Home
 
Videos
 
Books
 
Engine
Overhaul

 
Transmission
Overhaul

 
Parts
 
Classifieds
 
Stories
 
Samples
 
Quizzes
 
Ask the Maestro

QUIZ, LABOR DAY, 1997
Copyright 1997, by Harry Pellow, All Rights Reserved.

OK, you know that the Youth From Utah has removed all 4 Engine/Transmission bolts and nuts, and all other stuff, but the Engine- she-a-a won't a-come-a out'-a. She-a a STUCK-A!

..... Your Previous Question was to ponder is why the engine, she-a stuck-a?

..... And then, of course, how to get her a-unstuck-a?

..... So the Maestro told the YFU how to check out through the Inspection Hole in the Transmission to see ifin he could see anything interesting Inside.

..... The YFU did, but didn't know what he was looking for. He did find two other fellow ex-members of the Brigham Young Football Team who both tried and failed to remove the Porsche's engine no matter how hard they pushed, pulled and twisted!

..... "Well said the YFU," reporting back to the Maestro at 3 PM Thursday Afternoon, August 28, it was warm in Sam Bose.

..... "There's absolutely NOBODY here in Utah that knows how to work on these cars! So I'm gonna bring it out to you."

..... The Maestro, having heard THAT one before many times before, said. "Har Har, yeah, I bet you'd like to, but you're in Utah now Toto, not Sambo Se."

..... "But, I'm SERIOUS, Said the YFU. "I want to bring it out for you to pull the Engine out. Nobody in Utah can do it."

..... "Well, don't give up just yet," said the Maestro. "These things take Time and Patience. Sometimes the kind of Patience that only comes with age."

..... The YFU hung up to go back to engine pulling.

..... The Maestro went back to finding out that of the Hundred End Play shims he has, he doesn't have the .039" size he needed. No matter. Jay's Magic Magnetic Fixture Merely machines one of the 0.045" shims to whatever size needed. Gotta get that 5.5 thou end play one way or another.

..... The Next Day- Friday, August 29th- TODAY! (Almost.) At 1 PM, the Laser Disintegrator Beeps twice announcing an Unarmed Entry, possibly a Customer. The Maestro was giving back to a Seasoned Citizen a set of Solexes, rebuilt after only a Summer's wait by such an expert Carburetor Rebuilder than of his 4 cars and 2 trucks, nothing Runs. (Now, THAT'S a Good Carb Rebuilder.)

..... When what should walk through the door but a one of best Looking guys the Maestro's ever seen. (And the Maestro's NOT "that" way, but this guy was Good-Looking.) About 25 years old. No fat. Lotsa Muscle. Gleaming white teeth.

..... "Hi," he says. "I'm the Youth from Utah."

..... No, says the Maestro. "You can't be. You're putting me on, aren't you Dylan? I just talked to you YESTERDAY at about 3 in the Afternoon. And what? It's a Thousand Miles from here to Utah."

..... "Eight Hundred Seventy Six," said the YFU, knowing EXACTLY how many miles it was.

..... "Whoa, uh, that's about Right," said the Maestro. "And Utah is an Hour LATER too, so that makes it 4PM Yesterday, and by the time you got the 356 loaded up and set out you mustave been doing what, 80 Miles an Hour, towing a 356?"

..... "That's about right," smiled the YFU, guiltily.

..... The Maestro was AMAZED! The YFU just pulled up in front of the Maestro's Place with his 356 on a simple but effective flat bed tow rig after driving all night from Utah.

..... Needing absolutely no help, and only one hand, the YFU lifted the 356 off the Trailer and lowered it onto the ground. Then ever so effortlessly he pushed her around the back of the Maestro's Shop. And inside, the Maestro running to keep up.

..... The YFU, using his bare hands, loosened the nuts on the Engine he had hand-tightened in Utah. The Maestro tried to remove one of those same nuts with his own hand. Absolutely No Way. Took a reasonable push on the socket wrench.

..... So, using the former Football/Baseball Star (and when he showed the Maestro how to throw a Split-Fingered Fastball, the Maestro KNEW the Youth From Utah Spaketh the Truth for there was no way HE could throw such a pitch- the Maestro's Fingers just don't go that way), as a Young & Very Strong Engine Extractor, the Maestro got under underneath the engine.

