Worn Clutch Z Bar
- Thread starter GuysMonteSS
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There is no pedal stop.
I dont think that I am putting enough pressure with the little spring I used to affect the throwout bearing.
I believe there is still free play in the pedal but I may jack it up tomorrow and get underneath and check to make sure.
I took it for a drive today and it is shifting good and the pedal feels good.
Guy
My pedal is solid. No slop. By having the pedal retracted all the way back I can then adjust the free-play to what I want. I like a good 3/4 to 1" of free-play before I can detect contact. I use my hand to feel for this as my foot is not so sensitive. Then I like total clutch release long before the pedal gets near the floor. I hate a pedal that goes to the floor before the clutch is disengaged. No room for error. That is why I drilled a new hole in my Z-bar to re-locate the upper clutch push-rod. That changed the geometry just enough to get the pedal away from the floor. See the springs I use.
Guy,
Here is a stock reply I have about clutch return spring.
The main thing you need the return spring to do, is pull the clutch pedal against the stop, and hold the fork and throwout bearing away from the pressure plate fingers.
Any spring that does that consistently will work.
When using one spring, pull from the fork toward the front of the vehicle. And make sure, the pedal is against the stop and the spring is stretched. The spring will stretch more when the pedal is stretched.
The reason you want the spring stretched with the pedal up, is so it won't jump off when the pedal slams the pedal stop.
Now without a pedal stop it is hard if not impossible to get a consistent clutch adjustment and have the pedal height correct. It is the starting point for clutch adjustment.
It doesn't take a fancy pedal stop on these cars. Just a flat piece of steel attached to the hanger bracket.
Russ
Here is a stock reply I have about clutch return spring.
The main thing you need the return spring to do, is pull the clutch pedal against the stop, and hold the fork and throwout bearing away from the pressure plate fingers.
Any spring that does that consistently will work.
When using one spring, pull from the fork toward the front of the vehicle. And make sure, the pedal is against the stop and the spring is stretched. The spring will stretch more when the pedal is stretched.
The reason you want the spring stretched with the pedal up, is so it won't jump off when the pedal slams the pedal stop.
Now without a pedal stop it is hard if not impossible to get a consistent clutch adjustment and have the pedal height correct. It is the starting point for clutch adjustment.
It doesn't take a fancy pedal stop on these cars. Just a flat piece of steel attached to the hanger bracket.
Russ
Thanks.
My pedal well go up probably a couple of inches with absolutely no clutch contact at all.
It sounds like I have mine set up very similar to what you are describing.
Before I fixed the Z Bar,there was so much play that you had to push the pedal hard to the floor to get it to release.
Now it works like it should.
I only have one spring at the fork,like the silver one in your picture.
The other spring that I just put at the pedal to firewall does much like the brown spring you show.
Guy
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Thanks.
There has never been a stop on mine since I have owned it.
When the big block and 5 speed was put in this car in the eighties,it was likely done somewhat crudely by homegrown mechanics.
Or in other words,it was bastardised and McGyvered just to get it to work.
Some things I have fixed,others I continue to pick at.
I do have one spring from the fork to the front,attached to a header tube.
I think that my approach is going to work.
From the couple of short drives I've been on,it seems to be working great.
Guy
Russ, I do understand what you are saying about the throwout bearing.
I will jack the Monte up and double check to make sure that I do not have the TOB gap closed up..
I think that the spring that I have from the clutch fork to the header tube should keep the throwout bearing from rubbing on the pressure plate.
Guy
I got underneath the Monte today,and sure enough the spring I had on the clutch pedal was just enough to take up the TOB clearance
That spring came off.
Guess it will be staying like that.
Guy
That is how it is "supposed" to work. Old cars had the spring at the pedal and assumed that when the pedal came back, all the linkage followed and the TOB was not touching the PP fingers. But remember that old cars had a huge amount of room under the dash and the pedal travel was so great that pulling the pedal back was all you needed. If you ever drove a 50's car pushing the clutch pedal was hard on your leg and it felt like the travel was measured in feet. Now we have our era cars where there is minimal amount of room and pedal travel is restricted. So all the slop in the system adds up and the pedal coming all the way up may not be enough to get the TOB clear. Don't forget the geometry at play. An inch of pedal travel equals only a fraction of an inch at the TOB. It is that way to get the mechanical advantage to compress the PP springs without needing a gorilla leg to push the clutch pedal. That is why even the factory used a return spring at the clutch fork to make sure the TOB was not touching. I just took it a step further.
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Thanks for all the help.
Hopefully I have it all straightened out and it works OK.
Today will be the big test.The wife and I are going out for a 5-6 hour drive and its going to be a beautiful day for it.
I will update tonight !!
Guy
Hopefully I have it all straightened out and it works OK.
Today will be the big test.The wife and I are going out for a 5-6 hour drive and its going to be a beautiful day for it.
I will update tonight !!
Guy
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