Auburn 680- Sleeve Inside Throw-Out Bearing

Could be they could not get the correct throw-out bearing and made something to fit the bearing they could get.
CORDiallyMike

You raise a good point, Mike. I'm certain someone changed the clutch at some point. The clutch pressure plate had almost no rust. Then I just had the clutch rebuilt and the shop found a helicoil in the flywheel for one of the clutch mounting bolts.

And then there's the throw-out bearing seized to the extension tube of the front bearing retainer, which is the subject of this post. Perhaps whoever replaced the clutch installed a cheap aftermarket bearing retainer. I just don't know.

I have the engine and transmission out of the car, so I can check the fit of everything in the assembled and disassembled states.

Are you sure this has not been altered in the dark past? Make sure before you start making new parts.
CORDiallyMike

Hopefully I inserted my pictures correctly. The first picture shows the extension tube against the flange where it broke off. The second picture shows the extension tube pulled away from the flange. The throw-out bearing is still stuck on it. I'll disassemble it somehow. Tonight I unbolted & removed the base flange.

I'll reverse engineer this thing, make a CAD drawing in Fusion 360 & find someone to fabricate it in steel. I hope there's room for a lip seal.

Hello Bruce, On the earlier Warner Muncie T64 gearboxes the main drive gear bearing retainer is cast iron, the clutch throwout bearing slides on the extension, if a replacement is not available it could be easily machined in steel. If you get one manufactured I would consider machining it to allow a oil seal to be fitted, the early ones have a scroll thread labyrinth seal that works well but would be easier to fit a modern spring loaded lip type oil seal.
Ivor

I'm on a business trip in Michigan. When I get back to Indy, I'll take a picture of the part & post it. It's a sort of bell shaped casting whose flange is bolted to the front of the transmission with a cylindrical tube projecting forward, through which the input shaft goes. The throw-out bearing slides on the OD of the said tube. The tube was broken from the base of the flange. I haven't unbolted it, but logic suggests the front bearing for the input shaft is retained by the flange, thus the name "Main Drive Gear Bearing Retainer." It is not magnetic, so it's either cast aluminum or some cheap pot metal, which surprises me. But I suppose it's not considered load bearing, so cast iron wasn't used. Nevertheless, I think it was made cheap.

For now I'm cleaning & repairing engine accessory parts like the oil pump, generator & starter, so I haven't thought about this part much for the past couple of weeks. I think I'll end up having that part fabricated.

I have never seen one of these throw-out bearing retainers in aluminum in any cars I own from 1910 to 1967.
CORDiallyMike

You are correct, it's called a "bearing retainer" you will be time and money ahead by having a new one made, ( they are pretty simple)

I looked at my Parts List. The part is called the Main Drive Gear Bearing Retainer.

Sorry guys. I'm restoring my car from the ground up, so I'll be asking a lot of questions. I was looking at my throw-out bearing this afternoon, which I will replace. It's currently frozen/seized to an aluminum sleeve that goes over the input shaft of the transmission. I didn't think much about it until I noticed the rear end of the sleeve appears to have broken off from another piece.

I looked at the transmission and sure enough, there's a flange bolted to the front, through which the input shaft goes. It appears to be the same material as the sleeve and I'm convinced they used to be one piece.

I assume the throw-out bearing is supposed to slide freely lengthwise along the sleeve but it must have become seized and then the sleeve twisted off of the flange.

I don't know why this part is aluminum (it's not magnetic).

Is there a cast iron or steel replacement part?

Thanks,

Bruce Wolfe