Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Cool that's a relief, new pushrod and cylinder overhaul and you're back in business. One question, is there a reason why you couldn't have relieved the circlip that holds the cylinder in place, which would have moved back thereby freeing the pushrod?

Robert

Hi Robert

The circlip was jammed in it's groove pressed up against the gearbox boss because of the force being exerted by the release lever. I could get circlip pliers onto it but not shift it. Cutting the pushrod was easiest, if I can't get another I can always make one from a length of studding.

Well, I suspected the pushrod would be jammed & holding the clutch, but not the cause.

Thanks for the feedback, it all goes into the learning curve (sometimes never to be found again ! ). I'm just glad it wasn't one of the more serious suggestions about broken clutches, etc, which did seem to fit the bill as well.

When your foot is off the clutch the return spring on the slave cylinder should return the slave cylinder piston to the bottom of the bore and the excess fluid should return to the reservoir.

You would then get a very long travle to disengage the clutch and be forced to redjust the the clutch arm rod.

For some reason your piston appears to have siezed in the outer end of the slave cylinder during the setup and operation and then fianlyy pushed out. I would also check the clutch master cylinder and pedal adjustment to ensure the valve in the end of the master cylinder is releasing when the clutch pedal is released

The lesson is always wonder why your adjustment ends up at one end of the available range.

cheers
Rohan

Final update ? we are now mobile again.

Rohan ? my problem was that the push rod was set so far out that the return spring could not push the piston all the way back down the cylinder. Apart from that the clutch operation was fine but obviously living on borrowed time.

The final conclusion is that I had not set the push rod correctly. Reading both the WSM and the Buckland bible it is not entirely clear, at least not to me.

What I have done is having temporarily removed the return spring and ensuring that the slave cylinder piston is at the bottom of the cylinder the release lever should be positioned so that the release bearing is just in contact with the clutch diaphragm spring. Then set the adjusting nut on the push rod to give the required 2 mm clearance.

The WSM says set the clearance ?after the pedal has returned the full length of it?s travel.? I read that as meaning that the release arm was probably touching the front face of the gearbox.

Mr Buckland?s bible was more helpful in that it gave me the clue by saying ?if no clearance the continuously running release bearing will lead to it?s own early failure.?

This time there is a lot of thread between the lock nut and the slave piston and I am confident that the piston will not escape again.

So, have I set it correctly this time?