V8 Clutch Release Bearing

GRB224 from Clive Wheatley, with an extra part at the bottom. When finally (2016) Vee's engine and gearbox was removed I found the bearing was like this one and nothing like the one from B&G below. However there seemed to be a set of plastic fingers at the roller bearing end of the tube on my bearing which looked like they might retain the basic bearing. But as I could see no way to get the new bearing off its tube, and may break some of the fingers on my carrier, I had no option but to reuse the old bearing as-is. Annoyingly I've had access to the gearbox for some weeks now, so could have discovered it earlier and done something about it, but foolishly I thought it would be obvious and simple - which it wasn't.

December 2019: Silver linings being what they are the gearbox has to come out again for repair, so at least I have the opportunity to replace the bearing.

'GRB224' as received from Brown & Gammons in 2011, but nothing like as drawn on their parts page:

GRB207 as depicted by Rimmer Bros, for the Midget 1500 and Triumph, completely different. However the V8 Register depicts this type of bearing as GRB224 for the V8 - obviously incorrect:

Clive Wheatley shows this for the LT77 or R380 gearbox with a separate carrier:

And Moss Europe depicts a very similar arrangement for the Midget 1500 (and Spitfire 1500) i.e. a separate bearing and carrier:

So the upshot is that whilst the Midget 1500 and V8 use the same principle of using a guide tube to keep the release bearing concentric with the first-motion shaft so a roller-bearing can be used, the components used are completely different. And the V8 Register item is not correct for the factory V8.

When Vee has her engine out for a rebuild I get the opportunity to see just what is there. 'A' is the release arm, 'B' the carrier, and 'C' the bearing. So the Rimmer image above shows the bearing plus the carrier. The red colour appears to be rust powder from the springs in the friction plate. Note the release arm pivot bolt is installed from underneath with the nut on top of the bracket, probably because the bolt can only be inserted from that end due to the design of the bell-housing:

Showing the release arm and bearing fully retracted, and the guide tube 'D' that keeps the bearing concentric with the shaft. The tube is part of the front cover, and apparently the whole assembly can be fitted to the 4-cylinder 4-synch gearbox - if you can find a V8 box that is beyond repair! There seems to be a very sticky substance on the nose of the first-motion shaft that fits in the pilot bearing, which may have been causing the dragging when not used for a bit. I'm hoping when that is cleaned off and out, and lubricated, the dragging will be a thing of the past. (It is - bliss!)

This is the correct item - GRB224: (Rimmer Bros have the clearest picture)