dougbgt6 Posted April 19, 2019 Report Share Posted April 19, 2019 My brother bought a Spitfire 18 months ago. It had reasonable body and a running engine, but we couldn't select gear. We stripped it down and found a new clutch plate installed the wrong way round. We put it back together with new Master and slave cylinders and could select gears and move within the garage. Next we started on the brakes, seats, electrics. We went to the SEM and he had a heart attack, too much excitement, obviously. He was out of action for a while, but he's now back on the trail and had an MOT's booked for the Spitfire on Sunday. I went round today to oil his trunions. So everything checked, everything ready, he started engine and couldn't get it in gear. We sadly decided the tunnel would have to come off to bleed the clutch. Did that, then we could get it crunchingly into 1st & 2nd, but no higher. Bled it again, couldn't select anything. We can change gear with the engine off. Through a gap in the bell housing we can see the actuating lever being pushed forward perhaps 3/4". We have the feeling that the clutch mechanism is on the edge of working, so what is it? The lever pivot worn? the Thrust bearing worn? Why was the clutch originally changed? Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted April 19, 2019 Report Share Posted April 19, 2019 You can get to the slave from the underside , , its always best to remove the cyl, tip it to get the bleed up high! And push the piston right back down in the cylinder to expell all trapped air refit amd pump it back to get a stroke There is a chance the disc has been bent due to reversed fitting, if the springs contact the flywheel bolts and the cover clamp load dishes the disc pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanMi Posted April 20, 2019 Report Share Posted April 20, 2019 has the pivot pin fallen out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrapman Posted April 20, 2019 Report Share Posted April 20, 2019 Surely is is just a stuck clutch plate. put it in gear with clutch pedal down, and start it, that usually works. Make sure nothing in front of car for a lng distance in case my advise doesnt work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted April 20, 2019 Report Share Posted April 20, 2019 May be following Colin's advice, as stuck clutch is the obvious answer. I tend to run the engine for a while first, get a bit of heat into everything, it "may" help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted April 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2019 Colin, Clive, I've had stuck clutch and I'm familiar with the method, I've done it on my GT6. We had the Spitfire engine running for about 20 minutes and tried it a few times, no joy. At one point after we bled the system we could change gear with the engine running, although with some grinding and crunching. Further bleeding and it wouldn't have it. Which makes me think it's something wrong with the hydraulics or the lever mechanism. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted April 20, 2019 Report Share Posted April 20, 2019 As its only been apart to swap the disc a few months back its not going to be stuck If you look down onto the o/s clutch hsg you can see the 8mm hole dan mentions the pin dropping out the pin sits about a few mm below the casting Think this gives a hard pedal as the throwout mechanism bottoms out . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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