Nilfisken Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Hi,in the process of switching gearboxes on the Spitfire and decided to change the clutch at the same time for peace of mind. The pressure plate is attached to the flywheel using allen head bolts and they appear to all be stuck solid! Any advice on how to loosen them up, the engine is in the car so not sure if applying heat is a good idea. Also would it be bad for the engine to hit the bolt heads with a hammer to hopefully shock them free or could that damage the crankshaft?Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrookster Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Had you tried the old trick of tightening them before trying to slacken them? If you have a suspected tight nut/bolt always give it a tightening tweak before undoing.Giving them a tap should not do any damage, but for heavens sake be proportional!! Small to mid-sized hammer wielded gently-ish should suffice, if you wallop the thing with your biggest lump hammer then you will damage things :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkB Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 I have had a Hilka impact screwdriver for years with a half inch drive that has never failed to loosen anything I have come across. similar to thishttp://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_530655_langId_-1_categoryId_165469 Belt it with a 4lb club hammer and away you go. Ideally heat then the correct allen key socket type drive and a long extension. Lock tight may have been used previously. You usually get one good shot at things like this so make sure you use the exact size allen key, and keep tools square to the head of the bolt, because once things start rounding off or slipping you can have bigger problems. I can't see you damaging anything on the crank but you could always wedge a couple of pieces of wood between the flywheel and block to help protect the thrust bearings if you have a lot of end float. I would also lock the flywheel using the starter ring. Good luck.Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 You can try putting a steel tube over the allen key to give you a bit more torque.But as said above, do make sure you have the right size. Once things start rounding off then you have trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyW Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Hello Hello, Richard B wins my vote, the longer the pole the more torque you will generate, and will allow more control. I find a the pole from a trolley jack to be perfect.My other thought would be to get some decent penetrating oil (3 in 1 maybe). keep putting it on over a period and leave overnight. Point to note, you can clean up the pressure plate and flywheel but once you get any oil on the clutch plate then its no good, but since your removing it I am assuming your going to replace it anyway. Have you got the exhaust fitted yet? :)cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nilfisken Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 Hi,I will give the bolts another go later this week. Need a new propshaft, just ordered one from Canley, I should buy shares soon given the amount of my salary those guys get ;) so wont have the car back for quite some time :( Also need to find a good way of wedging the engine before applying more torque on the bolts. Is the front pulley nut and a long handle the best way to go?The clutch definately have to come out since the middle part having the splines can be wiggled around but not turned around, I believe the rivets holding the middle part of the frcition plate are starting to break up!Exhaust is still not on the car Andy, I will need to fabricate some extension to merge it with the GT6 system I plan to use. I planned to do all of this (including the gearbox) this autumn but a failed gearbox made me have to change my plans a bit... How's the SpitSix plans coming along?Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nilfisken Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 Hi,I got the bastards off! Thanks for your help :) They all came fairly easy after first having given them a few medium hard taps with a hammer and a drift in the middle of the bolt. After that they moved using a long 3/16" allen key with a screwdriver handle. Clutch actually looks quite decent with plenty of meat left on it but I'm gonna replace it anyway. Not sure if they come in different designs but without looking like anything is broken or missing the old clutch has a few mm of play in all directions in the central ring carrying the splines and the same movement is translated to the four coil springs but nothing else. On the new clutch the whole unit looks fine and nothing has any play. I think I will keep the old clutch as an emergency repair unit and put the new one in for now.Is there any way of testing the condition of the release bearing or better to just change it regardless? A new one is included in the clutch kit but if the old ones are OK might save it for later. I have two release arms complete with bearings to check, the one that was in the car and the one that came with the OD box I'm putting in.Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Paterson Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I had to drill one of those bolt heads off a few years back.They are made from extremely hard metal, melted several bits getting it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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