[DeTomaso] Techno question: New clutch & slave adjustment

Thu Oct 18 01:36:51 EDT 2007

The slave cylinder shouldn't have any free-play as it's hydraulic.  Air in
the hydraulic system could give the appearance of free play, though pumping
the pedal should make it go away temporarily.  Adjusting the slave cylinder
rod just moves the slave piston back and forth and basically allows more or
less fluid into the slave cylinder.  Lengthening the rod moves the piston
toward the top of the cylinder, squashing fluid ahead of it out and back
into the master cylinder reservoir.  Shortening the rod does the opposite,
with more fluid entering the slave cylinder from the master to take up the
space vacated by the piston moving downward.  This extra fluid movement only
happens immediately after the rod adjustment (once), not every time the
pedal is pushed.

Without seeing it, it sounds like the lever on the splined clutch shaft may
need to be moved.  To remove mechanical play in the clutch linkage within
the bellhousing, the lever should be rotated toward the slave cylinder.
Start with only one spline worth of rotation, as that will be considerable
amount of arc on the end of the lever.  It's easier to keep track of where
everything is if you mark the lever and the spot on the shaft with a sharpie
first.

Where in the desert?  I'm in Muscat, Oman - which is on the southeastern end
of the Arabian Peninsula.  Muscat is actually a multi-environment city, on
the shore of the Arabian Sea (touching the Indian Ocean) with a mountain
range that runs right down to the shoreline.  It's fairly scenic actually.
The main desert (the Lawrence of Arabia kind of desert) is just on the
inland side of the mountains 30 miles away or so, though there are localized
but large sand dunes nearby.  We passed though the big desert a few weeks
ago on the way south to visit a sea turtle preserve on the southern coast
and actually passed 15 or 20 camels gliding through the sand (they really do
move like 'ships of the desert').

I haven't seen or heard of any Panteras in Oman though.  I'll keep an eye
out.

Muscat Dave

-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Engles [mailto:cengles at cox.net]
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 6:04 PM
To: David & Marilyn Bell
Cc: detomaso at realbig.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Techno question: New clutch & slave adjustment

Dear Dave,

               Yes the plunger rod thingee is the threaded rod that connects
the slave piston to the clutch lever arm.   Since I lengthened it to take
out the half inch of free play in the slave cylinder (?), I was able to
actually put the car into gear.   Afterwards, the clutch felt pretty close
to normal as I recall.

                The master cylinder is original, I think.   The slave is
new.   No low level of fluid.  No leakage noted.

                Exactly where is the desert are you?

                                      Warmest regards,  Chuck Engles

----- Original Message -----
From: "David & Marilyn Bell" <davidabell at worldnet.att.net>
To: "Charles Engles" <cengles at cox.net>; <detomaso at realbig.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 1:33 PM
Subject: RE: [DeTomaso] Techno question: New clutch & slave adjustment

> Chuck,
>
> If by 'the plunger rod thingie', you are referring to the threaded rod
> that
> connects the slave piston to the clutch lever arm, then that adjustment
> only
> moves the slave piston back and forth in its bore.  Lengthening the rod
> will
> push the piston further into the bore away from the lever arm on the
> bellhousing - but this only will improve the free play at the disk if the
> slave piston was previously bottoming out before it's stroke was
> completed.
> The clutch mechanical linkage is adjustable via a threaded rod at the
> pedal
> or as someone else mentioned by moving the bellhousing lever to a
> different
> position on the splined shaft.  Does your pedal feel like it's engaging at
> the top of its motion or does it move several inches before you feel
> resistance?
>
> Could it be that now that you have a new pressure plate, the stiffer
> springs
> have overpowered your previously marginal slave or master cylinder seals
> (old, maybe?) and one or the other is now circulating fluid internally?
>
>
> Muscat Dave
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com]On
> Behalf Of Charles Engles
> Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 10:21 PM
> To: detomaso at realbig.com
> Subject: [DeTomaso] Techno question: New clutch & slave adjustment
>
> Dear Forum,
>
>
>             I just had a new clutch and pressure plate installed in my
> Pantera and now I have shifting problems.
>
>             The parts are all from PPC in Colorado.  The mechanic knows
> Panteras and has done this job on this car before.   I picked the car up
> this morning and noted that I seemed to have all gears very shortly after
> starting the engine and going only a short distance down the street.  By
> the
> time I had hit the superslab, I couldn't get fourth or fifth gears. Idrove
> it home in third.    I left it at home and went on to the office.
>
>             This evening, I couldn't even get it into any gear.   There
> was
> fluid in the clutch master cylinder.  The free play (?) on the slave
> seemed
> too great, over a half and inch and I adjusted it to 1/16 to 1/8 by
> lengthening the plunger rod thingee.    Then I could shift it into gear.
> A
> very short test drive showed that I had all the gears,  however with a
> longer test drive, fourth and fifth went away again.  The slave cylinder
> area is dry without suspicious fluid.
>
>              Is this still just an adjustment problem with the slave
> cylinder and a brand new clutch?   Should I continue tweaking it to obtain
> full function or is that the wrong approach?
>
>
>                           Road trip on Friday!, Chuck Engles
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
> Archive Search Engine Now Available at http://www.realbig.com/detomaso/
>
> DeTomaso mailing list
> DeTomaso at list.realbig.com
> http://list.realbig.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.14.12/1072 - Release Date:
> 10/15/2007
> 5:55 PM
>
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.14.13/1074 - Release Date:
> 10/16/2007
> 2:14 PM
>
>
>

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.14.13/1074 - Release Date: 10/16/2007
2:14 PM

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.14.13/1074 - Release Date: 10/16/2007
2:14 PM