Hi all, I did a search on this. I thought I saw a post and pic about packing grease in the front area of the throwout bearing even though the bearing itself is sealed. I know there's a groove on the i.d. that should be packed, but what about this area in the front right behind the surface that is running on the pressure plate all the time? I did it the first time I put my clutch in but when I just replaced the clutch shaft bearing a couple of days ago I didn't do it and I'm wondering if that was one of the noises I was hearing in the bellhousing. I saw how the grease had flung out onto the inside of the bell housing which was my reason for not doing it this time ... any input? Thanks, Sean
Believe 1/2 of what you read.... this is the half you dont believe. The slightest, near imperceptible amount of anti seize on the shaft splines and nose and some extreme quality high temp grease in the inner groove as you pointed out. Did you inspect the condition of the splines on the input shaft where the top drop gear sits? Improper nut torque has been the demise of many an input shaft.
Thank you for the reply sir! Yes, I'm definitely keeping an eye on the spline and top gear. One of my core motors had suffered that failure. I didn't put loctite on the deformable nuts in the past but I'm thinking that is probably a good idea also ... maybe? When I tq'd them down the other day after changing the bearing in there I had to have someone stand on the brake in the car and I definitely I grunted to get the tq wrench to click. Your input is greatly appreciated! Have you ever heard a throwout bearing make more noise when it's not loaded i.e. just running on the pressure plate? When I was analyzing how everything went together the first time I thought there was something wrong with the pedal putting pressure against the throwout bearing all the time. I guess this is how it is from the factory and it's lasted a long time. I didn't order another throwout bearing and my parts supplier told me to send the clutch disc back for them to look at (in another thread I mentioned the springs in the middle were really loose). I'm hoping this was the source of the noises coming out of the bell housing. I'm probably being stupid not replacing the pressure plate while I'm in there but as I posted in the other thread they've only been in there like 2 years and there's been minimal teenage abuse on this clutch vs. what was in there. The original clutch failed not 'cause of the center springs but because the pressure plate actually cracked in multiple places ... she was ready to explode. That taught me an important lesson about clutch pedal height adjustment ... if it suddenly moves and you know the cable is good something is wrong . Thanks again for the reply. Sean
Quite common on the BB's. They really sing when they are cold. The bearing is in contact but just due to the drag of the grease in the bearing they slip against the faces and make noise. It usually stops after a minute or two as the grease warms up a little. If there is anything amiss like a little too much drag on the cable or the levers etc external to the bell housing that is making the contact a little too light I could see it happening.
Agreed with Brian. It is very common for new TOB's to sing to high heaven due to them still being stiff. Follow Brians suggestions and make sure the adjustments are correct and the TOB is in proper contact. I always felt Blue Locktite on the ring gear nut gave me a piece of mind albeit redundant and not required. Ferrari's are a lot of things to a lot of folks..... a tire smoking drag car they are not.... at least for long. I had a 19 yr old owner that had a QV and an early Countach, both required clutches at every oil change interval and it went on for years. I had considered putting together a bomb proof clutch for both but that would have just moved the damage to a more expensive area. First gear is just there to get the car rolling.... its a Euro thing. You are very fortunate to have caught that when you did, that back window isnt bullet proof and I have dealt sizeable holes in those bellhousings over the years.
Oh yeah! We just had a QV here with a roasty-toasty clutch in her. The flywheel looked cooked with many visible heat cracks and "blued" areas. A magnaflux inspection revealed numerous radial cracks from the mounting bolt holes into the centering hole on the engine-side. That too could have really done alot of damage!
