Intercooler hose arrived today. Put the car down from its stands and tested the clutch...its not disengaging. Damn. Plus, I don't have a working oil pressure or temp gauge and I'd prefer to have those in place before I start her up.
Ah man, the clutch isn't disengaging. We checked the crank could be rotated when it was in gear with the clutch in, and it was fine...but it may have been slipping?! I've adjusted the cable and can see the release bearing pressing on the clutch plate. I suspect the clutch disc is too thick.
The good news is that I started up just fine and there's no smoke to be seen from the tail-pipe. No leaks and no bad sounds! But, ah...no clutch.
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Ok, so I've confirmed that the Vauxhall Astra clutch thickness of 7.6mm is fine.
I sadly need to pull this engine back out and take a look, test fit it to the input shaft and make sure it slides freely...something that I should've done but overlooked. I did however, compare the clutch splines with the old 360 clutch and it was a perfect match.
All I can say is at least I've done all the hard yards and got it all in and running. I know everything I've done works, there's just a problem with the clutch. Something which can be solved!
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Engines back out. Clutch wont slide on the input shaft, it gets jammed and explains why its not disengaging. I have been told that its not uncommon to have this happen and a light file with an emery board (on clutch splines) until it slides is the way to do it.
I'm stuffed, serves me right for not checking the clutch slid freely in the first place. Its moments like these that program you with good working practices in the future.
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Update: clutch has been lightly filed with emery-boards to make it slide. It took 30 emery-boards and 2 cans of brake cleaner. It was very slow and tedious and at one stage i thought i was never going to win. It was definitely the clutch spines that were an issue, one side would slide on fine until it reached the other side of the spline and then it would grab.
Engine is back in and the clutch is disengaging. I wont know if there are any other issues with the clutch until i start her up next, but i think its fine for now.
What a painful endeavor!
Interior shot - black seat covers and a good condition dash mat + steering wheel.
She is dirty. I am waiting on a new coolant temp sensor and have fitted a new bosch 02 sensor. (I was getting codes 1-2-3 and 2-1-2). Once the temp sensor arrives its bonnet on and game on.