Clutch Adjustment Question
 

Will adjusting the stop nut under the dash make the clutch catch closer to the floor or will it just make the peddle not come up quite as far?

Depends on which way you go. Farther the nut is on the bolt "towards the peddle" the closer the catch point is to the floor. I realize that "towards the peddle" is not very correct but when you are under there, it makes sense. Remember to give your self about an inch of play at the top.

It seems that the catch point has gotten higher and higher over time, so I "loosened" the bolt in the direction of the firewall, will see how that does with the catch point. Seems to be some play at the top of the peddle travel still.

I had a aftermarket clutch that drifted. I recall several threads discussing the same. Unless you have a very sympathetic dealership, forget about trying to get them to "fix" anything (Not my experience; I dont do dealerships, except if you just want it on record.) I dont think that the stock disc should drift so much that you feel it. Keep an eye on it. May be the first indication of failure, but that is conjecture. Can you launch in third gear without feathering the clutch? If you can (again you cant ride the clutch) this is a good indication you have either glazed your disk (unlikely) or that the friction material is limited. How many threads do you have left on the clutch adjustment bolt? (just for comparision, I slowly adjusted mine until there was no room left, then I replaced it.) Do you launch hard often (like, say, 20 or more 7krpm+ clutch dumps)?

Never done a clutch dump in this car, the highest I have ever revved to take off has been probably 2.5k. If I try to take off in 3rd I have a feeling it is going to stall which is what I want it to do right? As far as threads left on the bolt, I would say I could turn that bolt 10 more times before it was out of threads, so plenty of bolt left.

Make sure you leave the required amount of play in the pedal according to the service manual. Otherwise, you may end up with the clutch slightly engaged when the pedal is all the way out, and that could cause excessive wear of the clutch plates pretty quickly.

Sure thing Go48.

For some reason I still don't understand how adjusting the peddle height has anything to do with making it feel like the clutch is grabbing closer to the floor, is it an illusion?

There is a rod attached to the pedal that presses on the clutch master cylinder piston when you depress the pedal. Try to visualize it like this. There is a space between the end of that rod and the face of the movable piston located inside the stationary clutch master cylinder. When you change the position of the pedal--forward or backward with respect to the position of the stationary master cylinder--you are changing the distance from the end of that rod and to the face of the piston in the clutch master cylinder.

So, for example, if you adjust the pedal (and attached rod) towards the firewall, you decrease the distance between the end of the rod and the piston face. In which case, as you depress the pedal the clutch will begin to disengage earlier in the pedal throw than what it did before you made the adjustment. In essence, you are pre-loading the pedal-rod with the adjustment distance. It has no effect on the actual internal engagement or disengagement points of the clutch unless you "over adjust" the pedal to the point where the clutch is partially disengaged with the pedal all the way back. Because of that, you could consider it an illusion I guess.

Damn nice explanation Go48. Thanks.

Also, thanks for helping me spell "pedal", it is one of those days, brain just isn't working.

there are several clutch/pedal adjustments on this car, it's all shown in the shop manual with the measuring distances etc.

if you're not careful you can easily f'it all up though

Can the clutch adjustment get screwed up If a person swaps out the floppy clutch line for a Stainless steel line?

No.

Of course, it may feel like you changed the clutch adjustment because the SS line will flex less than the OEM line when you engage the clutch. It may also feel different if you screw up the installation by allowing air into the system and not bleeding it properly or if you cause a leak at a fitting by improper installation.

It would have to be adjusted pretty far to do that, it would more likely cause premature wear of the throwout bearing. The system is made to pull the throwout bearing away from the pressure plate a small amount so that it only contacts when you push the clutch pedal. It could easily be adjusted incorrectly so that it is always touching.

The factory spec is .2-.59 inches of free play at the pedal. Not much but it works well with the factory clutch and my ACT/SR combo.

CRH

Since I adjusted it the other day, basically loosened the bolt a round and 1/2 it feels much better and grabbing quicker. I still have have about an inch of the pedal play before it feels like is doing anything pushing down, so I plan to leave it this way.

One more question, does doing say a 5k clutch drop do anything good to the clutch disc like clean it off, so it grabs harder the next day or so after it has cooled? Obviously it is not good for much in the drivetrain, but just curious if it was done every 6 months or so if there is any benefit to it. Like I said I have never dropped it in my 8 yet.

I installed speedbleeders and flushed the whole hydralic system :)

Definitely helped.

When we installed the SS we bled the hose since we didn't see the bleeder valve for the clutch (behind the oil filter).

Where can I get a shop manual, and which one do you prefer? I was thinking about adjusting my clutch pedal, but I like to have more info...and illustrations. :)

I downloaded it from here, not sure who this is, but since they had it posted I figured it was fair game.

http://www.hi-impact.org/ryang/modif...8_manuals.html

Thanks! This will do until I get the book. I always buy a repair manual for the cars I own.

the manual has different play settings for clutch pedal and at pedal pad? whats the difference?

clutch problems
 

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if I need a new clutch when I am parked and have it in first I can't take it out till I start to move forward some and it grinds when I down shift from 3rd to 2nd do i adjust anything or replace clutch