A Treatise on Avoiding Shiftlessness While Becoming Very Greasy Jack Chesley

This is the MAIN tip: ... Read the newsletters from our own and other clubs in the club library!

I don't pretend to be a mechanic, but I'll try most procedures in the shop manuals. Last summer, I put a new clutch disc and throwout bearing in the Super (notice I didn't mention the pressure plate). It was a real pain getting the transmission out and in (especially in), even with a helper and a hydraulic jack.

Of course I soon found that I also needed a new pressure plate. This time, I looked for any tips to ease the pain. I found an article by a Capital Chapter member from the '70s, Al Buonagaro, suggesting that you unbolt the pressure plate (using the proper incremental procedure) while the transmission is still in the car and let it rest on the input shaft. When you ease the transmission out and back in this manner, you have an extra 2 inches or so to maneuver and it is SO much simpler. I know, I know, why didn't I look it up the first time?!

A few other notes on clutch replacement:

- Cover the transmission tower with a baggie and a rubber band before taking it out because you always manage to scrape the cruddy underside of the tunnel on the way back in.

- To replace the bushing in the center of the flywheel, fill the cavity with grease (use a grease gun) and pound an old input shaft or an exact fitting dowel into the hole... after a few sharp hits, the bushing just oozes out. (I read this in a newsletter somewhere, too)

- Use a thin coat of anti-seize on the input shaft splines since grease will melt and fly off when the engine gets hot.

- I find that the only (relatively) easy way to get at the two bolts at the top of the starter is to clamp a Vice-Grip plier around the box end of a 13 mm combination wrench to make a long, boomerang-shaped tool (I'm sure there is an official Alfa tool for this). Pull off the brake booster vacuum hose for clearance and avoid those bloody knuckles.

- Stop telling your wife that it will only take a couple of hours. Call the dealer, ask how much for him to do the job, pick yourself up off the floor, divide the labor cost by $50 and multiply by 2. This is close to correct. Add a few hours for beer runs and frantic phone calls and give THIS number to your spouse. If you can finish sooner, you look much better than when it takes 10 hours for a 'couple of hours' job.

Capital page

Standard Disclaimer applies here! Neither the Capital Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owner's Club nor the web provider nor the webmaster can take responsibility for the information presented in these pages. Use common sense in any business dealings and mechanical work. Talk to jack if you have comments
1996