..... And eyeballed the Engine/Transmission Junction.

..... To see a snug fit. Almost no gap. "Pull," said he to the YFU.

..... A quarter inch gap was about all the gap there be. Hummh, thought the Maestro.

..... So he and the YFU removed the Muffler which appeared to be hitting the body during attempts to move the engine side-to-side.

..... With the Muffler removed, the Maestro and the YFU eventually got the engine out about half-and inch or so.

..... The Maestro looked up through the crack to see what he could see.

..... And what did he see?

..... He saw something No 356 Owner should EVER see!

..... He saw the Flywheel HUB in its entirety! Mostly.

..... The Flywheel Hub is what the Flywheel Seal seals on, and normally sticks inside the Case, 'cause that's where the Seal is. The Flywheel Hub is normally IMPOSSIBLE to see on any assembled engine!

..... But there it was- for the Maestro, the Porsche gods and the YFU all to see- at least a QUARTER-INCH of shinny Flywheel Hub, staring back down at them.

..... "Bad news" said the Maestro to the YFU. It looks just like the "912 and the Dockworkers" Story. "The Flywheel Nut has loosened, but can't come fully off. The Flywheel is now OFF the dowel pins, or the dowel pins are sheared off at the crankshaft. Either way, the Flywheel is LOOSE, and twisted enough to prevent the Clutch Disk Splines from pulling off when the engine is pulled."

..... "Can you get it apart? asked the YFU.

..... "Well, said the Maestro. I can think of two Theoretically Possible Ways. One is to verrrry carefully get the Flywheel exactly perpendicular to the Main Shaft. And verrryy slowly pull the engine backwards. With the Right Touch you might actually make it.

..... The Maestro, never having that "Touch" when he needed it, didn't have it then either. He tried a Binary Search on the YFU's engine, trying every which way, but ultimately to no avail. Even with the YFU as strong as he was, pulling as hard as he could, Strength was easily overcome by Murphy's Mechanical Advantage.

..... Ah yes, the Advantage Murphy has in Things Mechanical.

..... About 3PM, Friday, TODAY! The YFU announced to the Maestro, about an hour and a half after he arrived:

..... "Well, I gotta go."

..... "You're Going?" said the Maestro,. "Aren't you gonna stay overnight?"

..... "Nope" said the YFU. "I borrowed the truck from my buddy, and I've gotta get the truck back to him by tomorrow."

..... And the YFU headed out the Maestro's Door, back to what is it, the Honeybee State?

..... So the Maestro asks you- The First way of aligning the splines on an uncontrolled Flywheel requires a Fenyman's lock-picking touch. What's the SECOND way of removing the stuck engine?

..... Besides the two sticks of Dynamite? *******************End Part 3 ******** THE MAESTRO'S QUIZ, LABOR DAY, 1997 Part 4 Keep 356 Faith Maestro

..... That's the way it was- on Friday of Labor Day, 1997 On Saturday of Labor Day, the Maestro grabbed his boy Andrew, for some free slave labor and drove on Down to the Shop Bright & Early about Noon.

..... The Maestro was supremely overconfident that his Second Theoretical Technique would get out that Engine that nobody in Utah could- including the Entire Starting Line of the Brigham Young Football Team. (or a few ex-members of, at least.)

..... Would the Maestro succeed where a Pac 10 team failed?

..... The Maestro had cleverly stopped at Sears to buy three different kinds of 13mm sockets, including one with a Universal Joint that went around corners, all in preparation for the attack on what would most assuredly be 13mm Pressure Plate bolts.

..... The Maestro Assumed the Position underneath the Utah-Red 356 and began the no longer Theoretical Engine Removal by pulling what?

..... Why by pulling the 356's STARTER out!

..... Once done, the Maestro then had an almost convenient and Fairly Large Access Hole through which to inspect the Flywheel and outer end of the Pressure Plate- and MOST IMPORTANTLY get to and REMOVE the Six Pressure Plate Bolts- the ones that hold the Pressure Plate to the Flywheel.

