Clutch arm clearance

[worzel]

Hi

Apologies if answer seems b******g obvious but assuming the following-

no air in system
no undue wear/play at pedal fulcrum
no ballooning of hose

I find it's possible to achieve correct bite point on the clutch pedal only by reducing the clearance at the clutch arm to virtually zero (ie a lot less than the manual's figure of 80 thou). Clutch is about 1500 miles old (fitted around 15 months ago)

Would it be reasonable to deduce the problem probably lies within the hydraulics themselves- I've had the car since 78 and the master and slave cylinders are originals (but re-rubbered a few times).

Time to replace with new? I know theoretically with no bore scoring cylinders can be overhauled but what's the general opinion- surely the metal walls must be worn by now.

Regards

John

[oldelanman]

Hi John,
Scored or worn cylinders would cause fluid leaks and/or sticking pistons but not loss of travel which is what you seem to have, I suspect you still have air in the system.
Check that the pedal travel is not being limited by the carpet and felt and then see how much slave cylinder pushrod travel you are getting for a full stroke of the pedal. I did some checks a while ago and on my car I get 19mm travel on the slave pushrod for full pedal travel - yours may be a bit different of course and some claim to have as much as 25mm. If you find limited travel, see if it increases if you pump the pedal which would indicated air in the system.
Hope this helps.
Regards,

[Robbie693]

Hi John,

I recently replaced the slave on Plus 2, the previous having failed after 3 years and less than 2000 miles. I had a hell of a job bleeding it, tried suction bleeding, pressure bleeding, drip bleeding and conventional bleeding and the only way I could get the bite point anywhere near correct was to wedge the pedal down overnight and it magically bled itself! I suggest you give it a try as there may be a tiny amount of air in there.

Alternatively is the release arm bent in any way?

As far as keeping and refurbishing the old parts, based on my experience I'd say definitely yes - if it's possible to get them sleeved or whatever. The new ones just don't seem to last. Could be the rubbers' quality of course but I do wish I'd kept my old ones that I replaced.

I believe Classic Car Automotive do refurbishing of clutch parts as well a brakes.

Hope this helps

Regards

Robbie