Just after putting in the 5 speed I rebuilt into the car (lifted it up and put on 1 bolt real quick - PITA to do with only myself but I did it!).

I thought It would be a good idea to install the clutch cable and check clutch operation...or lack of.

Seems to be when I brought my gear box I was given a A12 bearing carrier? Yes/no?!

My situation is that I have an A12 enigne/A12 clutch/A12 flywheel/A12 Pressure plate and I want to install a 60 series 5 speed (from a B310 Sunny wagon). What size carrier do I use?

The stock 4 speed bolted onto my A12 used a carrier that was 27mm from the bearing shoulder to the surface the throw out arm sits on (on those 2 tabs) and the one I got when I brought my 5 speed also measured 27mm.

HOWEVER, I beleive this in the long one already (27mm) so I dont know that to do.

I mean I can make one up from a bit of solid Hi tensile steel to whatever dimention I need to fit (I'll measure it) but I was just wondering where did I go wrong If I already have the "long" carrier and it doesnt work? Would I need the A15 flywheel too in that case?

bearing carriers are the same A12 vs A15 and 4-speed vs 5-speed. But there are two lengths depending on year and model and trim. See Bearing Carrier

I think the problem may be the clutch fork rather than the bearing carrier
both the "C" and "D" carriers will work. I think you have the slightly longer "D" carrier which is good.

Did you use the B310 clutch fork with the big "hook" on the end or the straightish fork from the old 56 box?

Others have come unstuck by using the wrong cluth fork.

B110 and B310 use the same forks

B110/B120
* 30531-H1000 Withdrawal Lever

B310
* 30531-H1000 Withdrawal Lever 56-series
* 30531-H7410 Withdrawal Lever 60-series

I used the 5 speed fork and the long (27mm) carrier and it still doesnt work.

I measured up a few things and the ball the fork runs on is 3.5mm further back from the bellhousing face than it is on my 56 series and also I made my flywheel step 1.6mm which is far to big so I machined it back to 0.1mm (which is within the factory tolerance) meaning I machined off 1.5mm. This totals 5mm of "lost" length needed on my carrier.

Then to double check my workings I measured the distance from the bellhousing cover plate to the clutch spring and from the bellhousing face to the thrust bearing (when installed in the bellhousing) and I got 61.4mm and 73mm respectivly.

73 - 61.4 = 11.6 then I allowed for ~6.5mm freeplay for the carrier (so when the clutch fiber wears) and the number i got is 5.1mm (11.6 - 6.5).

This seems right so today I machined 40 ID, 50 OD, 5 Thick Hi-tensile "washer" to sit under the bearing to space it correctly. I'll let you know how it works - it should mean that when bolted to the motor, the clutch release arm has to travel about 14mm from fully retracted to touch the spring, which on a new clutch "sounds" and looks right to me (about a 3/4 to 4/5 travel left in the slot).

That 5mm difference matches up: the short and long carriers are (reportedly) 4.5mm different.

B110 only came with one size.

B310 came with either same as B110, or 4.5 mm different:

That 4.5mm there is a coincidence I think.

I have the 27mm carrier AND I added 5mm on top of it.

Anywho - I fitted it and it worked! Being a new clutch a fair bit of slack had to be pulled out (so that when the clutch wears I have excess cable to increase the slack to get full engagement).

Right now the cable is adjusted so that the clutch fork can be wiggled buy hand about 3 mm at the top - I will readjust this and keep a close eye on it as clutch beds in.

And when the clutch is pressed two thirds of the travel builds up in force (it gets harder and harder) then at the last third of travel it "lets off" kind of like a compound bow being drawn - in other words its how I like it and has a good positive feel.

Cant wait to roadtest the gearbox rebuild/new clutch - but first I need to make the crossmember and install new boots on the tie rods/ball joint and cross rod.

Going backa number of years, I saw a few thread on here of people saying their clutch wouldn;t throw out when they ran a van flywheel on their cars.

Yes, Pitroad says the A14/A15 flywheel is thicker than A12 flywheel.
Quote:

So that means there are multiple variations:
* thick or thin flywheel
* thick or thin release bearing sleeve
* Engine plate or not
And i suspect that the 56A is slightly different than 56L (difference from bellhousing face to ball stud, as mentioned by DIYMARK)

All this means you can get multiple combos that DO work. There there are combos that don't work: Either clutch won't engage, or clutch won't disengage.