Re: My Clutch - Part II

[DMCVegas@xxxx]

Yes, soon after driving thru some flood water, I did have clutch 
failures. At first (because the water was at the bottom of a hill, 
below an industrial area) I believed that oil may have washed onto 
the clutch disc, and that was the cause of slippage. When the car was 
taken into the shop, it was discovered that the disc was worn down to 
the rivits. Almost no material was left. I hadn't anticipated this, 
but I had already ordered a new slave and master cylinder (Hard Core 
from P.J. Grady). My car had been fitted with a SS Braided line 
previously, and had it's master cylinder resealed by someone (a very 
poor "ghetto" job at that). The slave was missing it's rubber seal on 
the outside as well. Going back over everything, water was the 
culprit that caused my failure. But, this is only because of old 
parts that failed under regular use.

This first time I had my clutch replaced, I noticed fluid dripping 
from the slave cylinder. And it should be noted that both times 
before my clutch failed, I drove thru water. And my slave was also 
missing the rubber seal on the outside as well.

Since the replacement of the clutch, and all related components, 
everything is just fine. I've since driven thru some pretty deep 
water, and have had no problems with my clutch at all!

I don't think you can replace the clutch fork and related components 
with out dropping the entire tranny. Total labor cost for my car: 
$480. This covered tranny removal/replacement, installation of slave 
cylinder (I installed the master), resurface flywheel, installation 
of clutch and all related parts, flush/bleed system, and adjust shift 
linkage & cable.

It's understandable that your car may be out of commision for a 
little while. Just remember to start the car, and run the motor 
regularly.

-Robert
vin 6585



--- In dmcnews@xxxx, "Jim Reeve"<ultra@xxxx> wrote:
> 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