Milano clutch, 2nd gear syncro recap

[Scott Swanberg <sswan60@domain.elided>]

Well, I just finished replacing my 2nd gear syncro and the clutch in =
my
=9187 Milano Platinum.  Of course, I learned a few lessons, here is a
recap.

I used my GTV6/Milano manual, Collin Verrilli=92s article, =93Alfa Ro=
meo
Owner=92s Bible,=94 by Pat Braden, and various digest postings as my
references.  All went fairly smoothly and as always, I want to thank =
all
who answered my questions, before and during the procedure.

I=92ve unhooked the driveshaft and lowered the front of the transaxle=
 now
four times.  I can do this portion of the job on cruise control, no
problems.  When it comes to the exhaust system I don=92t completely r=
emove
everything.  This is because I have not been able to readily get the
flanges on the front section to clear between the sump and the frame.=
  I
just separate the rear section from the middle section and the front
section from the manifolds, unhook all hangers and let the front and
middle sections pivot down.  This gives me enough room to do everythi=
ng.

Once the transaxle is nose down, I disconnect the whole slave cylinde=
r
bracket and let it hang.  I=92ve tried using a =93C=94 clamp previous=
ly to
hold the piston in place only to have it be knocked off and eject the
piston and all the fluid.  I didn=92t want to mess with bleeding
everything again so I made use of my father-in-laws machine shop and
made up a clamp that is basically a cap held in place with set screws
into the cylinders boot groove.

The Milano gear selector shaft has a fitting pressed on to the end an=
d
held on with a split pin.  Pound long enough on the split pin with a
correctly sized punch, and it will come out.  Pulling the fitting off
the selector shaft is another story.  I fabricated a puller that remo=
ves
it easily.  When reinstalling the fitting, heat it up with a propane
torch and it will slide right on.

When removing the clutch I leave the DeDion cross member on and in th=
e
lowered position, passing the clutch between the cross member and the
car=92s underside.  When removing the transmission front cover I retu=
rned
the cross member to it=92s upright position and lower the transaxle u=
nder
it.

Taking the gear cluster apart was no problem.  I used a 36mm, 2 1/4 i=
nch
deep socket that I got for $6.00 from the local El cheapo tool store
that worked fine.

=46rom what I can tell from my manual, the Milano 1st. gear syncro is
different than that on  the GTV6.  The Milano has a an additional str=
ap
and a coil spring.  On the part of the first gear that the syncro sle=
eve
engages and that the syncro snap ring clamps on, I had a part broken
off.  This was the a small portion of the piece that the snap ring
attaches to.  Turns out that even though this syncro engagement part =
of
the first gear easily is removed from the first gear, you have to
purchase the entire first gear to get a new one.  Me being cheap, I
scoffed at the $160 for a new first gear and I brazed the broken part
back on.  The resulting fix seemed strong.

While installing the new clutch, it at first would not slide all the =
way
on the mainshaft.  I=92ve experienced this on other cars and after
inspecting it discovered that the pressure plate was not centered in =
the
clutch.  I disassembled the clutch, centered the plate by eye, and
reassembled it.  After this it slid right on.

The new clutch really grabs.  I=92m occasionally spinning the wheels =
on
the sanded streets getting used to it.  I imagine that after a few
hundred miles it won=92t be so grabby.  The second gear syncro works
great, easily up and down shifting without any grinding.  The ring I
removed showed wear on the inside from the small segment and on the
outside from the engagement part of the 2nd gear.  The teeth on the
sleeve were rounded off a lot.

All I replaced was the 2nd gear syncro ring and 1st - 2nd syncro
sleeve.  After seeing what a difference this made on my 2nd gear I wi=
sh
I would have replaced all the rings.  I recommend doing this.

Scott Swanberg, St. Paul, MN
=9187 Milano

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