12- Clutch

• Clutch disc
• Pivot pin change
• Bad pedal
• Clutch slave removal
• Factory balanced
• Supply hose
• Pedal probs
• Bleeding
• Clutch change
• Master cylinder change
• Different disc
  

Dear Antti:

Thank you for your interest in our products.

I think we do have something that you will like very much.  (See attachment
file: fiber~1.gif)

This is our design clutch disc with FiberTuff friction material.
This disc was on US the market for at list 15 years. Works perfect. Total
Disc weight is 800 grams.  A stock clutch disc is about 1300 grams. The
engagement very smooth. Coefficient of friction of FiberTuff is higher that
stock lining. FiberTuff is a product of the Velvetouch USA. This is the
only
company in the world that produces FiberTuff friction material. Actually it
is there patent.

Price $145.00 US Dollars.

Please let me know if this is what you've been looking for.

Best Regards,

Oleg K.
ClutchNet Corp. USA

     *********************************************
     * End of the answer from Krivenkoff for my  *
     *          inquiry 15 March 1999            *
********************************************************

ClutchNet Corp. has pages at web in the address: http://www.clutchnet.com

My personal opinion about the lightening work at the moment is, that it is
not worth of the money for the street car, but of course for serious racing
I could think about it. 

When I am next time doing major overhaul for my engine or for the gearbox,
I will chance original disk for as light disk as ever. It will give better
result with less money.

Good luck for you all. Safe driving!

Antti S.
Finland

Alfisti,
  The '89 Milano Gold is back "shuttin' em down".  4 hours under the car, 
but now a new pivot pin, clutch slave cylinder, and new clutch hose.  For 2

years  the new clutch had been hard to depress, floating, and generally not

right.  We replaced the hose last year and the pedal felt a bit better, it 
returned to the up position faster, but it still wasn't right.  it must
have 
been the slave cylinder.  Now, it is easy and smooth.
Thanks to Bernie Bennett for  Alfa search and rescue mission in Brenham, 
Texas.  Nice place to spend a Sunday afternoon. 
  Tips to pass on:
1) Thanks to Andrew Garcia... :  the pin was persuaded to come out with a 
hammer and chisel.  A few good hits and it finally started to turn.  Also 
grease the fork at the 3 contact points.
2) Scott Swanberg, St. Paul, MN:  use grease or some other goop to hold the

washer on to the pivot pin when replacing it.  Scott also mentioned
attaching 
a thread or string to the pivot pin In case it fell while trying to screw
it 
in.
3) Me:  have the car level when trying to bleed the line.  with only the
rear 
end up, the fluid reservoir looks filled but allows air to get back into
the 
line.
Thanks all for advice and encouragement.
joel lewis
'89 Milano
'74 GTV

Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 09:38:56 EDT
From: JJK1204@aol.com
Subject: Re: Broken pivot pin - Milano

In a message dated 8/7/99 3:05:54 AM Central Daylight Time, haz@rxpro.com 
writes:

<< The five notches are likely due to the previous replacement technique.
The technique likely used was to use a cape chisel to tighten (or loosen) the 
pivot stud into the housing. I have used this technique successfully. If
you are unsure of how to execute this procedure, let me know.

 Michael Hazarian
 Rx Productions
  >>

I found that a pair of vise grips works well, but the best solution was 
provided by Mike "Bonneville Racer" Besic, he loaned me his small Craftsman

ignition wrench. One side has the opening parallel to the handle and the 
other is perpendicular. By flipping the wrench to alternately use the two 
wrench heads my pivot bolt went in very quickly. Don't forget to tie a
piece 
of heavy thread around the bolt so that _WHEN_ you drop it you can "fish"
it 
back out.

John Katos

Chris Lesher wrote about Milano clutch problems.  Here's what happened to mine: 
Bought this car off e-bay and getting it sorted out and restored has been an adventure.  The clutch always had 
a terrible scraping going into reverse from stop and sometimes first.  Sometimes pumping the pedal helped, 
sometimes it had no effect.  Synchros are shot too and I thought I was just in for a tranny rebuild and new 
clutch.  I had the clutch master replaced hoping to get a little more life (and less scraping) out of it and got no change.   The slave never has leaked. 
One day the clutch went out just as Chris wrote.  I crawled under it to look at the slave and to check the 
clutch fork (I had read a couple of digests about them braking).  Had my wife pump the pedal and saw the 
slave and its bracket being pushed backwards instead of pushing the clutch fork forward. Closer inspection found the bracket broken! 
It has three bolts holding on on the transaxle.  The bracket was broken so that only two bolts could hold it on 
and this let it flex.  Evidently it flexed until a second bolt sheared off leaving only one 
bolt.  Got a replacement 
from Mathews Parts in Birmingham Alabama (BTW these guys have several Milanos in their boneyard and price their parts very fairly). 
Chris, look at the bracket closely, the bolt hole on the bottom closest to the middle of the transaxle could have 
broken off.  It will still be there so you will have to look carefully to see if it is broken. 

Kevin Smith 
87 Milano 
86 Spider 

Dan Scolaro wrote: 

>> Does anyone have any tips for getting the slave cylinder out? 
Some genius put the circlips on with the opening at the top. I 
have only succeeded in getting the back one out which doesn't 
really help with removing the fork. Not that it matters though 
since the slave cylinder has welded itself to the bracket through 
the miracle of corrosion... << 

When I had this problem I ended up removing the slave cylinder 
bracket. It's held on by 3 bolts that are (of course) fairly 
difficult to get to. In any case, once the bracket is removed 
(and the flex hose disconnected) you can remove the circlip(s) 
and press the slave cylinder out of the bracket. Order new circlips too.

