[DeTomaso] Clutch effort reduction redo...

[Asa Jay Laughton]

Nice job Chuck. 
Good video too.

Asa Jay

Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired

& Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA

1973 Pantera L 5533
[ASASCAT]
    
******************************     
http://www.asajay.com
http://www.351c.info
  



ProvaMo.com wrote:
> Mike,
>
> If you needed some details on the Clutch Effort Reduction Kit, and how it
> "SHOULD" work, I created a page a while back, although I may add one of your
> photos if that is OK?
>
> The current page even has a VIDEO of correct operation!
>
> http://www.provamo.com/Members/TechInfo/ClutchEffortReductionKit.asp
>
>
> Sometimes you DO like to make things more difficult that they need to be!
>
> Chuck
>
> Hey guys,
>
> I've let numerous people drive my Pantera over the years, and to a man 
> they've all said, "Nice car!   But, your clutch SUCKS!"
>
> And suck it did.   The whole thing was new, a McLeod three-finger
> replacement 
> clutch with Kevlar disc from Pantera Performance Center, actuated by one of 
> PPC's McLeod internal hydraulic throwout bearing.   It was supposed to be Da
>
> Bomb, but it was a bomb all right....it sucked!
>
> My car has the clutch effort reduction kit, which is supposed to introduce a
>
> non-linear clutch response.   It actually raises initial effort as you start
>
> to depress the pedal, then as you go over-center, the effort drops down,
> making 
> it easier to hold the pedal to the floor at stoplights etc.
>
> Anyway, my car didn't behave particularly well.   You would depress the 
> clutch, put the car in gear, then slowly lift your foot off the floor, and
> lift and 
> lift and lift....and nothing would happen.   Then right at the top of the 
> pedal travel, all of a sudden the clutch would grab RIGHT NOW.
>
> The clutch engagement was exactly at the most critical point in the clutch 
> linkage curve, where there was the most clutch motion for a given amount of 
> pedal movement.   The total pedal movement from fully engaged to fully
> disengaged 
> was probably no more than an inch, making for some very tricky maneuvering 
> when leaving from a stop.   More often than not I'd have to rev the nuts off
> of 
> the car, slipping the clutch like a two-stroke dirt bike to get under way 
> without stalling.
>
> I've whined about this to Dennis Quella off and on for years.   Finally this
>
> year in Las Vegas, I remembered it, and lassoed him and put him into my car 
> and had him operate the clutch.   Without even running the engine, he said, 
> "This clutch SUCKS!"
>
> Well, thanks for that...but what do I do about it?
>
> "I have a feeling the main component of your clutch effort reduction kit was
>
> installed backwards," he said.
>
> Huh?   I thought that piece was shaped like a simple "T"?   That's what it 
> looks like in the parts book anyway?
>
> http://www.panterasbywilkinson.com/webpages/catalog/ill8b.html
>
> Nope, it turns out that this piece is irregularly shaped and has a distinct 
> orientation.   Dennis said he'd send me a diagram, and true to his word,
> after 
> I reminded him a few weeks later, Becky e-mailed it to me.
>
> I did what I normally do when faced with a maintenance issue--I ignored it 
> for weeks.   Finally, today, I got a wild hair and decided to examine under
> my 
> dash, and lo and behold, the piece was installed backwards!   Eureka!
>
> Oh, wait.   This whole thing is kept together with a bunch of tiny snap 
> rings, none of which are easily accessed.   And I'm not willing to start
> chopping 
> bloody great holes in the car for a once-in-a-lifetime maintenance fix.
> So, I 
> rolled up my sleeves (well, it was hot here today, so I was wearing shorts 
> and a T-shirt, but I figuratively rolled up my sleeves) and went to work.
>
> The clutch master is bolted to the pedal support bracket (plate), and the 
> effort reduction kit is supported on a pin opposite the one that supports
> the 
> throttle pedal.   The only way to address the situation was to slide the
> pedal 
> support bracket forward a few inches, which would give the requisite access.
>
> Doing so is a non-trivial affair, however.   Sure, some of the fasteners are
>
> simple nylock nuts on studs.   Those are a breeze (except for the one that 
> comes to touch the clutch master reservoir; the nut can't be removed off the
> stud 
> until the plate is moved forward a bit).   However, there are three
> fasteners 
> that are simple bolts, meaning one person has to be on the outside turning a
>
> wrench, while the other person has to be upside down, under the dash,
> holding 
> another wrench.
>
> As I was one people short, I had to go into McGyver mode to figure out how
> to 
> do both jobs at once.   I couldn't get any forward motion with the brake 
> booster/master still attached, so I had to detach the brake lines from the
> master 
> and unbolt the booster, remove the pedal pin and remove the assembly. 
> Eventually I was able to get the plate broken free (you have to remove the
> gas pedal 
> also) and slid it forward a few inches.
>
> Getting the snap rings off to turn the offending piece around wasn't easy,
> as 
> my smallest snap ring pliers were still too big.   A bit of quality time at 
