vacation mechanics

["Hans de Kok" <hdkok@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Just got back from a two week vacation in france with four Spiders (and a
Volvo for the wifes, luggage and kiddoos).
Just when we got bored from just talking about alfa engines etc, my friends
1750 duetto lost its clutch and heard lots of mice in the gearbox. This
happened to my gearbox just a few weeks before, and i had my clutch
replaced. The bearing got through the clutch springs. So, at our vacation
spot we decided to replace the clutch. In the grass, the car jacked up, we
disassembled the gearbox in just about two hours, Our diagnosis was
correct, so we could order the parts. After the local spare shop got the
new clutch, which took him two days we could assemble the stuff back. This
took us two and half hours. The half an hour extra is for fiddling the
gearbox back onto the engine laying in the grass with the two of us. 

We got some phone assistance from a Dutch Alfa Expert "Kees Verdoorn", whos
mechanic told us to remove the exhaust rubbers and jack up the rear axle.
The exhaust now helps tilting the engine, so the gearbox can be removed
(and put back) easily. He also told us to watch out for the fanblades not
to get caught in the fan tunnel. 
For the rest it wasnt as difficult as it sounds, but maybe be were quite
lucky all nuts came off quite easily. 

But this wasnt enough. On another Spider, a 2000 Veloce on the highway at
90mph the front crankcase pulley broke off. 
We had never seen this problem before. The pulley is not even in the parts
list, it seems. Again a phone call to the netherlands, to Verdoorn helped
us to obtain a new pulley by DHL very quickly. 
The only problem was getting the old one off. After removing the radiator
we actually saw through the big 36mm nut. 
Assembling the new part was easy. 

After all, working in the grass with a couple of guys and a beer is fun. 

Two questions:
1. Has anybody ever heard of breaking the cranckcase pully before? What
could be the reason this one brakes?

2. Has anybode ever heard of breaking through the cluth. My spider only had
30000 kms on it, where my friends duetto only had 20000 km on it after a
major overhaul with new Fichtel & Sachs plates. The clutch plates on both
cars where not worn. It is just the bearing and the springs who were
damaged. 


Greetings.
Hans de Kok
 

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