<VV> Broken Throw-Out Bearing Flange

[Steve Brennan]

Due to continued shifting issues, I finally decided to drop the newly
installed drive train in my '62 Spyder so I could see if the pilot bushing
had seized on the input shaft.  It hadn't, and everything else looked fine
as well (clutch plate not reversed, etc.)  However, upon inspecting the
throw-out bearing, I discovered that about a 1 inch part of the rear
"flange," (i.e., the very back of the unit that acts as a retaining wall for
the spring clips on the clutch fork arms) had broken off.  The only effect I
could see is that when the T-O bearing rotates such that either of the
clutch fork arms is adjacent to the missing flange, the fork can wobble on
the ball stud more than it normally would, since the flange isn't there to
"bracket in" the spring clip.   Other than that, I couldn't see any effect
on the normal clutch mechanism, since the T-O bearing still slides nicely
back and forth along the input shaft nose (so I am not sure that this was
causing my shifting problems).

 

Has anyone seen this situation before, and if so, what would cause it?  I am
getting a new T-O bearing tomorrow, and want to make sure I do whatever I
can to prevent it from happening again.


Thanks in advance,

Steve Brennan

1962 Spyder Coupe