The Italian job – part 2

Not the most exciting job in the world – but I am really glad that I completed the clutch replacement on my daughters Alfa Romeo Mito. Getting the gearbox out was the hardest part. After thoroughly cleaning the flywheel, I centered the new clutch, swapped the clutch retainer bearing and screwed the assembly back on.

But it took me two attempts to then lift the gearbox back on the engine. Even with the centering tool the clutch did not align perfectly on the first try. The rest is simply a matter of bolting everything back together which took less than an hour.

The left driveshaft popped in easily, but the right-hand side gave me a tough time. I pulled it out and turned it 30 degrees a few times – then all the sudden after about half an hour is just went in without a problem. Attaching the lower control arms, the exhaust and adding oil were the last steps. The test drive successfully showed that the clutch issue was gone, but we there are still several things that need to be done.

Last weekend I also picked up a new exhaust system for my son’s Saab 900 Turbo (aka Saabeth) from a junkyard. There were a couple Saab 900 being salvaged – unfortunately, the bumpers of the 900 Turbo were already sold. Some tasks on the Morgan as well as a service on the MGB GT and the Mini are up next before I tackle the Saab repairs.