..... The Maestro and Andrew had prototyped this operation on the Breadboard of a Wolfman Rebuilt 356B Transaxle, complete with a New Super-90 Flywheel, and a new 200mm Pressure Plate and Clutch Disk and saw that it was indeed Possible to get to the Pressure Plate bolts through the Starter hole.

.....It was The Maestro's Second Theoretical Solution- that it was possible, in Theory, to UNBOLT the Pressure Plate- In Situ! INSIDE the Transmission, via the Maestro's Theoretical Laproscopic Surgery. And with the Pressure Plate Bolts Unbolted, there's NOTHING to keep the engine from coming out! Yeah, the Clutch Disk and Pressure Plate stay INSIDE the transmission housing, but they just plop off once the engine is out.)

..... "Note the Operation's Start Time," said the Maestro to the Shop's Computer.

..... The Maestro Proudly fixed up Andrew with the Maestro's Father's tools- late Grandpa Elmer's 1/2" S-K Socket wrench with a heavy-walled 'Merican size but equivalent to 30mm socket from the 1930's, to apply to the Pulley Nut- now easily exposed on the Utah 356 since the Muffler had been removed.

..... Only problem the Maestro hadn't counted upon was that it was Possible that the Flywheel was no longer connected to the Crankshaft, and therefore, turning the Pulley would have absolutely NO effect on the Flywheel, and the Flywheel wouldn't move.

..... The Maestro Assumed The Position under the car and eyeballed the Flywheel as Andrew, using Grandpa's tools, cranked over the engine, Clockwise.

..... The Maestro could easily see the Flywheel not move.

..... Sigh. OK, Andrew you can stop cranking. This isn't gonna work.

..... So the Maestro tried to rotate the Flywheel with a Big Screwdriver in the Ring Gear Teeth. No go. Flywheel Very Tight. She No Rotate.

..... Many minutes of playing around failed to produce an obvious solution to the problem.

..... It was the Right Time for a Lunch Break. Admit the inflow of Vital Nutrients in to the Maestro's somewhat twisted brain and it began to wonder ifin there were some other way to rotate the flywheel.

..... He called Jay, the Maestro's Machinist. Jay suggested putting the car in Fourth Gear, and pushing it. That ought turn the Main Shaft over which oughta turn the Flywheel over.

..... And it would have worked. Except that you didn't want to be UNDER the car when it was being pushed backwards or forwards. But if you WEREN'T under the car, then you couldn't tell when to STOP when a Pressure Plate Bolt came into view!

..... Ifin you got out and pushed, it would be Random Chance that determined whether a Pressure Plate Bolt would be in the right place for removal.

..... The Maestro knows about Random Chance. Like you ain't NEVER gonna get any when you really need it!

..... To align all the Pressure Plate bolts using the Maestro's Personal Form of Random Chance would clearly take him several Ages of The Universe.

..... So, the boys tried jacking up ONE wheel of the 356, leaving the other wheel on the ground, and rotating the tire which should rotate the Flywheel, and hence expose the Pressure Plate Bolts to possible removal.

..... But rotating a tire proved too unwieldy. There must be a better way, thought the Maestro.

..... But he couldn't think of one just them. So it was back under the car, Assume the Position, and eyeball the flywheel Ring Gear Teeth once again.

..... "Y'know ifin I had just the right size screwdriver..."

..... So he got out from underneath the car for the Umpteenth Time and selected his Favorite little Screwdriver, which just happen to be wide enough to wedge into the Ring Gear Teeth jusssssst right so he could rotate the flywheel.

..... Or so he thought.

..... When he put that right size screwdriver into the ring gear teeth and rotated, he could feel Good Force applied to the Flywheel. But the Flywheel- she'a no-a move-a.

..... "So, NOW what are you gonna do, Dad? How're you gonna rotate the stuck Flywheel?" asked Andrew Anxiously.

..... What the Maestro would give for a few millimeters of Flywheel motion right about then.

..... Instead, (and having no choice), he thought about it. And ALLOFASUDDEN, the Porsche gods transmitted the info through the wireless Ethernet, direct into the Maestro's somewhat twisted brain.

..... He got an IDEA!

