I know there has been a lot of discussion on the forum about clutch master and slave cylinders and their adjustment. This got me to wondering about mine. I have always been a little paranoid about having that magical 1/16 inch adjustment which I never seemed to be able to measure or achieve. I think I may be over compensating. Anyway, this got me to wondering if I am being two conservative in my slave adjustment. Can someone look at the pictures I have attached and tell me if I should be closing up this gap between the bearing and pressure plate. Thanks
I am absolutely stunned at the ridiculous amount of discussion and hand-wringing lately over this perfectly simple and trivial adjustment!
There are TWO, and ONLY TWO, things that matter:
-
When the clutch pedal is fully depressed, the clutch is FULLY released, so gears can be selected with no “graunching”.
-
When the clutch pedal is released, there is SOME freeplay in the clutch fork, so the carbon throwout bearing is NOT in contact with the pressure plate.
NOTHING else matters. The amount of free play does not matter as long as the above two conditions are met. 1/16-1/8" is merely a recommendation, it is not carved in stone. It is not in any way a critical adjustment! There is motivation to provide as much freeplay as possible, while still meeting the two conditions, to lengthen the interval between adjustments. But, otherwise, it simply does not matter.
3 Likes
Phil,
Your photo suggests that you have more than enough free play, but as Ray says the more you have the less frequently you need to adjust it so, provided you can still fully release the clutch with the pedal to the floor, you are ahead of the game. When I check/adjust mine I’m looking for a “tad”, or even a “smidge” if I’m lucky, of free play. I never measure it - just do it by feel. Either is enough to make me happy.
More free play means more pedal travel before release. As long as there is some free play, the TO not touching all the time, and the gears not graunching, then I’d go with what feels best for you.
Thanks for the responses! I was seeing very little gap in some of the other photos posted and thought perhaps I was being too conservative. Also, all the threads regarding problems with clutches got me a little paranoid. I find the gear shifting is fine with just a little crunching when going into reverse after a long hot drive ( I may be a little impatient putting it into reverse in these instances as well😊).
I’ll leave well enough alone!!
Again, all the responses were appreciated.
Cheers
This is quite normal.
This thread inspired me to get under my recently acquired '71 and give it a dab of paint on the edge of the throw-out bearing.
Now I have a benchmark for future examinations.
I suppose I am also a bit paranoid as the engine in my '69 had to come out early in my ownership because a severely worn TOB - most likely attributable to a PO who did not attend to that simple adjustment.