> the bench grinder sorted them out, but then one of the snap rings simply
> went 
> missing.   I set it down, and it moved by itself to places unknown.
>
> So I had to dash to the Ace Hardware to get replacements, and it turns out 
> there was a monthly cruise night at the Fosters Freeze next door, so I spent
> an 
> hour or more checking out hot rods and cruisers and drag cars, before 
> returning home to finish the job.
>
> I got everything buttoned up, bolted up, got behind the wheel triumphantly, 
> depressed the pedal....
>
> ...and it wouldn't move.   So, I pushed it harder, and then with a clunk it 
> went down about an inch, stopped, then with more pressure, continued to the 
> bottom of its travel.
>
> Huh?
>
> I cycled the clutch several times, and it was the same each time.   Enormous
>
> effort, a little movement until it hit a stop, then more movement.
>
> I had no idea that simply flipping this piece around would so adversely 
> affect the clutch action.   With disgust, I made my way into the house to
> ponder 
> the situation.
>
> Then the big A-ha hit me.   As one who routinely advocates RTFM, I had
> failed 
> this simple task.   I remembered that the TSBs have a specification for the 
> clutch master cylinder rod length when the effort reduction kit is
> installed, 
> so I dug mine out and there it was--2.91 to 2.95 inches.
>
> What was mine?   I had no clue, but I suspected it was probably longer.
>
> The only practical way to adjust the pushrod length to a given measurement
> is 
> to remove the master cylinder, which meant completely undoing everything I 
> had done earlier.
>
> Hooray.
>
> Fortunately I had learned a few lessons along the way, and round about 
> midnight, I had the plate out again.   I disconnected the pin which let the
> pushrod 
> clevis free from the linkage, unbolted the master from the plate, then
> pushed 
> the plate back in position.   My clutch line has enough flex room to let me 
> move it around without disconnecting it, so I was then able to get a 
> measurement, and determine that in fact the rod was too long.   I chose to
> set it to the 
> shortest end of the spectrum, 2.91 inches, and then got everything buttoned
> up 
> again.
>
> Now, the clutch seems to be working properly for the first time since I got 
> the car back from Vermont in 1995.   It still doesn't impress me too much,
> and 
> there is still a hell of a squeak coming from the fingers/springs in the 
> pressure plate, but it does feel much better than before I started this
> project.
>
> I haven't hooked up the brake lines yet, so I decided not to start the
> engine 
> to fully ops-test it yet.   I quit working around 1:45 a.m.
>
> I have to tell you that one-man 
> removal/installation/removal/installation/removal/installation of the brake
> booster, clutch master and booster/master 
> mounting plate is among the most miserable jobs you can do on a Pantera.   I
> feel 
> like I'm now the world's foremost authority on the subject, and I really
> wish I 
> wasn't!
>
> As always, what should have been a fairly straightforward process turned
> into 
> an epic battle.   My car is the most combative Pantera on the planet, as 
> anybody who has ever worked on it will attest.   Absolutely every obstacle
> that 
> you can imagine will present itself, often more than one time!   But this
> time, 
> I think I've got it licked.
>
> Here's a few photos taken during the course of the project....
>
> http://members.aol.com/mikeldrew/ClutchLinkageFix.jpg
>
> Mike
>
> P.S.   One bummer associated with this project--a neighbor stopped by for a 
> few minutes just as I was finishing the first install.   I depressed the
> clutch 
> pedal to test it, and as I did the car started rolling backwards.   
> Instinctively I jammed on the brake pedal, and since the master was
> disconnected and 
> the lines were pointing straight up, two geysers of brake fluid shot high
> into 
> the air.   I freaked out, but he said that all the fluid had landed on the 
> trash bags that I had used to line the front trunk.   He mopped it up with
> paper 
> towels and chocked the wheels, and work continued.
>
> After he left, I had gone into the house, but my Little Voice forced me to
> go 
> back in the garage and check, and I was horrified to see that brake fluid
> had 
> showered the outside of the front hood, and numerous streaks could be seen 
> running the full length of the hood.
>
> AAGGGHHH!!!
>
> I grabbed the Windex and a new cotton shop towel, and quickly scrubbed the 
> brake fluid off.   I gave the hood several runs with Windex, then one
> scrubbing 
> with straight Simple Green, and a final Windex wipe.
>
> I think, I THINK that I got to it before any long-term damage was done, but 
> it's too soon to tell.   Only after the car is brought into the sunlight
> will 
> any flaws be revealed.   I really hope that it's okay...thankfully the car
> had 
> a good coat of wax on it.   I will need to wax the hood again for sure--but 
> since the car is covered with bugs from my last dusk drive around Lake 
> Berryessa, I'll give it a good wash and wax once I get the brakes hooked up
> and 
> bled....
>
>
>
>
>
>
> **************
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>       
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