Broken clutch on my '66 Series 2a diesel?

larrynsr

larrynsr

New member
Hi, I was driving down the street as normal, depressed the clutch, the pedal went down half way and then suddenly dropped to the floor. I then tried to depress it again and it wouldn't go down. I crawled under the truck and found out that the slave cylinder was not returned back to the original position. Found out that the lever for the clutch had no more "spring" in to it (my style bell housing has the slave cylinder mounted on the outside). The lever would rock back and fourth like something broke in the pressure plate. My assumption is that the pressure plate is busted. I then limped home in first gear.

Does anybody know of any common problems with the pressure plate or the shaft/fork that depresses the throw out bearing/pressure plate? I never ride my clutch, or ever abuse it. I did some searching but found nothing.

Would it be easier to pull the engine or the transmission out?

My goal is to build this truck to be 100% reliable so that I can make it expedition ready. I'm so glad that it broke down the street from my house, and not in the middle of nowhere! :)

Thanks for any help!

Larry
 
I Leak Oil

I Leak Oil

Expedition Leader
The cross shaft that goes into the bell housing is a pinned connection. I've had my pin sheared off before. Check that. The holes in the coupler also distort over time but that usually just gives you a sloppy clutch. The ball and socket joint is known to wear also. Best thing to do is take it apart and have a look. The internal mechanism isn't known to fail.
Jason T.
 
I Leak Oil

I Leak Oil

Expedition Leader
Just take the floors and tranny tunnel out first. With them out you can press the pedal to see what's moving and what isn't. Check things out before you go doing anything major. If you have to take it that far, I've found it better to pull the tranny. If you have to do work on it, it's easier when it's out of the truck and you can still get easy access to the clutch at the same time.

One other thing. All this is assuming it is in fact a linkage or TO bearing issue. The symptoms at the pedal could lead you to a hydraulic issue such as a deteriorating flex line, bum clutch MC or bad slave cylinder.
Jason T.
 
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Antichrist

Antichrist

Expedition Leader
My guess is the linkage between slave cylinder and the clutch mechanism inside the bell housing. As Jason said, there's a sleeve on a shaft that transfers the rotational movement to move the clutch fork, held in place on the shaft by two pins which are in turn retained by two small cotter pins. I've never had one shear however. Pick up a couple of stainless cotter ones at the hardware store.
Also, your style clutch doesn't have a release (or throwout) bearing.
SIIa-Clutch_mechanism_marked.jpg


Connie said:
That's a Rover for you, broken, but still got you home. :)
Click to expand...
No argument from me there, once drove a '71 88 about 40 miles on two cylinders.
 
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Connie

Connie

Day walker, Overland Certified OC0013
My Series IIA was my daily driver for about 3 months and I had to baby it a lot, but it never left me stranded. My Ford station wagon on the other hand, never has any problems until it stops dead and I have to call for a tow.

Great diagram Antichrist.
 
JackW

JackW

Explorer
There is an access plate on top of the bellhousing forward of the shift lever that you can take off (once the tunnel tin is off). Look down in there and see if the plate that the throwout bearing sleeve contacts is in place. On the older rovers there is a circular plate that is held centered on the pressure plate by three thin sheet metal arms. If they fail the plate can fall out of position.

And its easier to remove the transmission rather than the engine - remove the floors and seat base and then take the transmission out through the passenger door. If you have access to a shop crane that makes the job reasonably easy - if not recruit two friends and stick a long pole (10' 2x4 on edge) through the car through the front doors and make a sling with motorcycle tie down straps to cradle the transmission from the pole. Have one friend on either side of the car and position yourself inside so you can take the drivers side end of the pole as you extract the transmission through the passenger side door opening.

We call this the "Bwana Pole" method - from all of the old movies where the hero is being carried off to the cooking pots by the natives while trussed up like a gazelle.
 
Antichrist

Antichrist

Expedition Leader
All good advice here Larry, just don't get ahead of yourself and pull up the floorboards and all only to find it's the cross shaft missing one of the two pins. If that's the problem and rubber grommet hasn't been put in backwards, you can probably fix it from under the car.
 
larrynsr

larrynsr

New member
Thank you everybody for your help! It was much appreciated! I took the tunnel cover off, and yes I did find one of the two pins were sheared (the one closer to the clutch). I'm so glad that Land Rover didn't place those pins inside the clutch housing! It was quite a pain to replace the broken pin, because it was sheared off. Only the front and rear of the pin fell out. The center pin was still lodged in there fairly tightly. I had to chisel it out, and there wasn't much room. I went to the hardware store and picked up some 1/4" clevis pins. I did a file test and the factory pins are a lot harder than the ones I got, so I reused one of the factory ones. I will try to order two new ones on Tuesday.

Thanks again for everybody's help! You guys are a great group! I've been stranded 2 times. Once due to a clogged sock in the fuel tank, and now this. Every time I was able to limp back home. I love my Land rover!

pin.jpg
Image110.jpg
 
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