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Spitfire clutch


John Addy

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Hi, Help needed again down under please. Recently I've had difficulty engaging gears and the clutch pedal goes to the floor. I've re-bled the clutch and inspected for leaks but that doesn't apppear to be the problem. The Haynes Manual says to adjust the clutch pedal - but I don't think that's possible. Any advice please before I take out the gearbox to inspect and replace the clutxch plate etc,

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You can adjust the travel of the master cyl pushrod. you'll see a locknut on the pushrod in front of the master cyl.  don't take all the freeplay out though.
Having said this I doubt that it will help in your case, if the pedal is going to the floor with no resistance it sounds like air in the system or an internal problem with the clutch.
Or you could have fluid getting past the seal in the master cylinder and not allow pressure to build. Have you overhauled / replaced this. ?
Cheers
Tony.

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The adjustable push rods don't appear over here (unless retro-fitted)
Check the slave cylinder is moving properly, will need the gearbox tunnel out to see though. That should tell you if it hydraulics or actual clutch itself. I suspect hydraulics playing up.....

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I had a lot of pedal free play even after replacing all the seals and bleeding several times. Check the piston movement in the master cylinder, by disconnecting the pedal. I found free play there and it turned out to be a broken spring inside the master cylinder. The piston wasn't fully returning when the pedal was released so didn't shift enough fluid to operate the slave properly.

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Thanks guys. You all seem to think the problem lies with the hydraulics rather than the clutch itself. I have read elsewhere in the forum of a suggestion putting a spacer in the slave cylinder effectively extending the pushrod. But first, perhaps a closer inspection of the master cylinder?

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John,
Certainly inspect all externally accessible parts of the clutch operating system before removing the tunnel or gearbox. When checking the master cylinder do not overlook the condition of the eyes where the pedal attaches to the pushrod. Wear in those can lead to a lot of free play between the pedal and the piston in the master cyl. Colin's advise about the pivot pin for the release lever should also be heeded as it is a common failure and sometimes can be easily fixed( other times it means gearbox out :()
                                                                          Good luck,
                                                                          Paul

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Paul, I've had the master cylinder to bits and replaced the seals. There doesn't appear to be any problem with the pedal eye connection. Could you explain more about the release lever pivot pin, as I'm not sure what that is?
A more accurate explanation of the problem - when in gear and with the clutch (pedal) fully depressed, the car is still creeps forward. In other words the clutcxh is not fully disengaged.

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2825 wrote:
Paul, I've had the master cylinder to bits and replaced the seals. There doesn't appear to be any problem with the pedal eye connection. Could you explain more about the release lever pivot pin, as I'm not sure what that is?
A more accurate explanation of the problem - when in gear and with the clutch (pedal) fully depressed, the car is still creeps forward. In other words the clutcxh is not fully disengaged.


That's exactly what I had with the broken M/C spring.

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2825 wrote:
Paul, I've had the master cylinder to bits and replaced the seals. There doesn't appear to be any problem with the pedal eye connection. Could you explain more about the release lever pivot pin, as I'm not sure what that is?
A more accurate explanation of the problem - when in gear and with the clutch (pedal) fully depressed, the car is still creeps forward. In other words the clutcxh is not fully disengaged.


Then its the slave cylinder that needs pushing further in on its clamp
You may have to grind a bit of the shoulder of the slave to do this
The pin is sat in the slave then pushe s the clevis forward in the bell housing that then operates the clutch
If the pin is not reaching the clevis enough then that will allow the creep
By pushing the slave further forward ,it shortens the travel of the pin ,hence allowing full operation of the clutch
This can only be remedied by removing tunnel and viewing the slave
However you can see the pin operation by removing the starter motor and look in side the orifice and you will see the pin move when pedal depressed. By puttin fingers in the starter orifice you can feel if there is too much play/waggle without operating the pedal    

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John,
A Spitfire has a pin that the release arm pivots on inserted into the off side of the bellhousing. The hole for it is nearly obscured by the bulkhead and gearbox tunnel. The pin is intended to be gripped by a wavy spring steel bit called the tolerance ring which fits in the release arm. When the tolerance ring goes slack it no longer holds the pin which then drops out the lower hole in the bellhousing. The result is the release lever moves about some at the end opposite the slave cylinder rather than pushing the release bearing.
                                                                         All the best,
                                                                         Paul

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junkuser wrote:
What a neat, complete, precise description Paul!


Thank you. I do try. Sometimes I succeed ;D.
                                               Cheers,
                                               Paul

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