Clutch and Welch plug

[JDNSW]

For some time the clutch on the 2a has tended to slip when pushed, so a while back I ordered a clutch plate, and planned to replace it when I get a chance. This means a choice of "do I remove the engine or the gearbox?".

My decision was made a couple of months ago when I started to lose coolant, and it was traced to the Welsh plug on the back of the engine. Engine would have to come out. A few days ago, I removed the bullbar. Not strictly necessary, but makes life a lot easier.

So yesterday I got started, after hosing the mud and cow dung from underneath the previous night. First removed the floor, transmission tunnel and bonnet, and the flywheel housing cover. Surprisingly, there were no real issues with the various bolts and screws. I made extensive use of a cordless drill with a 1/4" drive socket accessory. The only one that caused a bit of heartache was one of the captive nuts on the LH side of the bulkhead to floor spun in its cage, but clamping it tight fore and aft with vicegrips bent the sides of the cage in to hold it, helped by a spray of WD-40.

The overdrive lever must be removed to get the transmission tunnel out (must be in OD!), and the yellow knob, spring etc, of course. With the overdrive, and a round heater, and the bent handbrake lever, it is possible to get the transmission tunnel out - but only just! Then removed the bonnet, not the easiest by yourself. Finished off by degreasing and hosing down the gearbox, bell housing etc and leaving to dry overnight.

Today, removed the LH mudguard. A bit fiddly, but no real issues. Remove the windscreen washer tank, wiring and tubing, and disconnect parking and blinker wiring, then remove nuts from captive bolts onto the radiator support. Next the bolt onto the footwell support, and the footwelll to top of mudguard panel - I have previously made this easier by replacing the 1/4" bolts, nuts and washers along the top of this panel with large S/T screws, washers, and speednuts, so you do not have to worry about holding the nuts. Removing the three bolts at the top onto the bulkhead is easy. This leaves us with just the four screws onto the bulkhead down the back edge. The middle two do not have to be completely removed, as they have open diagonal slots like hooks in the guard. Only issue was that while the bottom three had 1/2" heads, the top (and most inaccessible one) had a 1/4"W head. Fortunately, I remembered vaguely about this from when I painted it about ten years ago. At this stage the guard just lifts off.

Next is the radiator support complete with radiator. Before this can be done I removed the battery, and you need to remove the front wiring harness where it goes to the headlights and LH guard. Complicated by the fact that I have a headlight relay in there. Grille of course has to come off. Then remove the radiator hoses - draining it first of course, and all you have to do is to remove the three bolts on the bottom and the ones onto the RH mudguard. All of these last are captive bolts, but the top three also hold the bonnet support anchor, meaning the other bolt on it needs to be loosened to move it out of the way. And these, especially the top one, aver very difficult to get a spanner on. I used a ratchet ring/OE with a 1/2" hex to 1/4" drive - you can't use a ring/OE directly, and there is no room for a conventional ratchet handle.

The radiator support and radiator can then be easily lifted out. Gave the engine and general area a bit of a degrease and hose down and left it to dry overnight.


Engine_removal_1.jpg

[ian4002000]

It sound like you are having a great time . you will have the chance to clean up lots of things whilst you have it all apart.

Ian
Bittern

[p38arover]

Welch! Welch!

[loanrangie]

Welch! Welch!

They might be Welsh boyo .

[JDNSW]

I stand corrected Ron!

Not as much progress as I would have liked today. I have the engine ready to remove except for the bell housing nuts (not anticipating issues there) and one exhaust pipe to manifold nut that declines to move - one came off after soaking in WD-40 for a couple of hours and five minutes with a hot air gun, and one unscrewed the stud out of the manifold. The third one is refusing to move, and I really do not want to break off the stud.

I found the front lifting point was missing, so I had to make and attach one. I have about two thirds completed making a lifting tool from available bits and pieces. I am hoping I can get the exhaust pipe bit without further issues after soaking overnight. It is, of course, the most inaccessible one!

