Removing the Torque Converter (engine in) Part 2

[998auto]

>:(Ok not a good day today but let me explain.

From the last thread you will know that I managed to get to the point of removing the cover.

15.) Knock back the lock tabs holding the six nuts and one large nut in place.



16.) Remove the three of the small nuts. Choose nuts which are of an equal distance apart. You will need a large screwdriver to jam against the teeth of the ring gear to stop the crankshaft from turning.

17.) Now you will need to find a 38mm socket. I did not have one but a very kind local car spares shop (MAS Spares) loaned me his socket set. You can then remove the nut again using a large screwdriver to jam the teeth of the ring gear.


18.) Its now time to use the puller. I'll not post the instructions on here as they belong to mra minis however I'm sure they will be happy to advise anybody on the use of one. However below is what the puller looks like in place.





19.) This however is where it went horribly wrong for me today. As you will remember from the first thread the Torque Converter looked as though it was not on straight.



Well its not and this meant that the puller had to go on at a slight angle as well.

All was going well at first but the torque of pulling on a slight angle meant one of the bolts used to attach the puller snapped in half.

Therefore the torque converter is still on and there is a sheared bolt stuck in one of the holes. See below.



However I have not given up hope and will spend the coming week thinking of a solution. Will update next week.

[Admin/Founder 2]

Really Sorry to hear that the bolt sheered off
Its one of those things we all dread with classic car maintenance.

More So at times with Minis
However I'm sure you will find some way of getting it out and be able to carry on with the job in hand

Give Martin at Mra a call hes very approachable and I'm sure he will try and help in any way he can with a solution to the problem

Looking forward to the next installment by which time I'm sure you will have that bolt out and the torque converter off

[998auto]

I've posted a message for Martin.

I must admit MRA Minis (Martin) have been great and I would definitely recommend them to anybody on this site.

Thank you for the vote in confidence I will persevere.

[mra-minis]

Hi Jodie, Ewan and everyone else.

I have never sen a convertor that was on at an angle, how sure are you that it wasn't an optical illusion ?

There are such tools as "easy outs" (trade name) but all the same they are stud and bolt extractors, you have to drill a small hole in the centre of the broken stud / bolt and insert the correct size of tool then twist as you would to undo. Ok they are not always that easy, but this is clearly a broken due to stress not due to corrosion. I will update the puller to have a higher tensile bolt set, if you give me a ring I will advise the best course of action, I will need to know if you can get a normal drill in the space or if you need a 90 degree headed drill to do the job.......

[kiwihcn]

Remember the 6 small bolts on the convertor dont attach the convertor to the shaft so I would not worry about the broken bolt just yet, Wait till you have the TC off and on the bench and then the snapped bolt will be much easier to remove. Just remove the MRA Minis tool and replace the other 2 bolts. Then remove the other set of 3 bolts that you had not loosened ( maybe a good idea to stop at this point and get off the engineers supplies and replace the 3 old bolts with new high tenstile ones) Then you can reattach the MRA Tool and try again. Just remember not to take out all six bolts at once (BIG FAIL if you do ) only every every alternate one . also try a bit of heat , wd40 etc to hekp the convertor slide off the shaft. I did it out of the car but with out the excellent tool you have to use . I used heat/ cold and brute force!!

[998auto]

Hi Kiwihcn,

Martin is going to send me some high tensile bolts in the post so when these arrive I will give it another shot. He gave me some detailed advice over the phone and agrees that I could extract the broken bolt later.

Just out of curiosity what do the three retaining bolts hold in place and what would happen with all the bolts out?

[Admin/Founder 2]

Hadyn will most probably say the same but if you remove all the Bolts they hold in place the Torque Converter Internals so if you remove all the Bolts they fall inside and thats the end of the TC

I'm guessing by removing blots equally opposite each other your spreading the load equally so they still hold the internals securely in place

[kiwihcn]

right the first time. !! If all 6 bolts come undone at once you will probably have to open up the convertor housing, repair ,then weld up again. A hell of a shame if it was otherwise ok. Imagine something like a fan on the inside of the TC housing much like your radiator fan, take all the bolts and and it falls off !! inside the sealed TC housing. The TC does not often give problems so to have to rebuild it cause you took to many bolts out is a real pisser.

[mra-minis]

Hi guys,

Yes it is normally a big no no to remove all 6 bolts however......... in Ewans case the convertor needs a rebuild which means a full strip out and as such it doesn't matter if all 6 bolts (screws) are removed

PS, High tensile bolts and a new hex centre bolt will be in the post tomorrow

Regards Martin & Debbie

[998auto]

Got the bolts in the post. Thank you Martin.

However another bad day. The bolts are just the trick but the thread in the torque converter is now giving way. Gave up after getting very cold.

Next plan is to tap out the holes, heat up the TC and try again.

Failing that I may remove the engine, and try it out of the car as this thing is well and truly welded on.

[998auto]

Ok short update the Torque Converter is definitely welded on. Two more bolts snapped on the puller today, given that they are high tensile bolts it shows the amount of torque I was applying.

Its now time for plan B. This is going to have to be an engine out job,
1.) to allow me to extract the broken bolts and
2.) so that I can apply some serious pressure and heat to the converter.

All I need to do now is build myself a rig to pull the engine out and make some room in the garage to work on the engine.

Will update as I go along.

[kiwihcn]

Thanks for the update. Sounds like trying to remove the TC in situ. maybe false economy then ?
As I said mine was not welded on but took some moving to get it off. and that was with the engine on the floor!

[kiwihcn]

How did you get on in the finish?

[998auto]

Not done it yet.

Took the engine out last weekend (after having a knightmare with the ball joint and driveshaft). I have been busy this weekend and not had chance to touch it.

Next job is to get the broken bolts out.

[998auto]

Okay its off.









Its been a hell of a job but its off. Need to see about getting a replacement now but before I do I have a ball joint to split.

[clambod]

Glad you managed to get it sorted.

[998auto]

Yep, got there in the end.

I have been thinking why it took so much torque to pull it off and it may be because of the driving collar.

When i got the engine out I re tapped the holes, took out the broken bolts and tried it again, (using my Torque Wrench on the maximum setting) but it would not budge.

Anyway I took the puller off and with a bit more room I was able to get a good swing and give it a real good smack.

When I did, what I now think is the driving collar fell out.

I then tried the puller again without the collar in and it popped off first time. ;D

No wonder it would not budge, and broke so many bolts as it was pulling against itself.

However every cloud has a silver lining as whilst the engine is out I am considering converting it to unleaded, with a spare head I have in the garage.

[clambod]

Head change is a good choice. I'd check the condition of the cam followers too

[998auto]

Will do.

It was misfiring slightly before I took it out so it may need a general check.