How to fit a concentric clutch cylinder to the Lotus/Rover Powertrain PG1 gearbox

Get a smooth and a well proven solution using a SAAB cylinder

The Powertrain PG1 gearbox of Rover origin is renowned for its strength and to be easy to work on. It was fitted to the Lotus Elise S1 but first and foremost to a lot of Rover cars.

The clutch is operated by an external hydraulic slave cylinder acting on a lever rotating a shaft. The shaft extends into the clutch housing where it swings a fork acting on a clutch release bearing. The quite long transmission route with levers, bearings and brackets underway adding flex and friction from the cylinder to the release bearing is not ideal.

Most modern cars use a concentric slave cylinder fitted around the gearbox input shaft and the cylinder acts directly on the release bearing. Swedish car manufacturer SAAB was among the first to use this simple but effective solution in mass produced cars, for instance on the SAAB 900 Combi Coupe from 1985. It was used on some Opel/Vauxhall models as well.