How true Malsal!  If it was a hair style it would be a "flat top", eh?

Thanks again for ALL the advice along the way - I really appreciate it.

Next up for me to handle: lube all the bits in the gearlever housing (it makes squeaky noises when you waggle left-right in the neutral slot/gate)

Jim

"there's a triangular chunk out of it" Not to mention the wear on the ball it self !!!!!

Glad you finally got it sorted.

So I tried to get my clutch arm out, but the clevis pin had galvanize-rusted itself solid to the clutch housing end cover and so the end cover did need to come out and a product called "Rost Off Max Ice" and heat did have to be employed to break the rust bonds.

I cannot take any credit though... It was the artistry of a mechanic named Buddy over at Barnett Auto who made it happen.  He was recommended by my carburetor guy, Joe Curto. 

Anyway, he did some beautiful work!  He even sandblasted the exterior of the end cover and the slave cylinder mounting plate, repainting the later with a black ceramic hydraulic fluid and heat resistant brake caliper paint - see here.

And boy did the arm and plunger need replacing - I'm pretty shocked that I could shift at all!

Here's a few pictures that show how badly worn the clutch arm was (there's a triangular chunk out of it), the plunger (there's a divot in the side of the cylinderical socket) and the clevis pin (it's actually notched from wear).  Look how far off center from the plunger socket the clutch arm was.

So if anyone else starts to have issues shifting into first and reverse like mine - check the condition of your clutch arm and plunger!

I'm actually hopeful that once the cotter pin is out that I'll be able to slip a wooden paint stirrer in through my access hole (to protect the clevis pin from flattening and widening) and to tap that with a small ballpeen hammer to drive the clevis pin up and out.

BTW, my plan for the hacksaw (or Dremel) was ONLY for cutting the round loop off the cotter pin so I could push it out backwards. But thinking about it more, I might just slip a wire through the loop and tug it out through my access hole (the angle and position of the pin is perfect for that...)

Before you dremel it to death try cutting a slot in the top of the clevis pin and use a large flat screwdriver to try and twist it loose first, you may need some leverage on the screwdriver to accomplish this. I always said if i built a Mini from scratch i would make the inner fenders out of plastic and detachable so working in the tight spaces would be a lot easier.

As I said on p2 of this thread, check the hardness of the new plunger with a file.
If you CAN file it, it's rubbish, as Isleblue's was. Best cure is put a hardened steel bush in it as described.

2 years ago I used it to cut 3x3 access holes in the inner wings to make it easier to work on the upper arm shafts when I replaced my suspension cones - when not in use they are sealed with Gorilla Glue duct tape. I'm sure I could track down some nice rubber bung hole grommets, but I'm just not that fancy!

The access hole on the far side made replacing the slave cylinder a whole lot easier too, and has made getting at these cotter pins easier as well.

Hopefully the penetrating fluid I sprayed on the pins last night will loosen things up by the time the new arm arrives!

You are going to have issues getting to the main clevis pin with a hack saw, better off using a small cut off wheel if you have access to one. I have never seen one that you could not work loose and get out eventually.

I've ordered a new arm - once it arrives and I have that "insurance", if I can't free the lock nut with two wrenches (by spinning the plunger to a better position after removing the old arm so I can get some proper leverage on the Stop nut), I'll put the old arm back in and try to break the lock nut free just against the resistance of the arm ball holding the original plunger from spinning (I feared I would further damage the plunger if I did this, but if it is hardened, then it should hold up to a little breaker arm action on the Lock nut).

Besides, because they were inexpensive, I ordered a new clevis pin, o-ring and bearing, plus I ordered a new plunger too because I thought the wear might be on it as well so if I bugger the plunger up, I can commit to "doing the whole job" wok and all.

Time to hack saw off the head of the cotter pin on the main clevis pin and push it out the wrong way!

Thanks again Malsal!

It is not do able without removing the wok cover Jim. If the plunger is original most of the wear is on the arm itself as it is not made with hardened steel like the plunger, although there have been some newer inferior plungers that are wearing out quicker due to incorrect hardening i guess.

If you can't get those stop nuts broken loose just turn them both together, according to your observations you only needed a small amount of clearance.

But I believe I have learned enough to say that I likely need to replace both the arm AND the plunger.

Here's why: when I depress the slave shaft backward into the SC, the plunger pulls further out from the housing, but if I then hold the plunger with my other hand and re-extend the SC shaft, there is arm travel before I feel the plunger getting pulled back into the housing - so that's got to be wear slop either in the ball or in the plunger or in both.

I'm told that the plunger in a Verto clutch cannot be replaced without removing the clutch housing? It seems like it can be since it is not press fit or circliped to the throwout bearing like in the older clutch setups, but I'm told that throwout bearing would simply fall into the housing if I forcibly removed the plunger...

