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Clutch Fail

A couple of years back I had to change my clutch, not for the usual case of the plate being worn out, but because there was an awful grinding sound when the pedal was pressed in, frequesnt adjustment of the cable was needed over time as the parts inside wore away.

As you will see, the clutch release bearing had failed, in turn wearing away the clutch pressure plate forks and some of them had just broken off they had worn that much

If ever there was a job I would pay somebody else to do on a cento, it would be the clutch! I managed to undo and drop the gearbox out myself, but even with the help of a mechanically minded mate, various jacks and levers, struggled like hell to get it back on the car

	Upon gearbox remove we are met with the clutch cover/pressure plate You can see where the release bearing had eaten into it over time.
	Here is a closer shot with the cover / pressure plate off the car
	You can see the extent of the wear on the forks, almost ready to break off like others had
	Here are some of the release bearing parts that simply came away when disturbed, you can see the back of the release bearing here where the clutch operating arm presses against it
	And the clutch pressure plate side of the bearing
	This is the release bearing as fitted to gearbox, with debris from it in the dirt at the bottom of the bellhousing

Needless to say the release bearing is weak on these cars, hence why they snap the clutch cable quite easily and frequently due to the bearing being hard to use, a good clutch must be fitted and any areas that the release bearing moves against you must apply some high temp grease, this will ensure easy and smooth operation putting less stress on the clutch cable.

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