Hello List,
This message is especially for everyone who provided input on possible
solutions for a fix to my clutch problems - lots of you!. (I trimmed this down
because it didn't get transmitted to the list on the first go round)
Like John's problem, my clutch would operate properly but if I let the car idle
for a minute, the first time I pressed the clutch pedal down, it would have
very little resistance and not disengage the clutch fully. It was like the
first pedal depression was "taking up slack" in the system, and then it would
work properly until I let it sit with the engine running for another few
moments. I had renewed or replaced nearly all of the components that could be
at fault.
- new cross shaft and fork cross drilled with a roll in back up for the taper
pin
- new slave cylinder linkage
- new seal kits for both the master and slave cylinders
- no slack in the mc linkage
And the problem of occasionally not disengaging the clutch was still there.
Dick suggested that the MC pushrod can be lengthened (only slightly) to ensure
that the MC is fully displacing it's fluid. To accomplish this I took a short
cut and placed a washer between the MC piston and the MC pushrod. Seen in the
picture below.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h138/tr6login/IMG_3712.jpg
This took ALL of the slop out of the MC linkage, and the clutch worked great,
but still had the problem after the engine ran for a bit.
With the gearbox tunnel off I was actually able to observe the slave cylinder
pushrod creeping back into the slave cylinder with the engine running at a fast
idle. I'm not sure what is causing this. Maybe my crank is floating too much?
Maybe one of the spring fingers on the clutch pressure plate is sticking out
further than the rest and knocking the throw-out bearing backwards? Maybe the
spring internal to the slave cylinder is getting weak. I really have no idea.
The fix to the problem that seems to be working *so far* is attaching a
'pre-load' to the cross shaft arm like you Gunst bearing guys are running.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h138/tr6login/IMG_3719.jpg
Yes the wire is a bit cheesy and will probably fail sooner than later. It
appears to keep the pushrod from 'creeping' back into the slave cylinder and
the clutch is working better than EVER. My clutch has always operated just off
the floor (broken fork pin) and now it's working working higher off the floor
than it ever has. So much so that I need to adjust my driving habits / clutch
throttle timing.
Anyway I'm pretty happy about it. The LBC gods smote my TR6 with an additional
brake light issue as a result of finally solving the clutch issue. But I'm not
too worried about sorting that one out.
Thanks to everyone who helped by typing me helpful emails. This problem has
haunted me most of the summer so I'm glad that it finally appears to be
fixed... *for now*!
Kendall
San Clemente, CA
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