Bergers Van

[Greybeard]

I decided French car designers are sadist's when I had to change the starter motor on a Renault 16. Being a right hand drive car meant the steering column blocked access to the SM. One needed additional finger joints to get at the flippin bolts.

[berger]

bob it is the release bearing that was leaking fluid and they put it inside the bell housing. don't fret it is having a new clutch before the gearbox goes back in and MWAS has got the starter motor to check it out before that goes back on because it has one bolt that goes into the starter through a hole in the gearbox bell housing, it took me ages to get it off. the whole design says take it to your dealer or scrap it. proper nightmare modern cars

[berger]

on the edge of the vice is the clutch release bearing that slides onto the gearbox input shaft

[Greybeard]

It really is so much better that you are doing this than me 😊

[Swarfcut]

   How come we need such a complex design just to move the clutch centre? Remember open air slave cylinders and the invariably rusty return springs ready to take out your eye? Then Mr Ford went to diaphragm clutches, and the reliable till it broke but easily changed Clutch Cable....easy on a Mk 1 or 2 Escort, contortionist skills on a Sierra. How the **ck does this self adjusting plastic quadrant work on a MK3 Escort or box type Fiesta?

 Looks like Bergs has the short straw with this one, and now Vauxhall are a Peugeot brand, they will only get more complicated. Thought it was bad enough having to take off a front wheel and splash guard to change a headlight bulb....Mind you, TESCO's were cheapest for a pair of H7's.

 Swarfy.

[berger]

swarfy short straw yes, all the time i have searched for a part i haven't found one under the search for vauxhall combo. a lot of searches have found engine rubber mounts under tigra, thermostat sender unit under alfa to match my wiring connector , and of course loads of you tube vids on how to do the job BUT not on this car. it's all corsa's etc where there isn't a sub frame supporting the diesel engine that mine has, and they do the job in an hour, this has taken a few hours each day just to get it in bits , now it's in bits it needs loads of new bits. i might have found the diff noise though , there is a pin on through the big gear that the bevel gears run on and the locating roll pin for this big pin had snapped letting the big pin drop so it wasn't supporting the bevel gears properly

[Worty]

swarfy short straw yes, all the time i have searched for a part i haven't found one under the search for vauxhall combo. a lot of searches have found engine rubber mounts under tigra, thermostat sender unit under alfa to match my wiring connector , and of course loads of you tube vids on how to do the job BUT not on this car. it's all corsa's etc where there isn't a sub frame supporting the diesel engine that mine has, and they do the job in an hour, this has taken a few hours each day just to get it in bits , now it's in bits it needs loads of new bits. i might have found the diff noise though , there is a pin on through the big gear that the bevel gears run on and the locating roll pin for this big pin had snapped letting the big pin drop so it wasn't supporting the bevel gears properly

So that was what the whine was all about - it was bad mate!

[berger]

worty i hope so,  i will find out when back on the road and if the box ever has to come out again i know how to do it

[Topdad]

Would that "fix" involve 5 ltrs of e10, a long fuse and a  match ?????

[a10 gf]

Had it fail on my Renault Trafic (Opel Vivaro, Vauxhall\Nissan), one morning the clutch pedal just went to bottom with nothing happening, a pool of brake fluid on the road. But did last around 15 years before failing, so somewhat excused.

But did know nothiing about the slave cyl's ridiculous, unaccessible position on modern cars, a quick googling = understood no chance me capable of doing such an extensive job, maybe if having access to a lift, more tools and lots more will & knowledge, so paying up was the only solution. Got towed to a workshop. Asked them to fit a new clutch as well, opportune to do when half the car was in pieces anyway.

Good job doing the slave cylinder yourself. Compliments. 

[berger]

Mr a10gf i will be honest about this , if i hadn't talked to a 23 year old lad who has just moved in two doors up from me it would have gone to the garage. our chats of him working on land rovers and other cars got me to asking him if he could do it. he talked to his trained mechanic friend and he said they would do it for 200£ labour. i said i would start getting bits off and let them do the major job. it has turned out that i have carried on the job with the young lad and having him working with me has spurred me on. he has done me proud helping me get it all in pieces and i am replacing the wheel bearings , control arms and several other bits like split crank breather hoses --- things that are better done now than on a failed MOT , the bottom crank case hose would have been impossible to get to with the starter on and   the steering rack, there is no room to work on these things without taking the engine out.      as i go on finishing off these awkward but smaller jobs he keeps making sure i don't need help.. when it is all back together i will split the 200£ between us.  only joking he will have the lot ££££££££'ssss.

[BSA_54A10]

You want to try doing the same on a V-8 Roller
starter is 24 kg
nestled between the block & the Rh headder pipe
Instructions go
Remove bonnet ( about 1 hour for 2 people )
place protective pads on both mudguards
Put support board across the engine bay
Disconnect power wire & place support strap around starter motor ( at leas 1 hour because you have no clean access
Take the weight of the motor taking care not to make the board dent the mudguards
Remove mounting  bolts & lever starter forward ( easier said than done )
Get 2 stout men to grab either end of the board & lift the stater out of the engine bay .

Now if you are too cheap to buy the genuine RR support strap & just use a tie down then the starter an slide off and then wedge between the headder & the engine block which requires a full disassembly of the right side of the engine to get it out, a full days hard work + $ 300 in parts .

[RDfella]

You want to try doing the same on a V-8 Roller
starter is 24 kg

How do designers get away with this nonsense? The starter motors on my boat engines (6L diesel) max out at 1,200A / 12v (that's 16bhp) and would likely rip the ring gear off the roller, yet they're only 1/3 the weight (but seriously robust nonetheless).

[BagONails]

You want to try doing the same on a V-8 Roller
starter is 24 kg

How do designers get away with this nonsense? The starter motors on my boat engines (6L diesel) max out at 1,200A / 12v (that's 16bhp) and would likely rip the ring gear off the roller, yet they're only 1/3 the weight (but seriously robust nonetheless).

Probably something to do with the boat engines not having to stop and restart at every set of lights!

[RDfella]

Same starter as when those engines were fitted to lorries....