Hi, I’m working on a 61 Mk2 with a Medatronics 5 speed conversion. Need to get at the clutch and it looks like it should be no problem since I can separate the gearbox and bellhousing from outside - unlike the jag unit.
Does anyone know if this is actually the case? Shifter is already out so moving it back shouldn’t pose a problem. Just wanted to check if anyone has done it before.
Thanks
~Mike
I have a medatronics bellhousing and T5 on my workbench getting ready to go into my Mk2. Yes, they are connected by 4 allen bolts from the trans into the bell. Should be able to be loosened and pulled straight back!
I’m interested in how it all fits in the Mk2. I’m attempting to install mine with engine in the car and hope there’s enough room! My car is currently an automatic so the tunnel should already be larger.
Anything you’ve noticed of interest with this setup in a Mk2?
I haven’t noticed anything of note but this car was originally a manual so IIRC you may have more room. It was converted before we got it but I am abou 90% sure it was converted with the engine in the car. Apparently the PO was having some kind of shifter trouble with the moss box and some shop convinced him to just put in a 5 speed. I doubt they pulled the engine to do it but not positive. I also see a missing bellhousing bolt that looks like it’s missing cause they didn’t have the room in the tunnel to get it in with the engine in the car…
I have the car on the lift now and it’s nearly ready for the attempt…
~Mike
You should have no trouble with the gearbox, I have a ‘66 ‘S’ and have taken the box out with the engine in situ, the car was an auto.
As someone who watched the warranty and service costs on Jaguars for a 32 year career with them I could never figure out why Jaguar, back in the day, could not have figured out how to mount the gearbox to the bell housing so it was removable with four large bolts.
…from the outside.
I always wondered about this too (Rovers are the same). It would make faster clutch jobs a whooooole lot less heartburn-inducing.
Hi, just following up on your question. I got the gearbox out fairly easily. I removed the shift lever first (4 bolts) so I was able to pull the gearbox (sans bellhousing) back and out without a problem. Only thing I removed in the intact interior was the console - didn’t need to take off the tunnel cover.
After that I removed the starter and removed/loosened the bellhousing bolts and also the rear engine stabilizer rod that attaches to the top of the bell. I had previously removed the large nut and washer on top of the stabilizer rod. Had to lower the engine a little to get the part of the stabilizer mount that is attached to the top of the bell to clear the car… Bell is a tight fit in this previous MOD car but it eventually maneuvered past the pressure plate and out. I don’t anticipate any problems re-installing after the parts arrive… Although in this car I will have to insert some of the lower bellhousing bolts on the left side into the bell before putting it back into position cause there’s no room to slide them in once the bell is in place. Like I said, a tight fit. That’s really the only thing to look out for.
~Mike
Fantastic. I was thinking about inserting all or most of the bell bolts before trying to fit it just to make it easier to get into place and start all the bolts. Great to hear. Good luck with the rest of the job.
Hi @TheoSoares there’s something else I came across that you might not be aware of. We needed to replace the clutch disc and as you may know it’s a Ford 10" 10-spline disc when you use the early style 10" pressure plate with the Medatroics JT5. These ford discs are easily sourced but for re-installing the thing there’s a bit of an issue because there is no off-the-shelf, vehicle specific clutch alignment tool that works without modification with the ford disc and Jag pilot bushing… At least none that I can find. The ford T5 transmission input shafts have a .67" pilot bearing surface but it seems that the medatronics JT5 is turned down to .5" to fit the Jag pilot bushing. Long story short, it looks like we need to get a universal clutch disc alignment tool - gearwrench makes one that looks like it’ll work - or possibly pull the input shaft from the JT5 and use that to align the clutch disc. The Jag clutch disc tool is close but the splined area is larger in diameter than the T5 by a about .040 or .050… might be able to be modified fairly easily since it’s just plastic. Just something to be aware of…
~Mike
Thanks for this, very encouraging as I embark on this project. I ordered a few clutch tools and none of them have worked, I was also thinking of just using the input shaft to align everything!
One final thing I found out from speaking to Paul at Medatronics the other day:
There can be an issue with the clutch disc bottoming out at the end of the splines on the gearbox side basically making it so the clutch won’t release. He told me that originally they had Centerforce (the company who’s discs they supplied - he told me that as well) shave the gearbox side of the splined hub down about .120" to avoid this issue. He also said that it was usually only a problem for XK120-150 (IIRC they have different bells that we do) and the best thing to do was to fairly accurately measure how much room you have based on the position of the flywheel surface. On the Mk2 I’m working on, we have about .25" before it bottoms out so I think that should be enough for the clutch disc to release - I still may shave a little off to be sure.
I wound up getting a Centerforce disc BTW since that’s what Medatronics originally used. I don’t know what the manufacturer was on the one I’m replacing because it’s unmarked - looks like cheap crap - but it has a much shallower hub than the Centerforce.
He also said that if you find that it needs modifying it can simply be ground down by hand.
Okay - that’s everything I’ve found out. It’s going back in on Monday, Just waiting on the new pilot bushing.
~Mike
Hmm. I’m trying to understand. Are you saying that the clutch disc is too tall and so it can’t move far enough away from the flywheel to completely release? I will compare the height of the ford disc vs. the stock disc and see if one is taller. How exactly do you measure for this? Thanks for keeping me posted!
Yeah it’s hard to explain. Basically it’s just the hub part that rides on the splines of the input shaft. Like if you put the disc on the input shaft of the gearbox by itself it would only go so far before it meets the end of the splines on the input shaft and then can’t go back anymore because the splines end.
If that point where it stops isn’t far enough from the flywheel because of the thickness of the hub of the clutch disc to allow it to release you have a problem.
To measure you need get the dimension from the back of the engine - which on jags is even with bellhousing mounting point - to the face of the flywheel when it’s installed. Then put the bellhousing on the gearbox and the clutch disc on the shaft the right way round. Then lay a straight edge of some kind across the whole bell mounting flange so you can use a ruler to push the disc face into position of that distance you got to the face of the flywheel earlier. Then push the disc back til it stops and that difference from where it started is how much space you have for the clutch disc to move freely and release. On ours I have about 1/4" which I think should be enough. These discs can vary. The one I took off had a very narrow hub so there was more room.
Hope that makes sense… Will get some pics tomorrow when I’m back with the car
That does make sense. Paul C also said the Camaro bearing retainer is correct but the trans shop said chevy made a short nose and long nose one. I opted for the long nose one but can cut it if it’s too long. Sounds like I have a few measurements to make before it all goes back together. It seems crazy to me that the clearance would be as small as 1/4" but it makes sense it just needs to be free to spin nothing more! Thanks for the heads up.
Glad to help. 1/4" definitely doesn’t seem like alot but Paul said he only shaved less than an 1/8" from them anyway for the cars that were a problem. I’m still considering taking a grinder to the disc hub and taking off a little more just to be on the safe side.
Mine’s going back in tomorrow if the new pilot bushing arrives.
~Mike
Hi @TheoSoares. FYI this is what I wound up doing for the clutch tool. The socket I screwed on the end was about .003" larger than the input shaft so it worked well. Tool itself is a regular ford 10 spline unmodified except for the socket on the end.
IMG_20190504_152336|690x248
I also wound up grinding about an 1/8" off the gearbox side of the clutch disc hub to be safe.
Box is back in the car now after a debacle with a new borg & beck pressure plate being defective. But that is sorted - just took time as usual.
~Mike
