1600 Mechanical Clutch Problem

[alfa2go]

Well my clutch is giving me a bit of curry lately. It was stuck pretty well a few months back and took quite a bit of coaxing to get it to pop which finally happened with the help of the BB members(thanks!).

Well a few weeks back all of a sudden, 1st and 2nd were near impossible to shift into. It feels like the disk?/flywheel? is spinning too fast to let me slip it into gear. I got underneath and it seemed that with the pedal depressed it wasnt putting much pressure on the pressure plate, so I replaced my clutch cable with a spare as I thought I may have somehow stetched it when I was putting large amounts of pressure on it trying to unstick it previously. Also replaced the pivot arm on the pedal side of the cable as the bushing was shot. Well I guess it was wishful thinking but it seems the problem is worse than this. Any ideas?

I basically cant get it into 1st gear unless I slow the engine to a near stall. I was told the clutch disc looks pretty new, would a stuffed TO bearing do this?

[papajam]

What is the clutch pedal freeplay (should be about 23mm) and the height of the clutch pedal in relation to the brake pedal (should be slightly below)?

[alfa2go]

Hi Jim,
How do you measure that? If you mean how far do I depress the pedal before I feel resistance well it is over 50mm... I guess thats bad. The clutch pedal is slightly below the brake pedal. These are floor mounted pedals. Really am a bit worried I stuffed the fingers on the pressure plate or something.

[papajam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alfa2go Hi Jim, How do you measure that? If you mean how far do I depress the pedal before I feel resistance well it is over 50mm... I guess thats bad.

[alfa2go]

Yep that is the feeling, that the pressure plate is not releasing fully from the disc. Probably dumb question but where and how do I adjust this? I have tightened the cable as much as I can, even tried a few washers in there.

[60sRacer]

The clutch pressure plate has three levers connecting it to the release bearing plate. It sounds like these levers are faulty.

But first, adjust the bolt on the clutch cable to reduce the free play. Then check the range of motion of the clutch from release to full engage.

The clutch pedal shouldn't be below the brake lever. There is a return spring that pulls it back up on the underside of the clutch cover - it runs from the tab on the forward end of the clutch cover to the bolt on the release lever. It needs to be there to keep the release bearing from riding on the pressure plate piece as this will wear out the bakelite washer that was common on these mechanical clutch release bearings. It could be that you've worn down or broken that bit on the release bearing - this would give you all the symptoms you describe.

You'll have to pull the tx to replace the release bearing. Most of us find pulling the entire engine + tx easier than pulling the tx from under the car. Getting the tx off is hard enough, but aligning the drive splines and getting it back on is the BIG problem.

You can inspect the release bearing washer from under the car. Disconnect the clutch cable at the clutch lever - its a special shoulder bolt. You should have the cable, lever, and return spring all connecting at this spot. Then remove the 10 mm nuts that hold the clutch cover on, and re-install the cable. [you can't reinstall the return spring as its other end is on the cover you've removed]. Pull the lever forward by hand and see that the release bearing is a few mm away from the clutch follower plate. This gap is the free play of the clutch pedal - except that the pedal moves farther because of the longer lever arms.

Look carefully at the surface of the bearing where it contacts the follower plate. There should be a washer several mm thick on the bearing, and no metal-to metal contact. I used to have these fail frequently; eventually I machined a washer from delron (nylon) and epoxied it in place on a new release bearing. Lasted decades.

Hope some of this helps.

Robert

[Cintos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alfa2go Well my clutch is giving me a bit of curry lately....Well a few weeks back all of a sudden, 1st and 2nd were near impossible to shift into. It feels like the disk?/flywheel? is spinning too fast to let me slip it into gear. ... I basically cant get it into 1st gear unless I slow the engine to a near stall. I was told the clutch disc looks pretty new, would a stuffed TO bearing do this?

[alfa2go]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cintos So ... did any shifts into 2nd gear at 60 lately?