Clutch adjustment

[boogiedude]

So last sunday, my firewall decided it was done hanging out with my brake booster and dealing with my clutch cable's abuse, so it wanted to come hangout inside the car with the pedal box(aka the cable tore a chunk out of the firewall). The week went by and last night Manoamatt came out and fab'd a plate and welded my firewall back together and reinforced it.

Today rolled around and I've been trying to adjust my clutch back to how it used to feel(as far as play at the beginning and where the clutch engages the trans on the return stroke) but for the life of me I can't manage to get it right. I have the adjustment nut about halfway down the threaded rod, and it seems no matter which way I take it, the bugger still doesn't want to get a good feel back.

The play seems right according to the book(1in), although it used to move a bit more than what the book says to put it at before disaster struck(1.5-2in). And it catches way too late now IMO. It travels ~1/2 of the pedals reach before there is any interaction with the transmission. It used to catch roughly an inch or two off the fire wall before. Now it's more like 3 or 4.

TL;DR- my clutch catches way later on the stroke than it used to.

Now for my question, which way should I adjust the nut on the arm inorder to get the feel back to the way it used to?

[mdrburchette]

Stupid question: Did you get a new cable?

[manoa matt]

He had a good original cable, which are better than what's currently available. The small half round barrel on the end that engages the pedal fork is made of a hardened steel and less prone to wear, which is usually the leading cause of failure for the aftermarket cables.

The firewall should be in the same position as before, so if the clutch is catching late as you push down the pedal then you need to thread the adjuster nut more onto the cable end. Did you check that the throwout arm was not bent or cracked? Also look at the condition of the spring "fingers" on the clutch cover, I hope they did not get damaged that one last time when the firewall actually gave out.

[ventura ace]

. . . . Did you check that the throwout arm was not bent or cracked? . . ..

Or that the throwout arm is properly clipped into its pivot point. Those have been know to come loose and cause the symptoms that you have described (can't adjust clutch). Fortunately, you can ususally get the arm connected to the pivot again without having to pull the transmission out -- unless the little spring clip on the throw out arm that holds it in place is broken.

Alvon

[boogiedude]

The arm seems to be just fine. Doesn't look at all bent and there aren't any signs of cracks or anything.

How would I go about checking if the arm go out of it's pivot point? The car is drivable and that sounds like it would be a serious damper to drivability, so I doubt it would be that

[mdrburchette]

Did you pull the pedal assy with your repair and make sure it wasn't bent?

[ventura ace]

. . . How would I go about checking if the arm go out of it's pivot point? The car is drivable and that sounds like it would be a serious damper to drivability, so I doubt it would be that

To check it out, I'd remove the external return spring, and the clutch cable, and the rubber boot around the shift arm if you have one. Then, if the arm is engaged into the pivot properly, you should be able to move the throwout bearing back and forth with the arm smoothly. If the throwout arm is sort of just flopping around, then its not attached on the other end. You can probably look through the hole in the bell housing with a flashlight to visually see what's going on.

A

[boogiedude]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I've got it adjusted to pretty close to the same feel as before