Throw out bearing...

[Jim Saraceno]

I have the engine and tranny out of my '35 Plymouth right now. While I have it out, I want to rebuild or replace anything that is worn or marginal. I'm looking at the throw out bearing and sleeve and everything looks okay. I can't find anything in my shop manuals about how to evaluate them.

Any suggestions on what to look for? "If it's broke, don't fix it" or "you have it off, just replace it"? I welcome any opinions here.

[Lou Earle]

I used to replace anything that was difficult to get at. However, the deteriorating quality of new parts has changed that. I put in 2 new throw outs in my 46 then went back and put the original back in!!!!

the only test I am aware of is- was it OK before ? and when you hold it and twist it any rough spots as u turn it? if running OK when it was taken out and no rough spots I would put it back in myself.

[norrism1]

JIm, If you can afford it, put in new. That way you will get the entire life out of the parts, other wise how long will those old parts last before having to tear everything apart again to replace them? BTY- you should check the gear teeth on the flywheel since you can inspect for chipped or missing teeth also. When it's torn down that far- inspect the normally un-inspected or thought of before finding out 2 months later it should have been rebuilt or replaced. Also check the Fork for wear.

Norris

[Don Coatney]

I used to replace anything that was difficult to get at. However, the deteriorating quality of new parts has changed that. I put in 2 new throw outs in my 46 then went back and put the original back in!!!!

the only test I am aware of is- was it OK before ? and when you hold it and twist it any rough spots as u turn it? if running OK when it was taken out and no rough spots I would put it back in myself.

Lou;

You are once again dead nuts on. I installed a new throw-out bearing in my car when I assembled my engine and transmission. A few hundred miles later I had to remove the transmission for another problem. When I inspected the new throw-out bearing I found it was severly worn as it had UHMW as the mating surface. I inspected my original throw-out bearing and found it had brass. I re-installed it and it is working great after several thousand miles. New parts are not always the way to go.

[Normspeed]

If you could find a NOS bearing that would be the way to go.

Too bad about the quality of some of the new parts. I was surprised when two brand new rear wheel cylinders failed after just a couple years. Poor quality metal?

I honed and rebuilt them but one had a small pit I could not get completely out. I'm watching that one for signs of more leaking.

[Jim Saraceno]

Thanks for the opinions. I think I'll leave well enough alone. There was no hint of a problem before I took it apart, and it looks good, and it has the brass surface. I'll take my chances with this one.

[Tim Frank]

I had the good fortune to work with an older, absolute ace machinist/tool and die maker. His belief was that a lot of parts are being made offshore and that the quality of material used in castings was all over the map. This manifests itself in porosity in plumbing and other fittings that should seal and end up seeping or oozing.

He also believed that machining tolerances were compromised by the use of metric equipment that was set to run with metric - imperial conversion factors. Especially UN threads cut on metric equipment.