My Clutch - Part II

["Jim Reeve"<ultra@xxxx>]

Well, after climbing on top of the engine this afternoon and peering down at
the clutch, I have a better understanding what had happened. From initial visual
inspection, I could see that the outer seal on the slave cylinder is completely
torn off. The push-rod also looks like its fully extended, and the linkage
bolt from the push-rod to the pivot fork has broke in two. The pivot fork itself
looks like its fully retracted (clutch engaged) but when I started the engine
today I could shift through all gears without problem, like the engine wasn't
even on. So I'm assuming that the clutch is physically siezed slightly disengaged.
An inspection under the car (but not jacked up) showed clutch fluid all over
the frame, so I have to get that cleaned up and repainted/epoxyed. But what
really caught my attention was a fair sized square hole on the driver's side
of the transmission casing in the clutch area. If I remember correctly, Robert
Rooney started having major problems with his clutch after driving through a
small flood. I believe Robert later diagnosed the water to have entered the
clutch area through this opening and corroded the internals of the clutch. (howd
I do Robet?) Isn't there supposed to be a seal over this opening? I couldn't
find it in the parts manual. I've been driving my DeLorean daily since June,
and this included quite a few drives through the rain. So it seems my clutch
has had pleanty of exposure to water. For those who are interested, I will
still be attending the Minnesota Fall Get-together, but without my car. Thats
it for now, my car is disabled for the rest of this year. Everyone else enjoy
them!

Jim Reeve
MNDMC - Minnesota DeLorean Club
DMC-6960