Clutch replacement

T

typonaut

Member
Can anyone advise a competent (and reasonably cheap!) mechanic to fit a replacement clutch to P6 (1975 2200SC), in the SW London area?

Also, gear linkage is a bit floppy, is this easy to sort without removal of gearbox, or should I get it sorted at the same time?

Thanks
 
typonaut said:
Can anyone advise a competent (and reasonably cheap!) mechanic to fit a replacement clutch to P6 (1975 2200SC), in the SW London area?

Also, gear linkage is a bit floppy, is this easy to sort without removal of gearbox, or should I get it sorted at the same time?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Can’t help with mechanic, but the sloppy gear shift could be the acorn at the bottom of the gear lever (remove lever, if there isn’t an acorn shaped ball at the bottom it might need replacing - I think series II cars have them too).
that is something to be fixed without pulling the box. But the bushes on the shifter remote could be worn and that is a box out job best tackled when box is out when addressing the clutch.
 
typonaut said:
Can anyone advise a competent (and reasonably cheap!) mechanic to fit a replacement clutch to P6 (1975 2200SC), in the SW London area?

Also, gear linkage is a bit floppy, is this easy to sort without removal of gearbox, or should I get it sorted at the same time?

Thanks
Click to expand...
A: After being down the same road (no pun) recently, before taking anything apart, get it up on a hoist and look for the the gearbox remote. You might find some bushes have perished and slid along the shaft. If so, tackle that first. You might need some assistance with that. But the rest that Steve just mentioned is do-able.
B: Make sure your clutch master cylinder and slave are in good nick, they may need replacing, like mine did, and bled. Parts are available and not too expensive. And help is at hand here!

And welcome.
 
Thanks for the tips - as it's a nearly 50 year old car, that has not been restored (but has only done 41k miles!) I reckon it is entirely possible the linkage bushes are finished. From the little use I have had of it the hydraulic clutch system seems to be solid, but probably could do with an overhaul too.

I don't really have the facilities (nor the time or inclination at the moment) to get under it and/or pull out the gearbox myself (been there, done that), so still looking for a local mechanic if anyone has any ideas.
 
I found a mechanic willing to take on the job - but wants me to buy the parts. So, if I have this floppy gear linkage, what parts do I need?

For reference, with the car in gear there is about 1"/25mm play left and right, and about 3"/75mm forward and backward.
 
You should get underneath and try to verify which parts are worn out, or even just not done up properly but..
Retainer cap and bush for shaft 540440 is possible culprit
gearlever 549219 acorn on end gone ?
spherical seat -rubber base for lever 539685 common problem
Selector peg at front of shaft 539627 should have some rubber on end?
rubbers at front of tie bracket 556436, 556437
Get a parts book - P6 club ?
Last time I pulled a 2000 box This is roughly how, IIRC?
- remove engine stay at front, and fan
- disconnect radiator hoses
- remove engine mount vertical bolts, replace with long screwdrivers
- remove prop shaft.
- remove tunnel finisher and gear lever
- remove front exhaust pipe so engine can tilt back
- disconnect speedo cable, reverse light wires
- disconnect clutch slave, tie aside
- check if heater hoses, throttle connection need disconnecting
.
.
tilt engine backwards just enought to access all bellhousing bolts, and slide the box out.
 
Last edited:
The selector peg does not have a rubber. You cannot just slide the gearbox out as the starter motor bulge does not clear the transmission tunnel, you have to rotate it through 90 degrees clockwise after pulling it back slightly. It is a two man job, some professionals claim it is easier to remove the engine and gearbox, which I suppose is true if you have the facilities.
 
I agree its a 2 man job...preferably, but I have done a box remove and replacein a TC, and a remove and replace with an LT77, in a 3500S....single handed....twice now. Didnt enjoy the 2nd time (late last year) , but at least that was in a garage, not a gravel driveway.
 
Last edited:
My car (1972 2000 TC) as bought had a similar amount of play in the lever. The selector peg on the forward end of the shaft between gear lever and selectors was meant to have a nylon cap, which was missing. Wins supplied a new one which fixed the problem, resulting in a very positive gearshift. Fitting the new cap with the gearbox remote in situ is impossible. I've heard that it's just possible to unbolt and remove the remote assembly if the gearbox is lowered. With the remote removed the shaft bushes (also from Wins in my case) can be renewed. If you remove an access plug from the right side of the transmission tunnel you can see the peg and discover if the cap is missing.

I did the work when the engine and gearbox were out of the car for an engine rebuild.

Edit… I've just looked on the Wins website but the selector peg tip isn't listed. Might be worth giving them a call if a missing tip turns out to be the problem.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the feedback. I’m not doing it myself, so if it is a two man job, or even a five man job, that's not my problem. :)

It seems to me that the only part that can be diagnosed without taking the gearbox out (or perhaps removing the carpets) is the acorn on the end of the gear stick. Is that right?

As it stands, I'd just as soon buy all the bushes in the gear linkage, as run the risk of it going back in and still having the same problem, or having the car sitting around for days (sans gearbox) waiting for a part to turn up (which I expect the mechanic would not be happy about).

Is there an online microfiche or diagram?

Oh, the other thing is, looking at clutch parts, suppliers are listing the clutch plate, and a clutch cover - do you need both?
 
Not right. You can also diagnose the possible absence of the selector peg tip. You'll need to lift up the carpet on the right side of the transmission tunnel to get at the access hole (also used to get at the reversing light switch if I remember correctly), but that's easy to do. Lift the footwell carpet out first, also easy.

Re the clutch, it's usual to replace both the plate and the cover. Especially as clutch replacement is a big job with a P6 if you do it the factory-approved way and take the engine and gearbox out together, so you don't want to be doing it again for a long time. It's worth doing it that way because there's less likelihood of damaging things and it will be easier to re-attach the gearbox to the engine when both are out. However, you might get away with re-using the old cover provided its driving face isn't scored
 
I'll get the clutch and cover.

Well, seems like the floppy gearstick may be a very simple diagnosis: the acorn at the bottom of the stick is completely absent. I manipulated the selector manually, with the gearstick removed, and it seems that there is very little movement apart from the absence of the acorn - so I'll order that, and hope that solves the issue (or work through the other bushes).

When I removed the gearstick there was a load of vinyl tape around the gearstick where the gaitor meets it. Is that something original, or just someone's bodge?

Also, there's metal plate joined to the gaitor at the lower end, attached to the gaitor with six clips (actually, ony four clips present). I am looking at it and guessing that the little stubs of plastic that the clips are attached to were once part of the centre console (ie held the gaitor in place via the metal plate)? Is that correct, or is the plate just to keep the gaitor stretched/stiff?
 
Good result with the acorn. Vinyl tape is not normal. And yes, the gaitor is meant to be located by the six plastic pegs that are, or were, part of the console moulding, with the rubber sandwiched by the console and the metal plate. Might be worth tracking down a replacement centre console, such as this one on eBay (item number 275998106564).
 
"Might be worth tracking down a replacement centre console, such as this one on eBay (item number 275998106564)."

But be aware that almost all used consoles will have some or all of the little plastic studs broken off.

Yours
Vern
 
I replaced the acorn prior to the clutch replacement, and this resolved about half the left to right play, and two thirds of the back and forth play. I had planned to do that, see the result, and then get the other bushes if required - but the supplier's couriers were so useless that I ran out of time before the clutch was scheduled to be done - and I'd already had to wait weeks to get that done.

Anyway, clutch is done, with the engine out apparently, so now I can get it up hills.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top