..... "Andrew! Son! Boy! Attention!"

..... "Yes sir, Pater Sir."

..... "Andrew- I want you to hop into the 356 and push the Clutch Pedal all the way DOWN."

..... Andrew hopped in and complied, having learned earlier in the Day where the Clutch Pedal was and what it's used for.

..... Once again, the Maestro selected his Favorite little Screwdriver, and placed it into the Ring Gear Teeth jusssssst right.

..... It was his Last Chance before Dynamite.

..... The Maestro cranked- and the Flywheel MOVED! Maybe the Earth a little too.

..... He could rotate the flywheel several millimeters at a time!

..... So, with Andrew holding the Clutch "Down", the Clutch Disk was released from the grip of the Pressure Plate. The Clutch Disk stays "fixed", and the Flywheel should ROTATE, with the attached Pressure Plate, Orbiting around the Clutch Disk which remember, stays STATIONARY on the Transmission Main Shaft!

..... Kind of a strange way for a Clutch to work on a Flywheel that's OFF the Crankshaft dowels, but still held by a few turns of the flywheel nut!

..... But hey- it WORKED!

..... The Flywheel rotated rather easily, and before long the First of the Six Pressure Plate Bolts became visible through the three-inch Orthoscopic Surgery "Window" provided by Starter Removal.

..... And, of course by Murphy, the previous %$$^%$# who had put the Pressure Plate on had used an EXTREEEEEEMLY rare and hard-to-find 8mm bolt with a FOURTEEN mm head- (something the Maestro found out only after going through his collection of many 13mm wrenches without success.)

..... "Oh, BLAST IT," said the Maestro in Andrew's Presence.

..... "Whatsamatter?" asked Andrew.

..... "The Idiot who put this Clutch on used a 14 mm ATF Bolt! There's very little clearance with even the usual 13mm Pressure Plate Bolt between it and the "Hump" of the Pressure Plate. That's why most 356's use Allen Head 8mm Bolts.

..... But with a 14mm ATF Bolt, there almost ZERO clearance to get a wrench in there!

..... NOW, how am I gonna get the damn Pressure Plate off? thought the Maestro. With Andrew watching. *********************** How would you? ************ THE MAESTRO'S LABOR DAY QUIZ, 1997 Part V

..... But never say die, the Maestro gave it the old college try. And finally, after 30 minutes of trying new angles, removing the Passenger's Side "J" Tube and trying many more new angles- finally- one of the Bolts loosened (with an open-end 14mm wrench, Guinness Record Keepers will want to note.)

..... "Wow! That Bolt wasn't' that tight," thought the Maestro honestly. I guess THEY couldn't get a wrench in there either and couldn't overtighten the bolts grossly. Maybe it WILL be possible to get all 6 off."

..... You know about False Hope and Murphy don't you?

..... The second Pressure Plate Bolt was not so easy- and required a LOT of Time & Effort. Finally got it off with the Best Box end 14 mm wrench the Maestro had.

..... The Third Pressure Plate Bolt was not to be removed by any of the previous techniques.

..... So the Maestro had to put his grinder to good use, trimming the Box part down to Minimum Thickness on two of the best 14mm wrenches he had. Yep, he was using GOOD wrenches. The not-so-good ones wouldn't even come close.

..... But even with the Best Wrenches it was Still No Go. This Special Situation needed a Special Tool.

..... And the Maestro thought maybe he already had this Special Tool- He still had the "Crow's Foot" 14mm Special Tool, used to adjust the valves in the Maestro's 1960 Mercedes 220SB, may she Rest In Peace. Maybe it might work here.

..... And the Mercedes crow's foot WAS a delight to use- once the 14mm Bolt was first broken loose!

..... And THAT was the problem. So, by grinding the edge of the box end of the Best Wrenches to BEYOND Minimum Section, and then BENDING the good wrench 35.6 degrees, so that it would be flat on the Pressure Plate Bolt and just barely clear the Transmission housing outside the Starter Hole, oops Orthoscopic Surgery Access Port, so that one could apply Maximum Torque, and well, maybe the Porsche gods moved the Maestro's hand jusssst right, but:

..... IT WORKED!

