Final Clutch Setup

[Poppy1969]

Hello. I completed my clutch setup. Below is a link to a video showing my clutch being engaged. Let me know if this looks good. I think it looks fine to me but this being my first clutch setup on a 2A I have no frame of reference. Before the first engagement you see the clutch slave cylinder free play with the throw out bearing separation shown to be about 1/16". The first time I depress and release the clutch I think it makes sense that the separation does not come back. All the free play has been taken. Now maybe it is just me but when I then depress the clutch subsequent times I seem to see much more throw out bearing action. Anyhow let me know if you have any opinions.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/j4TQiEAsJ14

Not sure if it will give a link to click. If you copy the above link in your browser and it should work.

Cheers, Tom

[rejeep]

very same situation as you... haven't quite figured it out yet..
feels like it needs more push rod length or the pedal height isn't adjusted properly..

[loose gravel]

Tom, I would think if you had further throw on subsequent pushes it would mean air in the system. ???

[Poppy1969]

Tom, I would think if you had further throw on subsequent pushes it would mean air in the system. ???

That is not what I meant. Sorry for the confusion. What I see is if I take the clutch slave cylinder lever that attaches to the slave cylinder pushrod and push it up into the slave cylinder I can then via the inspection cover push back the freeplay on the top hat shaped throw out bearing. This is what I think is the freeplay setup on the slave cylinder side of the assembly. The clutch lever and slave cylinder pushrod will only allow enough movement that the hydraulic fluid compression will allow referred back to the master cylinder. The freeplay is adjusted by rotating the slave cylinder pushrod. When I then watch the top hat while I depress the clutch the first time I can see the top hat move and take up the freeplay space and from there actuate the clutch. That first movement of the top hat pushing looks like less motion than if I depress the clutch again. When the clutch is then released that first time and the clutch cover springs do all the work to push the top hat back it does not push push back to the freeplay position. The top hat stays in contact with the cover but obviously not under any pressure. If you watch the video it starts with the freeplay shown at the tophat. Then I depress the clutch a few more times. Anyhow I think this is one of those times where it is hard to explain in words the visual observation. I think today I will investigate how the Haynes manual describes the adjustment of the slave cylinder. Not via the inspection cover. They say to depress the clutch fully and then check a 3/16” distance between the bottom of the slave cylinder piston and the retaining circlip under the rubber boot that keeps the piston from being pushed too far. I suppose this would impact clutch actuation at the top hat for sure if I am hitting the circlip. In the end I still think I see a correct clutch actuation. I think the tophat movement I see is more than adequate. I have further scoured the internet trying to find a post that confirms how much the tophat is supposed to move if properly setup. No luck so far. Still hoping that someone here will confirm how much the tophat is supposed to move via the inspection cover. Cheers. Tom

[Poppy1969]

very same situation as you... haven't quite figured it out yet..
feels like it needs more push rod length or the pedal height isn't adjusted properly..

Hi Rejeep. I think my pedal height is correct. I actually did an experiment yesterday and raised the pedal height 1/2” expecting more hydraulic fluid movement would translate to more clutch actuation. To my surprise that was no the case. Might need to think about this more but I suspect that the slave cylinder is limited no matter how much more fluid is pushed. It does maybe suggest that I need to make sure the 3/16” distance between the slave cylinder piston and the retaining circlip is correct. This would be one reason why more pedal travel might not make a difference. I think this is why pedal height is part of the setup. The pedal travel is partly responsible to not bottom out the clutch slave cylinder piston. I will be investigating that today. The longer pushrod could help but there is a limit between how much this can increase slave cylinder hydraulic movement and the freeplay necessary in the slave cylinder setup. You have to be careful with accidentally eliminating the freeplay and inherently then having a riding the clutch situation which could cause early wear to the tophat throwout bearing. Part of my investigation so far was that with no fluid in the system I pushed the slave cylinder piston up as far as possible with a chop stick and then verified the slave cylinder pushrod maximum length to where the top hat was just in contact with the clutch cover. This length was measured to the bottom of the clevis pin that treads into the bottom of the slave cylinder pushrod. This length came out to about 4.25”. Very close to the 4.125” length posted online in several places. So I think my pushrod length is correct. Cheers. Tom

[Poppy1969]

Hi All. Final update on mission clutch adjustment. I checked the 3/16 space on the slave cylinder piston to circlip and it was not close at all. I think I was at least 3/4”. So I did the adjust to 3/16 and nothing had changed on my top hat travel. I think I am going to call this job done and see what happens when I actually drive the first time. Fingers crossed. At this point I do not see anything else that might increase tophat travel. If that is even necessary. I showed my video to a friend who has been able to observe many 100’s of throwout bearings on many different cars as a mechanic and he thinks my travel is more than adequate. Well I will post an update when I see how it actually shifts and works when the truck is running. I am guessing another 4 weeks until then. Now on to bleeding the brakes. Cheers. Tom

[loose gravel]

I'm holding my breath...........