA 650cc Road Rocket that I had built from a pile of bits around 1978, the first time I burnt out the dynamo then next time I set the output still at 12 volts but much lower amperage and it worked perfectly, good enough for a 12 volt battery, Cibie headlight with a quartz bulb from a Renault 4 and a pair of air horns to get the idiots out of my way that couldn't hear the twin megaphone exhausts!!!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Fitted a few of those in my youth.
One thing taught at college that I have never needed to do is set up a clutch on a dummy flywheel to adjust the fingers. Even though this was before diaphragm clutches all our Borg and Beck clutches were ready to fit.
Adjusted a few two bobbin voltage regulators and the RB340 later ones.
It came in handy when I fitted a 12 volt Wartburg voltage regulator to a 6 volt dynamo on a BSA 650cc Road Rocket that I had built from a pile of bits around 1978, the first time I burnt out the dynamo then next time I set the output still at 12 volts but much lower amperage and it worked perfectly, good enough for a 12 volt battery, Cibie headlight with a quartz bulb from a Renault 4 and a pair of air horns to get the idiots out of my way that couldn't hear the twin megaphone exhausts!!!

Ditto on the setting up of the clutch fingers. I remember doing them at college but never did one in anger. I have a somewhat hazy memory of the two bobbin regulators but I stayed well away from them. If there was a problem we would just fit a new regulator. Used to take dynamos to pieces regularly though. sand down the com segments (no emery, only sandpaper to stop shorts) and clean out the slots with a sharpened bit of hacksaw blade before fitting new brushes. quite often fitted a new ball race to the pulley end and less often a sintered bush to the com end. However I remember much more the sheer terror stories of how you could completely ruin those new diode things in the new fangled alternators (Lucas ACR) when they first came out. Seems funny to remember but we were genuinely worried about shorting them out because the boss took the money out your wages!

Your mention of the Wartburg forces me to admit to a dark and inexplicable longing to own something with a 3 cylinder two stroke in it. Wouldn't matter if it was a Wartburg, Auto union, SAAB ('specially the wee sports car version). Can't explain it, I just want one!

 

[bugsymike]

Ditto on the setting up of the clutch fingers. I remember doing them at college but never did one in anger. I have a somewhat hazy memory of the two bobbin regulators but I stayed well away from them. If there was a problem we would just fit a new regulator. Used to take dynamos to pieces regularly though. sand down the com segments (no emery, only sandpaper to stop shorts) and clean out the slots with a sharpened bit of hacksaw blade before fitting new brushes. quite often fitted a new ball race to the pulley end and less often a sintered bush to the com end. However I remember much more the sheer terror stories of how you could completely ruin those new diode things in the new fangled alternators (Lucas ACR) when they first came out. Seems funny to remember but we were genuinely worried about shorting them out because the boss took the money out your wages!

Your mention of the Wartburg forces me to admit to a dark and inexplicable longing to own something with a 3 cylinder two stroke in it. Wouldn't matter if it was a Wartburg, Auto union, SAAB ('specially the wee sports car version). Can't explain it, I just want one!

We were Wartburg agents at the time, so did a fair bit on them. Having raced karts in class 4 Villiers, tuning 2 strokes held an interest, but never tuned a Wartburg, Alpha bearings of Dudley rebuilt the crank assemblies for us and when I raced karts they used to supply performance conrods and bearings etc. I believe Saab rallied theirs with a triple carb version with three expansion exhausts etc. Wartburgs were quite well engineered with a separate chassis, free wheel device etc. being East German, unlike the Russian Ladas and of course the Moskvitch which really was the pits.
You had to carefully lower the complete crank, conrods and align the three pistons at the same time into the block and being two stroke you had pegged piston rings to gently guide into place. There was three coils and three sets of points which all needed gaping and timing individually. For a 1000cc, being two stroke they performed like a 1500 four stroke of their day, economy wasn't their strong point and you had to premix oil in the petrol, but they revved well and were comfortable and fun to drive by standards of the day. I also recall having to rebuild the water pumps which were mounted in the cylinder head, we had all the bearings, impellers, carbon sealing glands etc. in stock
I recall the 17 ACR Lucas alternators, obviously with the advent of alternators cars then had to be Negative earth unlike their dynamo predecessors.

 

[fiat500]

And it'll have had a carbon thrust release bearing? Slip one of those for more than a few minutes at a time and you'll wish you hadn't, eh?

Oil leaks from the input shaft always killed the clutch long before any mechanical wear could set in. It had a leather seal and I think it had a wind-back helical machining on the shaft that was meant to pull oil back in.

 

[1500500]

Old spigot bush removed using a slice of white bread and a small socket. Took a few reloads of bread and out it came….

 

[1500500]

Before and after shots after giving the gearbox input shaft a man powered linishing. Sounds terrible but essentially we put the car in 4th, jacked up one wheel and while A friend turned the wheel I held some fine sand paper in place and the results speak for themselves…. The new bush spins freely so when all back together should be a lot better.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Before and after shots after giving the gearbox input shaft a man powered linishing. Sounds terrible but essentially we put the car in 4th, jacked up one wheel and while A friend turned the wheel I held some fine sand paper in place and the results speak for themselves…. The new bush spins freely so when all back together should be a lot better.

View attachment 413618

Looks lovely. Linishing? that's a word I've not heard for many years.