..... The Maestro finally got all 6 Pressure Plate Bolts OUT! Only took him about 5 hours and many, many scratches and soreness in muscles he didn't know he had until that evening.

..... But he got ALL 6 of those little devils- (Oh, and one Special Trick: The Pressure Plate bolts are jussssssst long enough so that they won't fully clear the Transmission Housing. So, like the Flywheel Nut, the Pressure Plate Bolts can unscrew ALMOST all the way out, but not quite.

..... But the Maestro had Andrew press the Clutch Pedal Down once again, (might handy Andrew and that clutch pedal), which forced the loose Flywheel Rearwards enough to open jussssst enough gap so that with one hand holding the now almost loose 8mm Pressure Plate Bolt, the other hand is feeding the Industrial Strength Room-Temperature Superconducting Magnet on a Stalk in to grab the bolt and its washer before both fall inside and Jam the Flywheel somehow- which you know they will ifin they can- guaranteed.

..... And it required Andrew to push the clutch down and HOLD it Down at the right time for sometimes fairly LONG periods of time. But the Maestro had the Faith that Andrew wouldn't let up on the Clutch Pedal and decapitate one of the Maestro's Magic Fingers.

..... Crawling out from Underneath but Gleaming with Pride, Dirt and Sweat in front of his Boy, the Maestro said:

..... "Now Boy, all we gotta do is pull back on this here EN-gine that nobody in Utah can get out but WE can, and OUT She a-gonna Come! You watching this, Boy?"

..... Andrew was.

..... The Maestro pulled Rearward on the Utah-Red 356's Engine. Out she did NOT come.

..... The Maestro pulled the engine rearwards again, a little harder. Still a-no-a go-a. She was STUCK TIGHT. Just like in Utah.

..... "Hummmmh," said the Maestro thinking about his Hernia.

..... He began to think- "If the Entire Starting Line of the Brigham Young Football Team couldn't pull this thing out, how can I?

..... The Pressure Plate Bolts are all out but the Engine's still Stuck. THE MAESTRO'S LABOR DAY QUIZ, 1997 Part VI

..... About that time, another Message from the Porsche gods arrived on the 56k modem embedded in the Maestro's brain.

..... "OH, BUT OF COURSE! The Pressure Plate must still be stuck on the little Alignment Dowels- those little Dowels used to align the Pressure Plate on the Flywheel so that after Balancing, the Pressure Plate can be put back on the Flywheel with virtually no error.

..... But these alignment dowel guys only protrude a little bit- just a few millimeters above the Pressure Plate. It oughta be easy to pop them off. Then the FLYWHEEL is finally FREED from Pressure Plate Prison!

..... And the engine would be free to pop out of the Transmission. And the Flywheel would be free to....!

..... (Oops! If the Engine Pops out of the Transmission and the Flywheel is Free,... Watch OUT for Falling Flywheels falling out between Engine and Transmission and hitting YOU on the Head or other important part of your anatomy! And I'm SERIOUS! Believe me, if it CAN happen it WILL happen. And I Believe. You have been Forewarned.)

..... So the Maestro went back underneath the Utah-Red 356 for the Umpteenth + 20 time, Assumed the Position, and pried off the Pressure Plate as far as he could.

..... And Andrew put the Clutch Down, allowing the Maestro to turn the Flywheel over a few inches, a few millimeters at a time, and pried some more on the Pressure Plate, and turned the flywheel a few more inches a few millimeters at a time, and pried some more on the Pressure Plate,...

..... He repeated that many more times than you'd really like to hear about, until he could FEEL that the Pressure Plate was now jusssst about off the damn alignment dowels. FINALLY!

..... Sheeesh.

..... So, the Maestro slid out from under, grabbed ahold of the Engine, and pulled.

..... And Still the Engine was STUCK!

..... The Maestro took a deep break. Took a break. Had some Glucose Input. Recharged his Precious Bodily Fluids. Eliminated others.

..... And Thought about it Calmly and Rationally.

..... The %$$&%$ $%%$%#$ Pressure Plate Bolts are OUT.

..... The %$$&%$ $%%$%#$ Pressure Plate is FREE.

