Cortina Mk2 flywheel specs

Can anyone point me in the direction of some dimensions for the standard flywheel on a Cortina Mk2 with 1600 crossflow engine?

Background: my mate has one at his workshop, bought by the current owner with 'clutch problems' - the problem being that although the hydraulics appear correct (full travel, no air) the clutch won't disengage and gears are hard to come by. The clutch has been swapped (and in fact the clutch on it wasn't so bad, as they go) but it didn't help. The crank isn't moving noticeably, so that isn't the issue.

The thought now is that perhaps the flywheel is non-standard, which leads to the clutch arm not having enough travel to actually disengage sufficiently. Hence the need for dimensions.

TIA, Mike.

Reply to
Mike
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The centre plate is the right way round? more likely wrong clutch arm or the pivot has fallen out. There is no reason not to increase the pivot pin length (or hydraulic pusher pin) till the release bearing is almost touching the clutch cover, then you are assured of all possible operation.

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

I'm assuming so - my mate has been in the business for some 30+ years, and specialises in older cars.

One thing he did was to adjust the length of the slave cylinder pushrod until the bearing was touching the cover all the time, but still no apparent clutch action. We did wonder if the clutch arm was weakened in some way, bending instead of pushing the cover. The box has been out half a dozen times so far with nothing obvious, but of course if it has the wrong arm altogether, that wouldn't be obvious unless you're used to this particular car.

Thanks for the suggestion - I will mention it.

Mike.

Reply to
Mike

If the bearing is actually moving the required 3 quarters of an inch or so then the clutch is possibly the wrong one for the flywheel. It is usually apparent it is the wrong collection because the fingers of the cover are not at the right angle when the clutch is assembled. A correct set-up will have the clutch fingers approximately parallel to the flywheel, if they are noticeably in then there is a problem, if out then the clutch is worn out, but should still clear easily. Are you sure that the fault is that the clutch does not disengage? If the gear box mainshaft is tight in the end of the crank then the shaft is driven by the spigot bearing, giving the appearance that the clutch is binding, when actually it is ok. This usually shows up as difficulty selecting gears at rest, but rolling gear changes are ok.

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

sufficiently.

The flywheel shouldn't make any difference as long as the slave cylinder can take up any necessary slack to get the release bearing into contact with the pressure plate at the top of the pedal travel. If you are getting a firm pedal throughout its travel, i.e. it's clearly pushing against something then I think you can rule the flywheel out. The release arms are known for cracking and bending and the pivots wear and the pins fall out but if you can actually observe the release bearing and clutch fingers moving through the slot in the bellhousing then you should be able to rule that out too.

If there's a really deep wear groove in the flywheel then it may be that the friction plate is sticking against the edges of that. Also make sure that the spigot bearing in the crank hasn't seized. I think it's the same 15mm needle bearing in all the RWD 4 pot Fords and they are only a few quid each.

Best way to test the flywheel/clutch assembly is pull the lot off, bolt the clutch back on to the flywheel and operate it in a flypress. Then measure how much travel it takes against the pressure plate fingers until the friction plate becomes free to move. If you don't have a flypress you can rig up a long bolt and a couple of big washers through the whole assembly and just screw the release bearing down. Then compare your travel with what the hydraulics actually achieve in situ.

-- Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines

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Reply to
Dave Baker

Thanks, I have passed this on. In fact he has done exactly as you suggest in a press and seen that the clutch itself appears to work as it should. This is partly why it's such a puzzle, as everything *seems* to work just fine.We considered that the arm might be pressing against the cover before it could push the bearing far enough to disengage, but there are no marks on the cover and no accompanying noise that you might reasonably expect.

The problem is that the customer bought the car with a gear selection problem, so it's not a case of reviewing everything that's changed since it last worked - he's never had it working properly.

I will report back when he finds out what's up.

Thanks again, Mike.

Reply to
Mike

To eliminate the possibility of the gearbox shaft binding lengthwise or being dragged by the spigot bearing, why not mount the gearbox up with NO clutch in place and see if gears can be easily selected.

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

Are you sure it isn't just a problem in the gearbox itself? Put the car in gear and start it up with the clutch pedal down. If it drags you know it's a clutch problem but if not it might just be worn selector forks in the box or some other malady.

-- Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines

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Reply to
Dave Baker

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