Clutch Failure Confirmed

LostChord

LostChord

Well-known member
200Tdi/ rebuilt R380 stumpy from Ashcroft with 10k miles, and original 1.6 TC.

Almost all of the mileage was in town, high traffic driving, i.e., lots of shifting.

Thought I'd share a recent problem, and the fix that's now on the horizon.

Symptoms:
  • I could shift through all gears no problem, with engine on or off.
  • Depressed clutch, selected gear, and as I let off the clutch to begin driving, major grinding noise.
  • Interestingly enough, if I only slightly let off the clutch and held it there, truck would crawl along slowly with no grinding; but as soon as I began to let off completely, major grinding noise.
  • Had not yet checked the color of the fluid or level, but there was no clutch fluid visibly leaking.
What I did to find the cause:
  • Checked clutch fluid, level and color in great shape. No leaks.
  • Decided to draine the LT230, because why not, it's been 10k miles anyway. Looked brand new. Nice. No metallic plug, but no shavings whatsoever in the drain pan.
  • Pulled the slave cylinder. Had to fight with the exhaust downpipe for a minute. This required unbolting the transmission cross member for a little more room to maneuver, but with some 'encouragement', it moved enough so that I could get a better angle on the downpipe, which was happily mated to the turbo.
  • Based on the recommendation of a fellow forum member, I stuck a scope in there and yep, fork failure.
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So, a new clutch is on the horizon. Gonna drop the TC and tranny rather than pull the motor since replacing the 1.6 has been the wish list for a while anyway. Plus, it looks like the seals need some attention too.
 
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jymmiejamz

jymmiejamz

Founding Member
Callsign: KN4JHI
That's a bummer. I think someone makes a HD clutch fork, but I'm pretty sure most people just weld a reinforcement plate over problem area as it is a very common problem.
 
LostChord

LostChord

Well-known member
Yeah, gonna keep the old one as a trophy. This HD fork from Britannica Restorations seems to be one of the better ones out there:

britrest.com

Super Duty Clutch Fork

This is probably the best clutch fork for Land Rovers to replace FTC2957 Hundreds sold in the last 10 years and no defects! Made here in Quebec Canada, and sold worldwide (PLEASE NOTE ! The …
britrest.com britrest.com

He's confident enough to give it a lifetime warranty.
 
jymmiejamz

jymmiejamz

Founding Member
Callsign: KN4JHI
LostChord said:
Yeah, gonna keep the old one as a trophy. This HD fork from Britannica Restorations seems to be one of the better ones out there:

britrest.com

Super Duty Clutch Fork

This is probably the best clutch fork for Land Rovers to replace FTC2957 Hundreds sold in the last 10 years and no defects! Made here in Quebec Canada, and sold worldwide (PLEASE NOTE ! The …
britrest.com britrest.com

He's confident enough to give it a lifetime warranty.
Click to expand...

I always laugh at a lifetime warranty on something like that. When you have to either pull the motor or the trans to replace it, the cost of the part isn't really the issue.
 
Uncle Douglas

Uncle Douglas

Well-known member
Callsign: delete
what size tires are you running with a 1.6 ?

The fellow @ Britanica is simply modifying the original to accept a nylon cup bushing made by britpart.
I crack up when a few fellows have commented that his clutch arm feels like a more heavily made part.
He actually sells just the kit to do it. Watch this video to see how he's doing it.
He's done several videos on the Source site in the LS thread where he converts a lower dash pad to lhd etc.

 
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NPT90

NPT90

Well-known member
jymmiejamz said:
I always laugh at a lifetime warranty on something like that. When you have to either pull the motor or the trans to replace it, the cost of the part isn't really the issue.
Click to expand...
I put one in when I did my clutch replacement, the nylon bush is a nice addition and is probably what makes this a little more durable vs a metal on metal replacement. I would probably get a new nylon bushing next time I do a clutch replacement and not worry about it in the interim.

Nothing 'heavy duty' about it just a little innovation, plus its nice to support someone who makes videos on various installs that are clear and useful.
 
R

Red90

Well-known member
The nylon bush will outlast the clutch and will not ever have a catastrophic failure. The problem with the stock one is wear. The dry steel on steel bearing wears through until it fails.
 
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