..... The %$$&%$ $%%$%#$ Flywheel is FREE.

..... NOTHING holds the %$$&%$ $%%$%#$ Engine in anymore- except those %$$&%$ $%%$%#$ Alignment Dowels! THE MAESTRO'S LABOR DAY QUIZ, 1997 Part VII

..... So, with the Strength of his Convictions, the Maestro tried a Binary Search of the Infinite number of possible arrangements of engine Height and Parallelness to the Transmission Centerline.

..... Finally the Porsche gods yielded, wanting to delay the Miracle no longer, and out popped the Terribly Traumatized Porsche Engine with the Amputated Flywheel and Emergency in-situ surgery.

..... The Maestro yelled to Andrew:

..... "IT'S OUT! Go get the Solid Cellulose Engine Lowering System." Which Andrews did, of course, and in 3.56 minutes the Super-90 engine that couldn't come out in Utah came out in California. And what a Terrible Sight it was.

..... It was an Otherwise Pristinely Beautiful Super-90 Flywheel, made Horrific by Eight Badly Eaten Dowel Pin holes. REAL Badly Eaten.

..... There was even HALF a Crankshaft Dowel Pin, sheared off from the Crank, twisted sideways and WEDGED into one of the Flywheel Dowel Pin Holes. Like a Russian Mafia hit.

..... And what was on that all-important, precision-machined Flywheel/Crankshaft Mating Surface? Why, Lotsa Deep Grooves that's what!

..... Sheesh.

..... The Maestro eyeballed the Crankshaft- already knowing what he would find. Ifin one Siamese Twin dies, so does the other.

..... Sho' 'nough, the Crankshaft had one sheared-off dowel. And One Badly elongated dowel and dowel pin hole in the Crankshaft.

..... Another Crank Dowel showed Evidence of a mechanic (quite possibly VW) who put the Porsche Flywheel on without regard to the two "Offset" Dowel Pins that Porsche have but VW's don't that MUST be aligned with the likewise offset dowel pin HOLES in the Porsche Flywheel! Don't do that and you have a Disaster!

..... In this case, a Honeybee State of a Disaster.

..... And the Flywheel Nut, I know you've been wondering about it- maybe even betting on it. WAS it completely unscrewed and Free? Or was it still threaded a few turns into the crank, enough to keep the Flywheel attached to the Crank?

..... That's Part VII of the Quiz! Is the Flywheel Nut Loose? Or is it screwed into the crank? If so, how many turns? THE MAESTRO'S LABOR DAY QUIZ, 1997 Part VIII

..... Yep! The Flywheel Nut WAS screwed a mere THREE Finger-Tight Turns into the Crank! Not much, but enough to keep the entire Starting Line of the BYU Football Team from breaking through!

..... The Maestro then eyeballed the Pressure Plate and Clutch Disk that were, as predicted, still attached to the Main Shaft of the Transmission.

..... "And now, Andrew, for the Dramatic Conclusion of our Watch Mr. Maestro Program today," said the Maestro to his Boy, training him in the Knowledge of How Things Really Work.

..... "Now, the Clutch Disk and Pressure Plate should be COMPLETELY free, and will come off the Transmission Main Shaft easily. Here, I'll show you".

..... And with that, the Maestro pulled on the Pressure Plate and Clutch Disk. But the Pressure Plate and Clutch Disk remained where they were.

..... So the Maestro pulled again- somewhat harder. But the Pressure Plate and Clutch Disk again stayed where they were - on the Main Shaft of the Transmission. The Clutch Disk Hub right at the edge of the Main Shaft, Tantalizingly Close, but not budging.

..... So the Maestro got out some Special Lubricant sent in by a Gentle Reader that had worked so well on rusted nuts and sprayed it onto the Clutch Disk's Hub and Main Shaft Interface.

..... And pulled again on the Pressure Plate. And again,... Nothing happened.

..... There's NOTHING KEEPING THAT DAMN Pressure Plate and Clutch Disk from coming out!" cried the Maestro, raising his hands skywards and beseeching the gods for Reasons. Reasons? Reasons???

..... Gods don't need no stinkin' Reasons!

