REAR MAIN OIL SEAL REPLACEMENT

[Lance Haslewood <lanceh@xxxx>]

Thank you Toby for your input. It had crossed my mind that the leaking 
seal may have had some impact on the latest clutch problem, however from my 
experience with other cars, oil on the clutch plate causes a shuddering 
noise when the clutch is engaged. This did not occur. On the occasions 
of my two previous clutch problems, the pads on the clutch plate simply 
shredded to bits. The entire engine bay filled with fibres. Here in New 
South Wales, it is a mandatory requirement that all motor vehicles undergo 
a yearly maintenance check. No maintenance check - no 
registration!! It's the government's way earning more money and 
supposedly to keep un-roadworthy vehicles off the road. It was at one of 
these maintenance checks where the mechanic was driving the car to test the 
brakes which is done electronically. He pulled the car to a stop, 
selected first gear, let out the clutch and nothing happened. The clutch 
had let go. There was no tell-tale noise - no nothing!! Baffled, the 
mechanic lifted the engine cover and to his dismay, saw fibres all over the 
place. This little ordeal cost about $500 to fix which included re-facing 
the flywheel.

A year later while my son was driving the DeLorean to a car show where we 
had entered it, the same thing happened .... shredded clutch plate. This 
time I had the car trucked to a mechanic in Sydney who had worked on 
another DeLorean and who also had the blessing of Stephen Wynne who 
actually visited the workshop while he was in Australia a couple of years 
ago. I also met Steven while he was here in Australia. Well, after a 
further $1200, I was hopeful that my clutch problems would be over. Now 
it's happened again, but this time the clutch plate is completely worn away.

The diagnosis from my mechanic, and that of a local clutch expert is that 
that the wrong pressure plate and clutch plate was used. Although I have 
yet to receive the new components, I am hopeful again that this will be the 
last time my clutch fails.

With regards to the oil seal, and thanks to Klaus from Germany who provided 
me with the Renault Part Number (DMC 102024 = Renault Seal 7901 466 774), I 
bought a seal from my local parts dealer. The cost was quite acceptable 
at $AU19.00 ($US10.00). Inserting the seal was quite easy. The old one 
basically 'fell-out'. It had shrunk over the years and was obviously the 
cause of the oil leak.

Lance
Australia
#10599

Message: 5
Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 06:00:25 -0000
From: "tmpintnl" <tobyp@xxxx>
Subject: Re: REAR MAIN OIL SEAL REPLACEMENT
Lance - Do you think that oil from the leaking seal is contaminating
your clutch disk, and causing the premature wear? That has gotta
suck! My original clutch went 70K miles, with much spirited driving
and countless parades! I now have a Centerforce clutch, which I
feel is superior to the OEM setup. I looked in my documentation,
and don't have a part number for the seal, but I was shocked by your
clutch life (or lack thereof). I hope that you get that sorted
out. If I stumble across a part number tomorrow, I'll try to post
it. Good luck.
Toby Peterson VIN 2248
Winged1