[DeTomaso] Adjusting Clutch Release Arm and Slave Cylinder
SOBill at aol.com
SOBill at aol.com
Wed Aug 19 20:35:52 EDT 2009
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
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