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January 28, 2004
G'day guys
All this discussion on crunching clutches just woke up my tired brain to something I had forgotten.
The diaphram clutch as fitted to 1275cc and 1500cc cars is very sensitive to the amount of travel. They actually need LESS travel to release than the earlier spring clutch. That's one of the reasons the slave cylinder is 1" and not 7/8". Larger bore = less travel.
If you have TOO MUCH travel at the clutch end, the diaphram plate will go over-centre, and crush the driven plate back onto the flywheel.
I have seen this happen a few times when people (myself included) have fitted 1275cc engines and gearboxes to earlier cars, without changing the slave cylinder. Fortunatly, up to 1966, you can adjust the pedal height at the master cylinder, bring the pedal closer to the floor, and so limit the amount of travel at the slave cylinder end.
It's easy to test if this is your problem. With the engine running, push the pedal to the floor, VERY GENTLY try to put it in 1st gear, and get it to the point where the gear teeth are just brushing against each other. Now slowly lift your foot off the clutch and see what happens. We found that, at about 2" off the floor, the car slipped quietly into gear. We shoved a lump of wood under the pedal so that we could get consistent travel, and went for a little drive. Perfect.
Next question - how to make the solution permanent. Easy, weld a piece of steel to the back of the pedal as a stop - just like the 948cc and 1098cc cars have.
And the other good trick I once say was the guy who fitted the clutch fork backwards. When he put his foot on the clutch, instead of the release bearing being supported by the recesses in the end of the fork, it was supported (just) by the two spring clips. Not surprisingly, these aren't quite as strong as the pressure plate, so there wasn't much clutch releasing going on.
good luck, and avagoodday
Colin
"Colin@SpriteParts" < colin@... > 28665
Posted on January 28, 2004 09:27 AM
Posted to category(s) Body | Braking System | Cylinder Head | Drive Train | Engine (external) | Engine (internal) | Miscellaneous | Suspension & Steering | Technical Info | Transmission
