Thursday, September 9, 2010

Transaxle Work

I got all but the four bolts pulled off Tuesday night, then finished pulling the engine out last night.

It looks like there was no really serious damage done by the rogue throwout bearing. The fork was pushed too far and the throwout bearing jumped off it.


You can see the broken finger and a piece of a chewed up spring clip laying on the bottom of the bell housing. The remaining clip holding the throwout bearing has been ground against something as well. At the time of the event, the engine was still running, but in the process of towing it home, the broken finger apparently jammed between the flywheel and the bell housing, preventing me from starting the engine.

Once off the fork, it appears that the bearing landed such that the fingers on the clutch pressure plate rubbed against the bearing carrier. You can see the galling on the bearing carrier in this picture:


 It remains to be seen whether the damage to the pressure plate fingers is significant:


Some pressure plates have some kind of disc attached to the fingers, like this:


... but this one never has, at least not while I've had it. I'm not sure whether or not it's missing, but since clutch operation seems reasonably normal without it, I'm going to assume it's ok without it.

Speaking of assumptions, I took a guess that some fairly severe looking play in the input shaft of the transaxle might have been a factor in the damage done. Upon clearer thinking, I now realize that this shaft is not left hanging out there, but is rather supported by the pilot bearing in the end of the engine crankshaft. Duh! I am going to replace that seal while I'm in there anyway...

Picking up parts on the way home tonight; it's entirely possible that I may have this thing mobile tomorrow...

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