[DeTomaso] Adjusting Clutch Release Arm and Slave Cylinder

[SOBill at aol.com]

FWIW, here is how I do  it:

Put the ebrake on or chock the wheels. Put the car in neutral. Start  the 
engine.

The reason we are running the engine is so we can readily  feel the release 
bearing touch the pressure plate release  fingers.

Disconnect the return spring at the slave cylinder. Be careful,  that 
sucker can bite your fingers. Use Vise Grips. Remove the pin connecting the  
clutch slave cylinder rod to the clutch release  arm. 
Verify the  release arm position:

Move the  release  arm rearward until you feel the throwout bearing come to 
a stop against   the pressure plate release fingers. The contact of the 
throwout bearing with the  clutch release fingers will be quite distinct. On 
later cars, the release lever  should move freely. On early cars, there is a 
spring inside the bell housing  which acts to retract the throw out bearing 
and this spring makes it more  difficult to move the lever (Vise Grips can 
assist here, also). When the  throwout bearing contacts the clutch release 
fingers, the release arm should be slightly forward of straight  up so that it 
will go thru straight up when the clutch is being released.  If the release 
arm is not forward of straight up, mark the release arm  and  the shaft with 
a position reference line, remove the arm from the  shaft,  rotate the arm 
one spline forward, and reinstall the arm. The purpose of  this positioning 
of the release arm is to ensure that the slave cylinder piston  travel moves 
the release arm thru the maximum distance when the clutch pedal is  pressed 
Set the throwout bearing  freeplay: 
With the release arm  correctly positioned, move the clutch release lever 
by hand until you feel the  throwout bearing touch the pressure plate release 
fingers. Note the gap between  the release lever return stop bolt and the 
return stop plate. With the throwout  bearing in contact with the clutch 
release fingers, adjust the release lever  return stop bolt to remove as much of 
the gap as you like. This can be done with  the engine running so that the 
above step can be repeated. Whatever gap you do  not remove with the stop 
bolt, will be the approximate freeplay of the throwout  bearing and the 
pressure plate release fingers. There must be some freeplay or  your throwout 
bearing will spin at crankshaft speed all the time and die an  early death. 
Remember that things expand as they get hot.

This method  works with whatever clutch/pressure plate/throwout bearing is 
actually installed  on your car. 
Set the slave cylinder piston  position:

With the release arm position and the throwout bearing freeplay  correctly 
set, push the slave cylinder rod fully into the slave cylinder until  it 
stops moving. Pull the slave cylinder rod out of the slave cylinder about 1/8  
inch. .Adjust the length of the slave cylinder rod so the hole in the slave  
cylinder rod and the hole in the release arm is aligned. Install the pin  
connecting the slave cylinder rod to the release arm. Adjusting the slave  
cylinder shaft length controls the position of the piston inside the slave  
cylinder. The piston position is adjusted so full travel of the slave  piston 
is available to release the clutch. 
Carefully install the release  arm return spring.
 
More works than work; twenty minutes max.
 
Have fun,
 
SOBill  Taylor
sobill at aol.com