More work on fixing the clutch today, but it all came to nothing. It was a learning experience and a useful test fitting of the flywheel housing, but otherwise a hugely frustrating day!

Here’s the flywheel housing as it came off. All cleaned up with about a pint of “Gunk”. Looks much smarter and a much better environment for a clutch to live. Punched the old oil seal out and cleaned up the hole. The old seal looks totally different to (and much better than) the replacement! The replacement seal drifted in with a lump of wood. Went in very easily actually. By this point everything was going well, so I bunged a load of liquid gasket on the block and pressed on fitting the flywheel housing. Here it all is bolted together. What the pictures don’t show is that the plastic fitting “tool” for the seal didn’t allow it to properly slip over the crank. It ended up creased and needed easing with a screwdriver. Bad news indeed! While slapping gunk all over the place I also cleaned out the bell housing. Looks very swish now! Put the flywheel on and ran the engine for a while, only to find oil flying out all over the shop.

Obviously the problem was with the low quality of the rubber in the seal, which seemed very stiff compared to the original. The stiffness of the rubber and poor quality of the press-out plastic shaper which allows it to slide over the crank (or not!) is hopefully what sets the cheap Britpart replacement apart from the original part.

I’m going to have to order a new original replacement now - for £30 - and wait for it to arrive. Since I’m away on a cake delivery mission next weekend The Duke is going to be off the road for at least another three weeks. Very depressing!