One minor bit of 'drama' was the discovery that one of the engine mount nuts is metric - after I had tried both AF and Whitworth spanners! I am finding that most things are UNF, just the odd bit of Whitworth to spice things up! Some things seem to be excessively unhelpful - for example, as well as the battery negative going to the block, there is a heavy cable from the coil mount on the head to the firewall, as well as a heavy cable from a starter mounting bolt to the chassis. Possibly because it was originally FFR. Positive electrical links to the firewall is a good idea, but I don't think they need to be starte cable material. Worth noting that I improved my headlights years ago by fitting a direct link from the battery negative to the radiator support (which is where all the front lights are earthed).

[Blknight.aus]

I stand corrected Ron!

Not as much progress as I would have liked today. I have the engine ready to remove except for the bell housing nuts (not anticipating issues there) and one exhaust pipe to manifold nut that declines to move - one came off after soaking in WD-40 for a couple of hours and five minutes with a hot air gun, and one unscrewed the stud out of the manifold. The third one is refusing to move, and I really do not want to break off the stud.

I found the front lifting point was missing, so I had to make and attach one. I have about two thirds completed making a lifting tool from available bits and pieces. I am hoping I can get the exhaust pipe bit without further issues after soaking overnight. It is, of course, the most inaccessible one!

One minor bit of 'drama' was the discovery that one of the engine mount nuts is metric - after I had tried both AF and Whitworth spanners! I am finding that most things are UNF, just the odd bit of Whitworth to spice things up! Some things seem to be excessively unhelpful - for example, as well as the battery negative going to the block, there is a heavy cable from the coil mount on the head to the firewall, as well as a heavy cable from a starter mounting bolt to the chassis. Possibly because it was originally FFR. Positive electrical links to the firewall is a good idea, but I don't think they need to be starte cable material. Worth noting that I improved my headlights years ago by fitting a direct link from the battery negative to the radiator support (which is where all the front lights are earthed).

put the other studs back in first, heat them up then chinch them up, allow to cool, then heat the corner of the manifold that holds the sticking nut and stud.

[p38arover]

When replacing the nuts, use brass nuts. They won’t seize on like steel nuts.

[JDNSW]

When replacing the nuts, use brass nuts. They won’t seize on like steel nuts.

They are brass nuts! I fitted them about twenty years ago when I replaced the cracked manifold!

[JDNSW]

Well - I got the exhaust off. After the overnight soak in WD-40, the stud screwed quite easily out of the block. Now all I have to do is to get two brass nuts off the studs!

I spent most of the morning completing my engine lifting tool or spreader. Then started to remove the nuts on the bell housing studs. Starting with the hard to get at ones underneath. But I forgot about the bottom one holding the slave cylinder bracket being hard to get at. I'm not sure how you are meant to remove it without disassembling other bits. For a start I managed to get it started and coming loose with ratchet ring spanner - 1/24 of a turn at a time. Then had a brain wave and got it most of the rest of the way with a 3/8" drive socket and two wobble extensions with a miniature ratchet handle between the gearbox and the transfer case extension. As the nut came off the angle on the wobble extensions became unworkable and the last couple of turns were by poking it round with a long screwdriver. All this leaning in through the driver's door. I think I might take the low range lever off to put the nut back on!

This left me with a headache, so I have knocked off for the day/ I need to split some wood and light the fire anyway, after I have smoko.

[JDNSW]

Sorry about the hiatus. Tuesday spent going to town, but Wednesday I finally got the engine out - and most of Thursday getting it fitted to my engine stand. Today was mostly spent cleaning things up, although I did start on that yesterday.

With fifty years of oil/soil mix removed from the bits you can't get at with the engine in place, I wonder if the reduced weight will improve performance and fuel economy?

Engine_out_5120.jpg
Got the engine out.
Coolant_leak_5122.jpg

The coolant leak turns out to not be the welch plug that I got a replacement for, but another one next to it that does not feature in my parts book and that All 4xfour do not have. I will see if I can get one in town on Tuesday, otherwise I will have to make one.