My clutch proplem has really turned out to be a delema. The clutch works
great. It is a LUK with the Gunst bearing preloaded per his instructions. The
clutch engages smoothly and silently about half way through the pedals travel.
I've not measured it, but it seems great to me. The pedal is a bit heavy (I
was warned), but I like it that way. The problem I'm having is a dragging
sensation throughout the the pedal travel. There is also an accompanying
"spring"
sound which iminates from under the car. This can be heard from twenty feet
away. Of course, when the engine is running, the sound is drowned out, but the
rubbing sensation is still there. The sound/rubbing sensation is there even
with just 1/4" of pedal movement on either end of the pedals travel. All
the components of the hydraulic and mechanical mechanisms of the clutch are new
except for the slave cylinder which was about 3 years old when I finished the
car this spring. To me, it felt like the problem was in the slave cylinder
itself. When my wife stepped on the pedal there was a vibration in the
cylinder
(not the bell housing). It felt like the plunger was dragging. Someone
suggested I disconnect the slave, put a length of pipe on the lever and try to
recreate the sound. This sounded like a great diagnostic tool. But, II don't
have a lift, and I can't get the car high enough in the air to use a pipe long
enough to get the leverage to move the clutch. So....I got a new slave
cylinder
and installed it. I was thrilled to find that the problem was resolved.
Unfortunately, the problem reappeared about 10 miles down the road! this
didn't
make sense. (again the clutch functions fine). So I disconnected the push
rod from the lever thinking maybe things arn't lined up right, reconnected
everything, got back in the car and the clutch is silent! Problem resolved
(again). I pumped the clutch, and on the 18th time, the problem reappeared. I
repeated the procedure, disconnected and reconnected the push rod, and again
the
clutch was silent up to the fifteenth push! Iv'e repeated this at least 6
times with the same results. It takes at least 10 pushes to recreate the
problem.
I'm convinced there is a problem with the LUK pressure plate. One of the
fingers is probably making the sound/rubbing sensation in the pedal/vibration
in
the slave cylinder. Why the problem disappears when I disengage the pushrod
for a minute and reappears with use is beyond me. Once the problem reappears,
it is always there. If I leave the car for a minute or days, it is there the
first time I push the pedal. I disconnected the pre-load spring thinking
this had something to do with it. It doesn't. This is bizzare.
Joe Davis
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