The external spring on the slave is not original and very weak. i ordered a new one and should be here soon. I will get it soon. In the meantime, I will check and get a picture of the of the gap.
When I converted mine from self-adjusting to manual-adjusting not long ago I did not make any specific measurements anyplace. I just set the rod length so that the external spring would firmly bottom it out in the slave cylinder when clutch pedal was not applied. I then added a little length to the rod to get a close but clear gap between the TOB and pressure plate. I then set the phone on the ground and took a short video of the slave cylinder during several pushes of the clutch pedal to make sure everything was working smoothly. As you can see I do not much carbon left so my plan is to use the clutch as little as possible and check the gap through the inspection hole often. My phone camera has a good flash so it is pretty easy to check the gap.
David
68 E-type FHC
Well,
Not knowing anything about TOB wear - It looks like the carbon is worn out on mine. I included a picture for the experenced eyes to tell me what they think.
This picture is with the return spring off.
Iām sure everyone will let me know if the picture is not good enough
Looks better than mine and my car still shifts and drives fine. When I discovered how thin mine was that was when I quickly decided to convert to the manual adjusting type to hopefully delay the engine-out scenario as long as possible. Sure wish I had understood earlier about British car carbon TOBās years ago. My other old cars have roller type and I never had thought of any TOB as being a wear item.
David
68 E-type FHC
Iād guesstimate youāve got 40% left.
Not a problem now or anytime soon.
Agree with Geo: ensure you take your foot off the pedal, in between shifts, and NEVER hold the pedal down while stopped and idling.
What you have left should be good for 10,000 to 15,000 more miles.
How do I get more free play or just donāt worry about it?
If you have the requisite 1/8", at the pushrod, yer golden.
I didnāt ask the right question - How do I get more free play at the clutch pedal?
Not sure I understand: are you referencing head space?
Maybe it is just me, but are we going in circles? David L gave a detailed description, but you still ask the question. I will ask you, are you tring to adjust for more free play as described by David, or are you trying to adjust the pedal engagement point? It sounds like the second. The slave rod should be adjusted for the 1/16" free play. Then the pedal engagement point is what it is. The engagement point varies per car, based on the pressure plate and clutch disk wear. If yours engages very near the top of pedal travel, there is a good possibilty that your clutch disk is worn. Or it just may be the way yours is. Some people will adjust excessive free play at the slave to lower the engagement point. But that is not correct. It may cause you to run out of pedal thus pressure plate travel. But if it works for them, fine.
Tom
If the slave return spring is not strong enough, then there wonāt be any free play at the slave and the clutch pedal engagement point will be higher. Make sure the slave spring is adjusted so it creates the free play at the slave.
Once the above is correct, it is what it is. My clutch pedal disengagement point is also high and Iāve simply learned to live with it.
Tom,
You answered the question I was asking poorly. I was asking about the pedal engagement point. If the engagement point is what it is - Iām fine and will be done with trying to adjust it. I will put the new spring on when I receive and make sure I have 1/16 free play on rod and be done with it. Maybe in the future I will have to replace TOB and clutch, but I will not worry about that now. Sorry for the confusion. When I was asking about free play - I should have said pedal engagement point.
Aha!
Once clutch free play has been set down at the slave cylinder, you can then play with the headspace to gain how you want the clutch pedal to feel.
Paul, what are you referring to as āheadspace?ā The pedal rod?
Tom
That is the distance between when the pedal is all the way up, and the actuator rod contacts the piston in the master cylinder.
Ok Jaguar Friends,
I got the return spring today and installed. I feel much better about the new spring. I did not make much difference in the pedal engagement point. I would prefer the pedal engagement be about halfway, but it is almost all the way to the top. However, I am happy about the new spring, because the old spring was very weak in comparision.
Iām feeling it would be best for me to left everything alone at this point and live with it or tackle at a later point when I get more familiar with this e-type.
Thanks for all the help