Use anti-sieze when reassembling and remember to rotate the 
slave so the bleed nipple is at the top of the cylinder. 

Good luck, 

Rich Hirsch 
St Louis MO 

Nelson Laconich
PS- apparently a Sachs unit, added later by me

I got 2 responses. Tony Stevens from AlfaStop said you must use brake line hose.  Dave Miller
said he successfully used clear vinyl fuel line.  I talked someone at DiFatta Bros. who said that any oil resistant line should be ok, even fuel line.
 

Dan Scolaro
Delaware Valley AROC www.dvaroc.org
Phila, PA

I have seen a few queries about clutches and clutch pedals so I have
noted some of my experiences.
1.   Freeplay in clutch pedal --- Mine has about 3/4" (19mm) so I
checked some others. They were all similar. The master cylinder clevis
pin hole seems to be slotted where it connects to the pedal pendant arm.
Doesn't seen to be a problem unless it lacks lubricant, then it will
squeak like hell.
2.   Heavy clutch pedal --- I didn't really realise it but my clutch
pedal was heavy to operate when I first purchased the car and 10,000 k
later the clutch showed the first signs of slipping. When it got worse I
changed the clutch plate and was amazed at the difference it made to the
clutch pedal pressure. It became so light I initially thought there was
something wrong. It must be to do with the position of the diaphragm
fingers because it  works perfectly.
3.   Clutch pedal not returning --- My clutch pedal used to stick down
intermittantly until I changed the clutch plate. I suspect it was either
the heavy pressure on the clutch pedal that was jamming the innards of
the master cylinder, or gunk in it which was flushed out with new fluid
when I bled the system. Either way, it does not do it any more.
4.   Crunching second gear --- When changing down and when the clutch
was still heavy to use, second gear used to intermittantly crunch badly.
After changing the clutch plate this has stopped too. I suspect that
with the heavy clutch pressure the master cylinder hydraulics would
sometimes bypass and fail to disengage the clutch properly. It is OK
now.
Hope some of these experiences are of some use.
Regards,
Jim

I also had a bear of a time trying to bleed my clutch.
Pressure bleeding is what finally got mine to bleed
properly.  Instead of the air compressor as Erik mentioned,
I used a simple football/basketball pump with the needle.  I
slightly modified the reservoir cap so that the needle was a
tight fit in the top hole and simply pumped up the pressure.

Worked great.

Scott, St. Paul, MN
'87 Platinum

        I had to replace my clutch after 275000 km, on a TS.

        The cost in Denmark is around 370 £ + work.

        Replacing the clutch you will have to drop the rear-frame,
        disconnect the drive shaft, disconnect the gear-linkage and
        disconnect the line for the slave-cylinder. You do not need
        to diconnect the gearbox at the rear bracket or disconnect
        the drive shafts from the gearbox to the wheels.

        Then it is fairly easy to replace the complete bell-housing
        and reconnect all of the above, although the gear-linkage
        WILL be tricky :-) !!

        Sachs is manufacturing an upgraded clutch which is a bolt-
        on modification for the TS. This clutch will hold up to 360 Nm
        and is capable of beeing used together with a turbocharged
        engine (which is normally a bit harder on the clutch as the
        engine is reved higher before the clutch is released to get
        turbo-pressure). I have not bought or installed this clutch
        yet, but might do so in connection with a turbocharger
        project.

        Please note, that if you are using the Sachs clutch or any 
        other replacement clutch which does not come bolted together
        with the flywheel, the flywheel/pressureplate assembly MUST
        be dynamically balanced before it is installed, or the rear-end
        of the car will vibrate !!

        I can supply the order numbers for the Sachs clutch if anybody
        should be interested.

        Best Regards,
        John

        Alfa Romeo 75 TS, 1989, 366.000 km and counting ....

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Adrian Chapman [SMTP:a.chapman@initiatives.co.uk]
> Sent: Friday, May 12, 2000 9:57 AM
> To:   alfa75@egroups.com
> Subject:      Re: [alfa75] Curious about clutch prices
> 
> 
> 
> Surely it'd be easier to replace, as you don't need to pull the motor to
> do so - just drop the rear frame?
> 
> Anyway - at 74k miles, I think we can forgive it almost anything.
> 
> Adrian.
>
> 
> From: Adam Sutton <adam.sutton@btinternet.com>
> To: <alfa75@egroups.com>
> Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2000 9:51 PM
> Subject: [alfa75] Curious about clutch prices
> 
> 
> I can't help but think that to have a clutch replaced on a 75 is a
> bit more expensive than usual due to the position of it, I have also
> read that 75's can get through a clutch quicker than some cars.
> 
> So am a just curious how much they cost fitted (UK£), and how long
> they last (mine has done 74000miles and is a T-spark)
> 
> Many thanks
> 
> Adam
> 
> 
 

  Replacing the clutch master is relatively easy.  You will need a ball
end 
6mm allen socket, preferably 5 or 6 inches long and extension about 1
foot 
long to easily do this.

1)  Remove the washer tank to gain access to the hard line attachment
and break it loose but don't undo it or the fluid will be everywhere.

2)  Remove the steering column lower cover.

3)  remove the cotter pin and the clevis pin.  A pair of long needle
nose pliers work great for this.

4)  Use the long socket and extension to get at the 2 allen bolt that
hold the master on and loosen them.

5)  Reverse to install.  BUT screw the hard line on the MC BEFORE you
bolt it in as it's much easier.

This is easily done in under a half hour.

Have fun,
John