clutch change.

[tim]

Hi all - still here. The Red One (92 TXD diesel) has been OK barring 'sorting out things' as we do. However, a trip up London and back with a small piano on board was enough to finish off the clutch - we came back down the horrible A303 to avoid any gearchanges!
There is still a millitad of adjustment left but it's already nearly run out so something has obviously terminated; the local garage is willing to do the job but as the car will be immovable while it is on the ramps, he wants a spare part or two to hand, rather than lose the use of his main ramp for two or three days. Fair enough! and I do have a spare engine/box as it happens. So remove spare clutch... and where are the damn bolts? I can clearly see two at the top but there don't appear to be any corresponding bolt heads at 4 and 8 o clock. I'm puzzled - there must be at least two more somewhere, surely? The idea is to unbolt the whole plot, detach clutch and run it down with the patient, but I need to find the bolts.... I also haven't drained the box oil as I am only removing the clutch, not breaking into the box itself. Sounds sensible, but is it?
Advice very welcome. Haynes is, of course, a waste of paper on this.
Added note, anyone have contact details for Mothman/Grenman? His old email is inactive, and I'm keen to resume contact.
Thanks - Tim

[rutter123]

I'm puzzled... Are we talking about bell housing bolts or clutch plate bolts?
There should be 6x 10mm head bolts on clutch cover and I think 6 bellhousing bolts..
And why are you putting a used clutch in your car, do you want to do the job again soon?
The gear oil will drain out when you pull out the Driveshafts.
The Haynes manual actually gives a pretty good description of how to remove the gearbox I think.
Removing the radiator gives a lot more clearance so you can push the FDV out the way otherwise it can damage the rad, and gives you better access

[tim]

Hi. Slightly crossed wires methinks.....I have a spare engine here; I'm not going to try and remove the clutch on the car. The job ideally needs ramps, jacks, etc., and a non sub-zero climate. The idea is to remove the spare clutch and deliver it with the car so that it can be replaced as soon as the duff clutch has been removed.
I can see, at 11 and 2 p.m., two bolt heads (one with an extended hex, dunno why) of 16mm. Common sense says that there should be more, but I
can't see them. 'To remove clutch, detach gearbox and bellhousing. To detach bellhousing, remove the clutch.' What?
As far as using a s/h one, well, once it's off we can assess which bits if any need to be junked. And like I said, you can't leave a disabled BX lying around a busy workshop for two or three days while we go on a parts hunt - that would definitely get me off the Xmas card list. The whole plot should surely just unbolt and I was hoping to have done it by now; but French engineering moves in a mysterious way.
Mine is a '91 TXD, and the drawing in the Haynes doesn't seem to bear a lot of resemblance to what I have in front of me.

[David]

Doing a clutch on a BX diesel isn't that hard, it's just fiddly more than anything.

There are 4x 10mm nuts to undo from underneath the engine and gearbox first, 1 holds the pipes, the other 3 hold the plate to the gearbox. Do this first so that you're not struggling with it later & wondering why the engine and gearbox won't separate. There are 3 bolts holding the pressure regulator to the gearbox. Undo them. Then there are 2 in the FDV. These 5 are all 11mn iirc. Drain the gear oil. You could skip this step, but you'll make a mess, so for the sake of 10 mins and the amount of mess you'll spare yourself from, just do it.

Then remove both driveshafts. Again you could leave the RH shaft in, but it'll be harder to put back together and risk damaging the seal, just take it out, save yourself an headache. Then the hydraulic pump needs removing from on top of the gearbox. You need to remove its mounting plate too. There's a gearbox bolt underneath the plate. There's another that actually holds the strap on that holds the pump in place, as well as the gearbox. Remove the strap first, 2x 11mm nuts & bolts, then remove the gearbox bolt. It's got a long head. Then remove the starter motor, speedo cable, reversing light wires, clutch cable & selector rods. Then check around the gearbox to ensure that everything is removed and clear. There are then 2 more bolts holding it in, 1 near where the starter motor goes and 1 behind the engine, near the driveshaft. (There are 4 in total). Then, if you've missed nothing, it should drop out. If it's got a rev counter, then the sensor should be mounted to the engine and not require removing, but just check it when removing it, also, make sure that you don't crush it when reassembling it.

I agree with MR Rutter though, get a new clutch. The BX only uses 2 types. If it's a standard diesel, it will be the smaller one & the release bearing will be for the ball typed fork (the older worse design that always snap). If you're unsure, you could always order both types of clutch and send back the one that you don't use.

Hope that helps.

[tim]

Hi. I worked out the removal query - for your future reference, there are three fixings; the two bolts at the top, and an allen fastener at the bottom right of the housing, fitted from the front. The rest is just dowels supporting the casing, so it was easy to tap it off once I'd removed the tin splashplate from the front; unless you do that, it stops the gearbox/clutch from detaching completely.
The problem was not in fact the clutch itself, but the steel bracket taking the clutch cable which is mounted on the pedal cradle - the damn thing had bent round 90 degrees, above the slot for the cable, hence the disappearing clutch. So as a matter of urgency I'm going to need another cradle. Someone out there must have one?
The bracket has a slight fracture and trying to weld it is probably a no-no (possibly non-non?) and of course the car is now immobile. So any help or ideas will be welcome. Come to that, our Mr. Rutter has been a useful source for bits......

[white exec]

Parts diagram, just in case of any help identifying bits...

[tim]

Hi. The cable bracket is permanently fixed to the cradle by spot welds, as are the pedals - never meant to be removed. So I need a complete cradle. Thanks, Tim