Why wont my pilot bearing stay in the wedge collar? Clutch familiar ppl please help
 

Well i put my engine back in and drove it around for about ten miles and discovered an oil leak so i pulled it back out. To disconnect the clutch i did the standard procedure where you pry the wedge collar (brass looking round thing that spins in the pressure plate) away from the pilot bearing ( i think this is what it is the circular thing that spins on the clutch fork assembly sorry i'm not real technical with clutches i know how it works but not the names of everything). so i put my engine back in and went to pry the pilot bearing back into the wedge collar. It popped in but as soon as there is any force applied to it it pops back out of the wedge collar and is free moving again. Also if the flywheel is turned it eventually pops back out. What is wrong here? Is the wedge collar somehow managed to go bad in ten miles or so? Can these even go bad. Why is it not gripping on the pilot bearing? It seems loose in the pressure plate but im not sure how normal that is because when you pull it out somewhat it tightens up and grips on the pressure plate well. Also i have an ACT street Strip clutch if i replace the wedge collar (brass thingy that spins) is the one from the dealership going to be a direct replacement?
What in the world could have happened while my engine was out that would cause my cluth fork asembly to slip back out. I didn't even mess whith the clutch or anything. '
PS i know it's lined up right because i centered the clutch and everything with that tool that lines it up.
If anyone can help me I'd appreciate it becuase I am stumped

u mean the throwout bearing which is around 4 inches round or the pilot bearing which is 1.5 inches round and sits in the flywheel? i think u are talking about the throwout bearing and i believe it should snap onto the pressure plate and lock itself, if it doesnt lock itself, the clips may be too loose and spread apart. heres the link to the thread with a video showing how to deal with a pull type clutch

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-gen-archives-73/dealing-pull-type-clutch-video-256126/

hope it helps, good luck

I had the same problem about 2 weeks ago. First of all, there are a number of ways to install the clutch. Here is how I do it.

I mount the pressure plate onto the throwout bearing and then slide the clutch disc onto the tranny shaft. Once the engine is bolted to the tranny, I then will bolt the pressure plate to the flywheel via the access hole in the tranny.

The reason it is probably slipping off is becuase the ring is worn. My problem was that the ring that is around the pressure plate, (the same ring that fits in the groove of the throwout bearing) was worn. Rather than being round when looking at it, you can tell the metal was really worn down.

Another item might be the clutch fork might be damaged.

Hope this helps.

Anthony

i would just purchase a new bearing. it would suck to have to take out the whole setup again to replacethe throw out bearing. The cost of the bearing cant possibly justify th labor.

Shouldn't a new clutch/pressure plate come with a new lock ring?

Yep, most likely the case.


ska*utomatic,

When you say "pry back", you did force the throw-out bearing all the way to the pressure plate before separating right?

The ACT kits don't, and I suspect the others don't either. It's a standard Mazda part. It's two pieces and I think the total price is around $30 from Malloy.

Wire Ring: N315-16-416: $22
Wedge Collar: N315-16-416: $30

They are unique to pull type clutches, and therefore I don't think ACT et al. supply them. If you're not sure, call ACT and ask.

It seems to me that the wedge collar is very easy to bend so that it doesn't work, and then the wire ring can get damaged if it's not held in place properly. I replaced mine to be safe. But the wire ring is pretty reusable if it's not abused in any way.

Also, I'm not sure if someone else mentioned it, but it's the throwout bearing that you're fiddling with. When you put the wire ring onto the wedge collar, make sure the wire ring is rotated so that the slots in the ring fit over the long tabs of the wedge collar. If that's not the case, the wire ring won't lock into the throwout bearing.

Dave

From my experience, the only way not to damage it on removel is to unbolt pp from the flywheel then pull the tranny with the clutch on the input shaft. The prying destroys it.

Then you are doing it wrong.

They're not supposed to be reused according to the FSM, which is something you've done. Also, when seperating the throwout bearing from the collar, it's easy to pry in the wrong spot, and warp the collar itself. The collar must be replaced.

My act clutch kit came with a new collar, btw. I bought it last month from rx7store.net

Probably, I've spent hours trying to do it the traditional way, i have found it is just as easy to have somone turn the motor and unbolt the clutch with the motor and tranny together.

yes i mean the throw out bearing instead of pilot bearing my bad. ( i don't know all these names). I'm thinking that the wedge collar (ring in the flywheel) must be worn and isn't getting a good grip on the throwout bearing. I'll buy a new one of these from the dealership and get back with a follow up to see if it's what was wrong or not

Also, I'm not sure if someone else mentioned it, but it's the throwout bearing that you're fiddling with. When you put the wire ring onto the wedge collar, make sure the wire ring is rotated so that the slots in the ring fit over the long tabs of the wedge collar. If that's not the case, the wire ring won't lock into the throwout bearing.

Dave[/QUOTE]

well i was referring to the wedge collar as the metal thing that is a brass color that has what looks like clips all around it arranged in a circle. It fits right over the throwout bearing and inside that circle in the presure plate. Is that metal circle that this thing fits in actually the wedge collar and this clip thing is the wire ring everyone is talking about. So my throwout bearing pops out is this maybe because i havn't lined up these slots on the wire ring. Also how much play should there be between the metal ring and the wedge collar. And is it possible that the metal ring is bad or is it a combination of it and the wedge collar or just the wedge collar. Sorry if im confusing people with my lack of knowlege on these terms.

k i found this post
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...t=wedge+collar
it's exactly what's happening to me so i'll follow up when i get the part