Adjsting The Clutch Plate

Bob Grieb

Bob Grieb

Senior Member
I want to adjust the clutch plate so that it will increase the space between the flywheel and the disk. I have no adjustment on the pedal and the clutch plate is not disengaging enough to make shifting a little easier. There are six adjusting screws that I can get to through the inspection plate. The question I have is which direction do I turn the adjusting screws the cause the clutch to disengage sooner.

I appreciate your responses.

Thanks

Bob
 
You want all 6 fingers to be 5/8" to 11/16" from the pressure plate top when it's clamped to the flywheel with the clutch disc in place. Make sure all 6 levers are even. Any clutch release adjustment is made ONLY at the adjusting rod.

There are some things that can cause a clutch to not release:
Torn lining which has bunched up
Rusty or damage input shaft splines, so the disc doesn't easily slide on them
Cracked or broken levers on the release shaft
 
The pressure plate and disk are relatively new. I need to get the fingers closer to 11/16. My clutch is engaging about one inch off the floorboard. The disengagement is not sufficient to allow shifting from second to third without the grinding the gear.
 
Have you screwed the trunion nut down the threads of the adjustment rod? To take up too much freeplay you need to shorten the distance from the trunion to the pivot end of the rod. In other words, pull the pin and screw the rod up into the trunion.
 
I have no adjustment left. If I screw it in any further I cannot get the clevis pin in. That is why I wanted to adjust the plate fingers.
 
You may have to do some prying to get the clevis pin in.. Did this happen all of a sudden or has it 'snuck' up over the years ?? Also check the arm for cracks.. Try all the external stuff before going 'in'.. Changing the finger height can be done in the car,,but,, is a real PITA to get them all within .002".. Its a lot easier when everything is sitting on a bench which a real job just to get everything to that bench.. Rather than try to measure every finger I cut a chunk of round stock to the diameter/height I want and just set them to that [on the bench]..
 
"You may have to do some prying to get the clevis pin in.. "

I have always needed to use a bit of persuasion to get the clevis pin into place. Seems to me that it isn't adjusted correctly if you don't have to work at it a bit to get the pin in.
Dave
 
Patrick L. said:
You may have to do some prying to get the clevis pin in.. Did this happen all of a sudden or has it 'snuck' up over the years ?? Also check the arm for cracks.. Try all the external stuff before going 'in'.. Changing the finger height can be done in the car,,but,, is a real PITA to get them all within .002".. Its a lot easier when everything is sitting on a bench which a real job just to get everything to that bench.. Rather than try to measure every finger I cut a chunk of round stock to the diameter/height I want and just set them to that [on the bench]..
Click to expand...

Patrick, I have always been told that the fingers need to be adjusted with the pressure plate installed on the flywheel. This would mean that you would have to have the entire engine on the bench. Is this what you mean when you say "on the bench"?
 
Bob, What I do to take all the free play out, using a large vise grip to pull all the spring tension out of the lower arm as it comes out of the transmission.....then you are really adjusting the true free play.... My clutch engages and disengages about an inch off the floor....that is proper...as it wears it will move up, so low is proper. I have a new clutch, disk and it is snug as it should be.
 
Bob, what I am saying is DO Not adjust the clutch pressure plate.. just use the adjusting rod that attaches to your brake pedal...... but do take the free play out before you try to insert the clevis pin.

Joel
 
If you have no more adjustment remaining then you have something else wrong.....I would hate to think about it, but adjust ing the clutch while in the car is not any practice I have ever heard of...but worth checking the installed height...it is supposed to be 11/16" .... I think I would replace it with a known good one if it is not proper height....I have a junk one that came out of the box with poor adjustment.
 
A factory rebuilt clutch pressure plate is done with a jig and the rebuilder uses a pressure gauge on the arms to adjust all the arms to the exact same tension....if you just adjust by height you have the chance of getting the pressure off by a few pounds tension and you will burn the flywheel and the clutch pressure face....and cause a chatter.
 
Thanks for all the responses. I was afraid to take all the play out of the rod. After reading a number of your posts I shortend the rod by turning it in rod in 3 revolutions. The clutch now disengages quite a bit sooner. Iam in the process of replacing the shifting tower. When I finish that I will take it for a spin and report back. It is a new clutch and pressure plate.

Thanks for all the help

Bob
 
700rpm,, nope not quite.. I've adjusted finger height or I guess I should say finger contact while the clutch was still in the car.. I just mark each finger and rotate the engine/flywheel/clutch [sparklers removed] while using a long feeler strip [ .0015 or .002"] until the loose fingers have a pretty good drag on the feeler strip while the tight fingers of course make contact with the bearing.. This is only done when there is a clutch chatter.. The finger height could be altered in a similar manner but I'd prefer to remove the clutch.. To change/check the height of all the fingers,, I remove the flywheel from the engine.. The flywheel then goes to the bench and the clutch re-installed.. Rather than measure the finger height I cut a piece of round stock to the height/diameter I want [ 5/8 or 11/16"] and then adjust each finger to as even a 'drag ' on the round stock that I can feel [which comes out more accurate and faster than measuring to within .002"].. I found out the hard way [as in everything I do] that new pressure plate fingers are not adjusted very accurately.. Which ever way I do this I go 'around the plate' several times either working the release bearing or tapping on the fingers to make sure they 're-set' themselves correctly every time .. Then I try to re-stack them as well as cleaning them and giving them a couple drops of lock-tite.. Does this make sense ?? If not,, let me know..
 
Patrick L. said:
700rpm,, nope not quite.. I've adjusted finger height or I guess I should say finger contact while the clutch was still in the car.. I just mark each finger and rotate the engine/flywheel/clutch [sparklers removed] while using a long feeler strip [ .0015 or .002"] until the loose fingers have a pretty good drag on the feeler strip while the tight fingers of course make contact with the bearing.. This is only done when there is a clutch chatter.. The finger height could be altered in a similar manner but I'd prefer to remove the clutch.. To change/check the height of all the fingers,, I remove the flywheel from the engine.. The flywheel then goes to the bench and the clutch re-installed.. Rather than measure the finger height I cut a piece of round stock to the height/diameter I want [ 5/8 or 11/16"] and then adjust each finger to as even a 'drag ' on the round stock that I can feel [which comes out more accurate and faster than measuring to within .002"].. I found out the hard way [as in everything I do] that new pressure plate fingers are not adjusted very accurately.. Which ever way I do this I go 'around the plate' several times either working the release bearing or tapping on the fingers to make sure they 're-set' themselves correctly every time .. Then I try to re-stack them as well as cleaning them and giving them a couple drops of lock-tite.. Does this make sense ?? If not,, let me know..
Click to expand...

Patrick

Thanks for your input. I ended up adjusting the external rod and improved the clutch diengagement. I just took a test drive and it performed well

Bob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top