I hate that feeling - when you get it all back together and realize it has to come back apart because something isn't right.

 

It was 96 degrees yesterday afternoon after work with the heat index in the 100's. It took me a little over 4 hours to get the car back on jack stands, sub frame out and the transmission on the ground. I really messed that install up... The transmission went right in with no binding or crunching so I have no idea how I could have done that. I guess it wasn't as straight as I thought it was.



I ordered a Luk new clutch kit and it should arrive on Saturday.

 

Ouch...

That suck big time!

 

Man, sorry to hear that. Better luck with the second one.

 

It sucks but it is what it is. I'm just glad it wasn't the new gearbox. The new clutch should be delivered tomorrow afternoon so I probably won't get to start on it till Sunday morning.

The new motorhome starter is supposed to be delivered today so hopefully that installation will go drama free this afternoon. I am going to change the engine oil and filter since I had to remove the oil filter to get the starter out. That's 6 gallons of pure fun.

 

The new Luk clutch assembly arrived yesterday but mother nature decided we need to have an afternoon of severe thunderstorms. The sun is starting to come up so I'm heading out to see if I can get it back together. Fingers crossed I get this one right. I miss driving it, the Cabrio is super fun but I have a special fondness for the hatch. It's a totally different car now than it was a year ago when I bought it.

I also am buying the black rim and tire assemblies off of the Marketplace from Nasviller56. I'm not a huge fan of black rims but I think they will look good on the Cabrio and then put the silver ones on the R50.

 

IT LIVES !!!
It was a real bear but I finally got it all back together with the new clutch and transmission. I got delayed for an hour because of thunderstorms and I just got it put back together. It's a good thing because a second round of storms is fixing to hit. I took my time to line it up really good and it slid right in, have no idea what went wrong the first time.. She dirves great with no more transmission noise and I hope I never have to do a clutch job again.

 

Yes! Well done! Your experience makes me nervous -- if you don't ever want to do it again, I wonder what chance I would have of successfully replacing the clutch. Hope not to find out for a while.

 

I am just complaining, it was a pain but I would do it again if I had to but hopefully not anytime soon.

I should have bought the upper engine fixture instead of using a floor jack to hold up the engine. Still doable with the floor jack but probably would have made it easier if it was held up from the top. The shape of the transmission makes it a real pain to sit on the jack and angle it right to mount to the engine. I did it outside on my parking pad and I have a desert shade up but till the sun is in the right place I am cooking. I have arthritis so rolling around on the concrete is a lot less fun nowadays and I will be feeling it for the next day or two.

I drove her to work today and I never knew how quiet it was going down the road. It's had that gear noise since I bought it so that's a huge difference.

 

The junk yard transmission ended up being a bust, it's making one heck of a noise especially in second. In order to get my money back they want it back, I don't have to pay shipping but I get the joy of removing it again. I should have just installed the Getrag 5 speed I have in the shed in the first place. I was trying to stay original but lesson learned.

I will have to see what axles and stuff I need to make it work in the R50.

 

OMG

How does that happen? May never know. You seem to be taking it well, all things considered.

 

Yikes! If you had to pay yourself at normal shop rate for all the hours you've put in, not so sure I'd want to see that repair bill...

 

It's been one hell of a week. My wife, son and I all got Covid last Wednesday. I had a high fever and the worst headache of my life for 2 days. Today is the first day I have felt normal again.
I knew it was a big gamble getting one off of eBay but I made sure it came with a warranty, especially since it was a midlands transmission. No real surprise that it turned out to be bad. I have gotten pretty good at removing transmissions, I should be able to do this one in record time!

 

Covid sucks big time... The most debilitating headache every! And, sorry to say, it may be a month before your body recovers. I wish you all the best with this crap...

And I bow to your attitude about the tranny! The best I have seen here on NAM...

 

Thank you,
I moved her back to the parking pad yesterday to get ready for the removal process. All my impact sockets and air tools are at work, till I test negative all I have is some basic hand tools. I am going to install a new starter in my motorhome today. That is not going to be any fun at all.

 

Man, sorry to hear about your Covid experience and glad to hear that you're feeling better. As for your R50, I agree with Eddie07S -- great perseverance.

 

I've mellowed out a lot since I retired from the Army. I'm no longer Covid positive but I don't have all my energy back yet either.
It's been flooding every afternoon so there is no progress on removing the bad transmission. I ordered a new transmission mount since the R50 one won't work on the Getrag. I know I still need CV axles, shift cables, slave cylinder and the plumbing to make that work.

 

I drove to Nashville this morning and bought the rims from Nasviller56 that had them listed in the Marketplace. It was a 7 1/2 hour round trip. I'm not a huge fan of black rims but I think they will look good on the Cabrio.

 

I pulled the junkyard transmission out today, I have it back on the crate ready to ship back to them. I have a new release bearing coming and a new transmission mount. I still need to order the other stuff and get it back together. I took the silver rims off the Cabrio and installed the black ones I bought yesterday. I am not a huge fan of black rims but they look pretty good on the Cabrio. I am going to put the silver ones on the R50 once I get it put back together.

 

Here is the Cabrio before I changed the rims.

I think it looks pretty good.

 

^^^ I like how those black wheels balance the R52's look with its cabrio top!

 

I was thinking the same thing when I saw them for sale. The R50 is black so I think that would have been black overload, I'm not into the murdered out look. The silvers are going to look awesome on the R50.

 

Another “vote” for the black wheels on the Cabrio. With that little touch of silver, they look great on the car.

The other wheels should look really good on the R50.

One thing about the MINI wheels is that generally they are really heavy, especially in the 17” form. These can weigh about 24#. MINI had one wheel, referred to as the “holelies”, that weigh only 11#. I was able to snag a set for our R50 and found they improved ride and handling. They used to be snagged up by the autocross community for use in the stock class racing, which tended to make them hard to come by. The down side of those wheels for some people is that they are only a 15” wheel...

 

Ditto.

 

The holies are also only 5.5 inches wide.