Is there any way to avoid that happening? If there's no danger of that, then I can cut the cotter pin, bang out the clevis pin, remove the arm and pull the plunger, putting it in a vise to finally get the throwout stop nuts off.

Then I can swap in a new arm, plunger and clevis pin.

But if the clutch WOK needs to come off, that might be beyond Manhattan curbside capabilities (yep, I have no garage, I have to do all my work curbside, even the new water pump last summer! What a show, what with the bonnet and radiator and shroud and grill etc. all sprawled along the sidewalk!).

So anyway, does anyone know a trick way that you can you pull and replace a Verto plunger without removing the clutch housing?

I've been caught up in renovations and unable to put in the appropriate wrench time today anyway.

Thanks for confirming it was your clutch arm. Based on that, my plan is to pull my clutch arm out next opportunity I get to inspect it (if my throwout nuts were too far in, I've likely been slowly bending it over time too).

And pulling it should let me rotate the plunger and hopefully jam up the wrench I trimmed down to fit the angled stop nut so I can break the lock nut free (the nuts are seized right now).

Worse case, I'll have to cut the plunger shaft to get the nuts off!

Thanks again!

Hi Jim,  sorry for the delayed reply.  I just don't get on here every day anymore.  My final resolution was to put the hardened insert into the plunger hole, and harden the ball and tapered portion of the arm leading up to the ball.  My old arm was definitely bent, which was probably due to poor quality.  I also just cut off the threaded portion of the plunger - so no threads, no double locking nuts.  There's really only a need for the throwout adjustment bolt, and if this is adjusted properly, the double locking nuts are not necessary.  I've had those nuts backed all the way out for years, and this time decided to do away with them and have a little more room to squeeze my hand down there when I needed to remove the brake light pressure switch or undo a clutch housing bolt.   As for oil, I use Valvoline VR1, which is probably what many if not most of us use due to ZDDP and flat tappets.

doing more painting at the moment, but will give it a go later this evening.

Cheers, Jim

Never had one that tight. Try turning them as a pair together until you get the thin wrench in a decent position to hold or as you have already "modified" it just remove the other end of it and attach a pipe over it so the wife/girfriend/buddy can hold it while you concentrate your efforts on the lock nut.

Or you could just turn them both together as from your previous comments you only need to adjust them a small amount.

Since I'd sprayed the nuts with Penetrating Blaster last night, I figured I'd have a go at the throwout adjustment.

It took a half hour to cut down a 15/16" wrench to make it thin enough to engage the stop nut without blocking the lock nut - see alteration here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0vZwG7jEv81dXdMZG10aUN3cG8/view?usp=sharing

But I just couldn't get the lock nut free. I kept rotating the plunger - I couldn't get enough leverage to counter-rotate the altered wrench on the stop nut and the socket wrench on the lock nut. And I'm afraid to use a breaker bar on the lock nut for fear of snapping off the arm ball or damaging the plunger...

Anyone have any suggestions for getting a frozen lock nut away from the stop nut on the clutch plunger without damaging anything? (and yes I sprayed more penetrating oil on it again before I closed everything up)

I was thinking of drilling a hole in the end of the altered wrench so I could immobilize it, basically wire it down to prevent plunger rotation (and stop nut rotation).

Or maybe pull the clutch arm out and allow the plunger to rotate around till it jams the altered wrench up against the housing to basically immobilize the stop nut which might maybe let me break the lock nut away from the stop nut...

Or maybe heat? I have a mapp/acetylene rig that I could deliver concentrated heat to the lock nut with...

Thoughts?

Good luck. The 2nd hardest part is getting the split pin out and back in, some folks use R clips instead just make sure it is not too long as they have been known to catch on the body and pop out.

I like that cotton thread idea Malsal - sounds ingeniously simple!

And it might have taken less time than buiding my own tool!  

Here are images of my home-grown clevis pin holder...

   Flat front to slip under clevis pine head: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0vZwG7jEv81Rko1RmtlNlhGM3c/view?usp=sharing

   profile showing rivets https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0vZwG7jEv81a185V3lqWlU3SkU/view?usp=sharing

   Bent Spine for rigidity https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0vZwG7jEv81VkNnaDhYQ2dKS0k/view?usp=sharing

   profile showing spring loaded clip https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0vZwG7jEv81SXdqWmROV3hqQVk/view?usp=sharing

Hoping it will work for pulling out as well as for slotting in!  I'll let you know tomorrow!

(if you fab one yourself, remember to make that tiny bend-back on the spring clip so that the clevis pin head will slip under the spring arm...)

And mine was only as long as a license plate, but it gave me plenty of reach.

"Synthetic oil is not recommended in Mini's, just..."

Rubbish

Cheers, Ian