Yes I think you're right. I'll get a puller and give it a go.

There's a Sykes puller on the bay at the 'mo.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sykes-Pickavant-M ... 3caa321d20

Try one thing.

Have someone press the clutch fully. Then tell him to depress the pedal, but dont let the clutch arm go back (place sg in its way). At the end have the man press the clutch again. The lever will go thurder on. Still pressing the pedal, start the engine and try to engage a gear.

It this does not work, You will need to take it apart.

I won the puller on Ebay- thanks for the tip Pantera. Just have to wait for it to arrive. Gives me a few days to get the prep right.
Whilst I had the car up on axle stands last week I noticed quite a bit of play on one of the back wheels... Worn bushes or ball joint...? Not sure how to proceed with this. Any advice...?

Ed

I had great trouble removing the flywheel/clutch from the crank. I was advised to invest in an air ratchet (don't know if you have a compressor?) and to do it up/undo it, do it up/undo it, leaving it overnight and occasionally giving it a sharp tap on the end of the puller, I even resorted to warming it up, came off eventually but it was a pig.

Allen

When you move the wheel in a jacked position you should be able to see where the play is coming from, it will either be the top balljoint or a bush on the lower "A" arm, up/down movement is bushes/balljoints side to side will be the locking arms or the connection to stop the steering movement. All are fairly handy to fix.

Thanks for that- it's side to side not up and down movement.
What bushes etc do I need to buy, and should I replace both sides whilst I'm at it...?

Ed

Not sure as i don't know your setup, post a pic andI'll work it out from there

Thanks Andy, I'll get a pic soon.

Ed

Right.. I got the puller on it and was expecting several days hard work trying to crack the flywheel off the crank. I lined up the puller and started turning the bolt to take up the slack and the flywheel just fell off.....! Amazing...! So with it removed I saw this- the Primary gear C Clip mangled. I'm hoping that if I get a new C Clip and thrust washer thing it may work.
Here is a pic of my suspension at the back as promised Andy- hopefully you can tell enough from the pic to say what sort of bushes I need to buy to cure the side to side play I have in that wheel.

Ed

Ed,

Congrates on getting the flywheel off however, from what you explain in your post sounds as if the flywheel was not done up very tight in the first place as they should give up a good fight to come off, from memory they are ment to be torqued to 150 ft/lb. just check the nose of the crank for any chattering as this can be caused from a loose flywheel. Secondly the "C" clip holds the primary gear in place, without this the primary gear can float on the crank so each time you use the clutch this just moves and effectively will cancle out the clutch travel. I would say it was incorrectly fitted in the first instance. Just check for damage around the "C" clip housing as it could be damaged also. Whilst the flywheel is off, you should check the condition of the diaphram and clutch plate, replace if any sign of wear.

Onto the suspension play, you state that the play is in the side to side movement of the wheel, this sugests that it is the locking arm joints that are worn, it looks like that too in the pic as you can see grease dispersing from the tierod joint rubber, should be a simple fix. If however you have play in the up/down motion then it would be either the top balljoint? or the bottom "A" arm bushings.

Hope this helps

Andy

When you refit the flywheel make sure that crank is positioned so that the 'C' clip is open side down. That way it can't fall out as you juggle with the flywheel.

I once refitted the flywheel and dislodged the C washer and 'tightened' the flywheel agaist the washer rather than the taper
Started the car and realised something was wrong when I switched off and I could still hear the flywheel spinning.......

Looks like this is what happened here.. When I got the car the engine was a non runner so whoever worked on the clutch last probably never got to realise what had happened...

Getting back to the play in my back wheel... Can anyone point me in the direction of some bushes to buy...? Are they mini bushes or something else...?