Factory Formula Clutch Calamity (Page 1/1)
David Hambleton JUL 07, 12:55 PM
Factory stock Formula 44,200 km (27,500 miles):
MG 282 input shaft sleeve broke off; the less restrained release bearing detached from clutch fork arms allowing arms to contact pressure plate springs.







So far, Rodney Dickman's solution seems to be the #1 option. http://rodneydickman.com/pr....php?products_id=305

I was hoping for a less intrusive repair while retaining the low mileage transaxle... lol!
Raydar JUL 08, 10:57 AM
Ouch! I wonder what happened to the sleeve.

Yeah... Rodney's piece would be my first guess, too. Good luck with your repair.
David Hambleton JUL 08, 01:52 PM
The sleeve is in still (nearly) in place in the first pic, just loose; broken off where it attaches to the "input shaft bearing with sleeve" in the parts catalogue.
I've ordered the Rodney repair; hopefully I can execute successfully!

Input shaft bearing with sleeve:


Input shaft bearing with departed sleeve:

[This message has been edited by David Hambleton (edited 07-08-2022).]

David Hambleton JUL 25, 09:24 PM
Thanks to Rodney Dickman for the repair stuff: http://rodneydickman.com/pr....php?products_id=305

The counterbore making gizmo:



The counterbore made:



The counterbore:



Hole drilling fixture:



Tapping locator pin:



Tapping:



Clutch release bearing support sleeve installed:

Patrick JUL 25, 11:43 PM

Good job!
David Hambleton JUL 26, 09:18 AM
Thanks. The credit goes to Rodney; beautiful quality repair kit.
It's such a big teardown just to remove the failed bearing/sleeve assembly; it makes it even more annoying that the original part was so poorly engineered and/or produced and prone to failure under such light use.
I'm presuming Getrag had design control, Muncie had manufacturing quality control, and Mary Barra (GM CEO and former Fiero owner) would say: "Wasn't us!" Lol! Should be a warranty claim.
The pics show lots of stress cracks in the housing from the casting cooling process; maybe a few layers of duct tape around the transaxle would be advisable...

fierofool JUL 26, 09:21 AM
I've read of this repair process. A couple of questions, though. Does all the tooling come in the repair kit? I didn't find it on Rodney's site. Also, what keeps the chips out of the transmission?
David Hambleton JUL 26, 09:57 AM
The bell housing is separated from the main transaxle housing so the input shaft bearing can be removed, so the transmission itself is elsewhere.
All the special tools are included; http://rodneydickman.com/pr....php?products_id=305 shows all the parts and instructions.

[This message has been edited by David Hambleton (edited 07-26-2022).]

fierofool JUL 26, 02:50 PM
If not for Rodney, there would be far fewer Fieros on the road, today.
David Hambleton SEP 10, 09:31 PM
The Formula is back together and seems to be performing like nothing ever happened.
I thought I might need a Rodney slave cylinder but didn't; just as well since they're not currently available.