In car clutch ajustment?

Richard/Ca

Richard/Ca

Senior Member
I know I am going to catch a lot of flack for this but I have looked all over the web. So some one be nice and tell me please. What I need is the pressure plate fingers to bearing clearance and how to measurer it.The car is a 1929 coupe.This clutch and pressure plate are still in the car I think all it needs is adjusting:confused:. Richard/Ca
 
Richard, the clutch adjustment is measured at the clutch pedal. Adjust the clutch pedal so that you have about 1/2 inch of free play at the top of the pedal. You can also look through the inspection hole in the bell housing to ensure that you do not have the throw out bearing spinning when the clutch is not engaged. You might have a bit of a time reinserting the clevis pin on the clutch arm. I have used a small bottle jack to put the clutch arm in place, however, I find a pair of vice grips clamped onto the clutch arm works the best.
 
I don't adjust finger height while everything is still in the vehicle.
If I need to adjust the fingers while still in the car, I just lightly remove the free-play and try to insert a .0015 or .002" feeler strip. I mark the finger that is the tightest [ well, tight] and adjust the others to have an equal drag on the feeler strip.
If there is pedal height issue that is the pressure plate, then I remove it and adjust it on the bench.
 
Richard, the finger adjustment is measured from the back opening of the pressure plate to the fingers. Place a straight edge across the back of the pressure plate and measure the distance from the bottom of the straight edge to the top of the finger. This measurement needs to be equal for each finger. That measurement should be a depth of either 5/8 or 11/16 of an inch. Your issue is the pedal adjustment if you find that the finger measurements are equal and correct. The finger adjustment can be made with the engine in the car but it is not an easy one. Good Luck!!
 
It is possible to adjust the fingers on the pressure plate while installed in the car through the little window on the bell housing, but it is definitely not a fun job. It is best to make this adjustment before the transmission is installed or while the engine is out of the car. You will have to break the swage on each finger post it order to turn the screw and you will have to rotate the engine a number of times to bring the fingers to the top in the window. You will also need some kind of a fixed measuring device.

There is a technical article about the subject that might help you.

Go to the web site of the Santa Anita A's (Arcadia, CA) at santaanitaas.org. On the home page put your cursor on "Technical reference", my name will appear in a window below, click on it. It will bring up a menu of technical articles. Scroll down to "Transmission", then to "pressure Plate Adjustment", and click. The article is a pdf file and you are welcome to download it. A photo shows a tool that was developed to measure the adjustment. You want each finger adjusted between 5\8" and 3\4", 11\16" being nominal, and you want them all the same.

Tom Endy
 
I want thank all of you for great and positive answers. And Tom you gave me just what I needed. I know I should have adjusted it before I put it the car. Like my son says (You pay more attention the second time around right).:(
 
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