MV8

I think most of us are expecting the "grinding" noise to be gears not meshing. How about a video?Is the new slave and bearing different in any way to the old ones? I don't see anything seriously wrong with the clutch splines. You can put the clutch on the input shaft and slide it back and forth to feel if it binds and rock it on the splines to check the engagement. Use gloves or a clean rag to handle the friction face. Any metal dust? Shiny spots on anything like the crank bolt heads? Is the main case as warm as the bell? Did you check the trans fluid like I suggested? The clutch has a flywheel side and a trans side.

$18,500? Looks like someone is being coerced to "sell", but making sure it doesn't. Not a Lotus, CAT, kit, locost, or even a track car; just bits that may need to be redone just to function or at least knock the rust off.

Did the engine slide right up to the bell or did you need to turn the bolts with some effort to bring it together? It sounds like the clutch system is not the problem. The trans should be inspected or at least drain and look for metal flake oil. May also have done some synchro damage early on when it wasn't quite bled enough.

I agree that ignorant "beefing" can be a problem. Good engineering spreads the load. That is the point. Everything bends or breaks with enough load. The arm should bend when overloaded, not break at the attachment, crack the diff case, or tweak the chassis.

Whoa... differences. Not all humor has an emoji! See? No emoji! It's was just a recommendation.

Get your ten cycles in, shut it off, put it in first, press the clutch pedal, then start the car. Does it start moving or lurch?

It might help to have a supplier section to reduce repeat questions. Broken down by area would be nice too (i.e., electrical, fuel, brakes, suspension, body, drivetrain, etc). Maybe they will look if it is there? Just a suggestion.

Most everybody is stuck with E10 ethanol blend gasoline at the pump. The old spec hoses (SAE30 R6, R7 and for efi feed, R9) work but have a short life, becoming hard and cracking. Gates "Barricade" hose (R14 spec) is stocked and sold by the foot at O'Reilly's Auto Parts. The part number for 5/16" ID hose for carburetted applications is 27340 and is about $10/foot. It has a liner but looks identical to the traditional hose with a similar outside diameter so the clamps can be reused. Also, if you have much more than two feet of rubber hose in the entire fuel system, you might consider fitting more hard line. https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/barricade/gates-barricade-fuel-hose/gaty/27340?q=27340&pos=0 Gates Bulletin about the issues: https://images.oreillyauto.com/parts/img/documents/gat/gatestechnicalservicebulletin(tsb_0073).pdf?_gl=1*kv88lc*_ga*OTQzMzQzODA5LjE3MjIxNzYxODM.*_ga_TV3LS85R98*MTcyMjE3NjE4MS4xLjEuMTcyMjE3NjUzMC4wLjAuMA..

The wiring harness layout/pinout drawings you describe would benefit the community. I think they stopped sharing those in the assembly guides around 2016.

There is a point in the pedal range of motion where the pressure plate releases the clutch. Is this point near max pedal travel/on the floor cold? Does the point change in the 10 cycles/hot? Pedal height is adjustable. Everything is pointing to bleeding technique. I get some bubbles on every system I bleed, if only from the fluid shear at different bleeder screw positions (fine bubbles), which I change back and forth while observing flow in a clear hose that is looped above the bleeder three inches or so before going down to the jar with the vacuum port for my hand pump (which I am pumping at the same time to maintain differential pressure on the gauge), and the lid loose on the master. You could check the hydraulics efficiency by looking for immediate movement of the slave after enough pedal movement to close the compensation port in the master (where the fountain comes from if you've ever rapidly pressed (from the pedal fully up) a clutch or brake pedal with the lid off. You can use a cable camera (about $20 on amazon) that plugs into your phone or a lap top to observe while sitting in the car, engine installed, working the pedal. You might also post pics.

Cables get a bad rep when it is the design that is the problem. A well designed cable system can last much longer than hydraulic. I've put 371,000 miles on an original cable (not a caterham) and adjusted it twice, but lost count of the number of hydraulics I've replaced on my miatas with nowhere near as many miles. My point is there is room for improvement but not much demand when a hydraulic system is available.