..... "Yeah, but how come this is happening not just in front of a Customer, like it usually does, but in front of my SON!"

..... "Well, hey- you wished him TRAINED, didn't you? Let him see unusual things, Impossibly Rare Porsche Problems, and know how to FIX 'em didn't you? Well- Congratulations- YOU JUST GOT YOUR WISH!"

..... Sigh. So, how do you get the damn Pressure Plate and Disk offa the Main Shaft??? THE MAESTRO'S LABOR DAY QUIZ, 1997 Part IX

..... So, the Maestro pried a bit with two Big Screwdrivers all around the Frozen Pressure Plate/Clutch Disk combo STILL stuck on the Main Shaft.

..... No way Jose. The Pressure Plate and Clutch Disk just weren't a-budgin'.

..... There being no other choice, the Maestro got out both of his best Gear Pullers.

..... The first Gear Puller was too short to reach all the way over to the 200mm 356C/S-90 Pressure Plate.

..... That left the Sears Heavy Duty Gear Puller. Go ahead- laugh- but IT reached to the outside of the Pressure plate and centered in the indentation at the end of the Main Shaft. The Maestro cranked the Gear Puller nut with his Manly-sized Metric Adjustable Wrench.

..... The Sears Gearpuller cranked tight. The Maestro cranked some more. The Gear Puller got tighter. And Tighter And Tighter And Tighter.

..... And Still the Maestro cranked.

..... And Still the Sears Gear Puller got Tighter.

..... EXTREMELY TIGHT.

..... Something was gonna happen Real Soon Now.

..... SNAP! CRACK! With a Thunderbolt-like crack from on high coupled with a slight smell of Ozone, the Pressure Plate and Clutch Disk flew out of the Transmission Housing onto the ground, nicely missing any part (important or otherwise) of the Maestro's anatomy.

..... "WOW! That's AMAZING," said Andrew. "I just saw a Flash of Lightning. And hey- Dad- you got them off!"

..... "Yeah," said the Maestro with weary modestly. "Only took six hours."

..... "But what was holding them?" asked Andrew.

..... The Maestro grabbed the Clutch Disk- it had a funny "extension" on its Hub.

..... "What's that funny extension thingie", said Andrew.

..... "That Andrew, my boy, is Something I Have Never Seen Before! And proof once again of why I NEVER say that I've "seen it all". 'Cause I will NEVER see it all. There's always some new Failure to see!"

..... "WOW!" said Andrew. "So what IS that thing- something Alien?"

..... OK, guys, SO WHAT IS IT? **** THE MAESTRO'S LABOR DAY QUIZ, 1997 Part X- The ANSWER! FINALLY!

..... "That "something" protruding from the Hub of the Clutch Disk is part of the "Guide Tube" for the Throw-Out Bearing! And look here- it's been Cold Welded or tightly Press-Fitted into the Clutch Disk Hub!"

..... SOOOOOOO tightly welded/press-fitted was the Clutch Disk Hub that the Sweet, Innocent Bystander of a Guide Tube was BROKEN OFF at its OTHER END when the Sears Gear Puller pulled Real Hard.

..... Note also, that with the Clutch Disk WELDED to the Guide Tube AND the Guide Tube securely bolted to a Stationary part of the Transmission, this car was going absolutely NOWHERE! Nohow!

.....And neither was its engine either!

..... In fact- ifin it weren't for YOU, Andrew my boy, daddy never would have gotten this Engine out! And we'd be leavin this town in disgrace, under cover of darkness.

..... But with you putting the Clutch "Down", that freed the Flywheel and Pressure Plate and allowed them to "Orbit" around the Stuck Clutch Disk, which was Seriously Welded to the Throw-Out Bearing Guide tube which was firmly attached to a STATIONARY transmission housing.

..... THIS Murphy-welded Clutch Disk just WASN'T gonna come out.

..... And not even Eric Bateman (320 Pounds, Bench-Presses 650), could have popped this puppy out! In fact, he tried. Couldn't do it.
 

 





 

 
Home  Videos  Books  Engine Overhaul  Transmission Overhaul
Parts  Classifieds  Stories  Samples  Quizzes  Ask the Maestro