Section : Clutch

Very little clutch pedal travel

Posted By : Jim Sinclair, 03-Jun-2006, 12:06pm

Hi

Can any one guide me towards solving the problem I have of my clutch being very 'fierce' it bites after only about half an inch of pedal travel and once the vehicle is running I am having difficulty sometimes engaging the gears as they are 'crashing'

If as I suspect it is the hydraulics needing bled do I have to go through the envolved task of removing the center 'H' support and the transmission tunnel from inside the car

Jim

Followups :

Very little clutch pedal travel

Posted By : Mark Stradling, 03-Jun-2006, 03:05pm

The gearbox tunnel will probably have to come out for anything gearbox related. You MIGHT be able to get at things from underneath, but it's not THAT hard/time consuming to pop it out (in fact it almost become a 2 minute job when you have to top up the gearbox oil as often as me).

Check where the clutch slave cylinder is before you bled the clutch - you get a 1/4 or so fore/aft movement of the slave cylinder in the clamp bolt.

Try loosening off the clamp bolt, pushing the slave cylinder towards the front of the car and nipping the clamp bolt back up.

You might as well bled the clutch while your there - it won't do any harm and when WAS the last time you change the fluid... Bled until the master cylinder is half empty, top it up, bled half way again, then top up and bled half way again. This should push all the old fluid out without pulling any air in (as will happen if you let the master cylinder level drop too far).

HTH
- Very little clutch pedal travel
  
  Posted By : Julian Saul, 03-Jun-2006, 04:55pm
  
  Rather than remove the gearbox cover, you might like to consider cutting an opening in the side for clutcjh and gearbox level access and fitting a removable cover in their place. Not only saves time, but a lot of other things as well.
  - Very little clutch pedal travel
    
    Posted By : Mark Stradling, 04-Jun-2006, 11:01am
    
    One of so very many things on my cars to-do list
    - Very little clutch pedal travel
      
      Posted By : Dan Owen, 04-Jun-2006, 11:08am
      
      If it needs to come out best to overhaul the hydraulics completely, new seals are quite cheap.
      - Very little clutch pedal travel
        
        Posted By : Jim Sinclair, 15-Jun-2006, 10:22pm
        
        Right Guys
        
        Advise needed again, Having stripped out all the various parts to access the slave cylinder and examining the master cylinder I have found the tell tale signs of paint being softened at the master cylinder end leading me to think I have a leak in one of the seals.
        
        My question is how simple is it to replace these seals or is it simpler to replace the whole unit, I am also tempted to do the same with the slave cylinder. Obviously if seals are simple to fit them the question of cost will play a major deciding factor as the complete unit in both cases is considerably more expensive.
        
        Jim
        
        Very little clutch pedal travel
        
        Posted By : Chris Taylor, 16-Jun-2006, 09:36am
        
        Not too difficult, nor as safety critical as brake master cylinder. With the difference in price compared to a new cylinder, I would not hesitate to replace the seals.
        
        Very little clutch pedal travel
        
        Posted By : Paul Bodiam, 16-Jun-2006, 10:42am
        
        Hi Jim
        
        Just to echo Chris' point, it is straightforward to rebuild the master cylinder - provided that the bore is not damaged (it most likely isn't, unless a previous owner has been prodding around inside with a screwdriver). There are comprehensive instructions in the Haynes manual (page 135 in my copy). Following these instructions, I rebuilt both clutch and brake master cylinders in a couple of hours.
        
        I got my seal kits from rarebits4classics and a very reasonable price (&163;3.50 per set), but I think most of the suppliers will charge around the same.
        
        cheers
        Paul
        
        Very little clutch pedal travel
        
        Posted By : Dan Owen, 16-Jun-2006, 03:19pm
        
        You do need to do both at the same time though. And there are two distinct types of slave cylinder floating around but maybe not in this case- a good supplier supplier will know.
        
        Very little clutch pedal travel
        
        Posted By : Chris Taylor, 16-Jun-2006, 07:08pm
        
        It's not essential to do both at the same time, but it is a good idea if you can get both seal kits.
        I'm pretty sure the only variation in slave cylinders is in pistn diameter, and this depends on whether you have a coil spring or diaphragm spring clutch. With Spitfires, I'm pretty confident only the Mk1 had the coil spring clutch. Heralds changed about 1965/66. Also pretty sure the master cylinder bore was the same for all, and this was the same as some brake master cylinders as well.
        
        (On further reflection, I'm not sure my comments apply to 1500's, but I AM confident they apply to 1147 and 1296 spits.)
        
        Very little clutch pedal travel
        
        Posted By : Dan Owen, 28-Jun-2006, 12:02pm
        
        Maybe not essential but in my experience it's a definite aid to reliability and an insurance against further aggro within a short space of time. A good supplier will send you both sets of slave cylinder seals then later give you a refund on the unused ones if you send them back.
Very little clutch pedal travel

Posted By : Trevor Ellis, 28-Jun-2006, 02:45pm

I had similar problem and found wear in the linkages was the problem. A little wear in each linkage adds up to a large amount of pedal travel so worth checking. my solution was to extend the master cylinder push rod about 1/8". Probably not politically correct but worked .

Trev
- Very little clutch pedal travel
  
  Posted By : Jim Sinclair, 30-Jun-2006, 05:04pm
  
  Have now fitted seals but had to give up replacing the repaired components into the car as I have just had minor surgery on my arm, and until stiches come out I can't get it dirty.
  A word of note though, the part shown on the far left of the exploded diagram is NOT supplied by Moss and as you have to almost destroy the old one to get at the seals anyone else attempting this repair be cautious and don't just think as I did as it was shown it would be included in the kit. Mind you I do think it should have been.
  
  Very little clutch pedal travel
  - Very little clutch pedal travel
    
    Posted By : Kevin Rochfort, 30-Jun-2006, 05:22pm
    
    Strange, I replaced my clutch slace cylinder seals the other day, and the metal ring you refer to came off very easilly - I just used a screwdriver to lever up the three bits of the edge that were crimped down and off it came. When I'd replaced the seals, I simply knocked the crimped bits down again to make an almost invisible "repair". No real effort at all.