I know crossflows have a bolt-on rear main one-piece seal adapter. I'm not familiar with the design of the rear main seal on a pre-crossflow. Usually the crank flange is bigger than the seal area and rear main bearing cap has the seal cavity built into it. The crank must be lowered in order to fit the upper rope properly, though they make a "cheater" upper rope installation tool that may not works so well. They often have a locating pin in the seal cavity to prevent the seal from spinning with the crankshaft. The ropes used to be asbestos which worked well, then those were eliminated followed by zinc in the oil to help keep things slippery.

These tips may help:

The slave is for a Saab 900 (79-93), not a Saab 9-3. The slave should have the fittings horizontal, inlet to the center (red nut), bleeder on top. The circular line helps trap air after so many cycles above, near the elbow. I would look at modifying the adapter behind it to rotate the slave about 90 degrees ccw as viewed from your pic, then reroute the plumbing. You could post pics of the adapter and the input shaft area without it for ideas.

Roll the car back and forth a foot or so in neutral to feel how much effort there is (not running). Have someone put it in 1st gear and press the clutch, then try to roll it again (not running). Any difference in effort?

. I don't know about tank interchange but you should be able to fit Cat engine mount arms and mounts. A custom driveshaft will probably be necessary for length and to adapt your axle to his trans, with new parts or modifying your old one. Plenty of shops can do that work and balance the shaft. You will need to know the right length. I measure bearing cap center to center instead of overall which can vary with slip yoke. The measurement should be 1/2 inch less than the distance with the slip yoke bottomed into the transmission. Don't assume the tune is good as-is. Hopefully you received the webers too. I may be interested in the birkin bare roller (no batts, controller, or motor) once interest in the electric wains.

Bingo! It is not been sufficiently bled. Don't drive it like that.

Too high an idle speed can make gear selection more difficult when stopped.

It would change the flow balance of the gasket you are installing. Maybe they got it right? You can always change it again.

Don't open up anything. The flow around the center is reversed. Not a problem. If you open up the holes, it will change the flow balance.

Pull the cable sheath forward with a little effort to see how much the thick nut moves away from the bell housing. How far will out? If the end of the threaded sleeve comes out of the bell, consider fitting a new cable. If you can't and the movement is more than a 1/2 inch, rotate the thick nut to make it a 1/2 inch or less. Hold the thick and just snug the thin against it. It doesn't take much effort to set the thin nut.

Those are aftermarket high compression pistons. They may not have been intended for this specific application. Not unusual.

I agree with Graham. Check the play at the top of the clutch pedal. Tony Weale suggests a "a 1/2 inch" but that seems excessive to me. The barrel end should be greased and very easy to rotate on the pedal bolt to prevent bending and braking of the wires where they crimp into it. This bolt is also a jamb arrangement to the pedal. The cable wears on the sleeve and "stretches" with use from the air gaps between the wires being reduced. A spray lube can be used on the assembled cable but it is tedious and messy without a wrap around the cable end.

There are often many variables on performance replacement pistons including crown height from the top ring groove (most engines don't run zero deck height) and shape, domed and dished, valve relief notches for high lift and overlap cams, etc. Indexing the plug is not normally for critical clearance. If you use washers, I suggest making them all the same thickness based on worst case. Otherwise, anybody that changes the plugs should have a great memory. I would use the clay to see where the problem is with each piston at tdc or slowly turn a sacrificial plug in to score the piston, cover the deck openings to oil and coolant jacket, then use a ball or tree shaped, bastard cut carbide mill bit in a drill to dress the scored area, apply a little clay and recheck. A dremel works too. The pressed clay can be cut in half with a razor and one half removed to reveal the clearance. Fit the longest plug with the deepest seat, worst tip index, on the highest piston (i.e. worst case), make that fit and have .050" clearance, then duplicate that cavity on the others before checking actual clearance. Minor differences in the cavity size and depth are not critical to compression ratio. Radius the edges to blend into the piston without sharp edges. Ditto on ARP. Rolled thread studs are best or cap screws and washers to spread the load (heads are smaller) can substitute for oem head bolts (though some come original with socket head cap screws). Studs should be tight enough in the block that combined with red loctite, won't rotated when the nut and washer is torqued, but ideally, the studs would be finger tight in the block, not torqued to a head bolt spec.

I don't know what trans you have. There should be a jamb nut adjustment where cable passes through at the bellhousing flange. Two wrenches are needed; one to hold the nut nearest the trans and another to loosen away from the first.