Hi,
I have a problem with the hydraulic clutch release on my G reg TD syncro and one aspect I have identified is the large amount of slack between the pedal and the master cylinder. I have a drawing of the components and can see that there is adjustment on the push rod threaded into the clevis fork to take up this slack.
However, given my large hands and the completely hidden nature of this pushrod, can anyone advise if it is possible to make the adjustment with the pedal & cylinder in place? The alternative would appear to be removing the dash then withdrawing the whole pedal box, and servo, etc. Do you know what spanner size the locknut is?
thanks
Garyd
clutch pedal adjustment
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Re: clutch pedal adjustment
see if you can stop the push rod from moving and move the pedal
the clevis pin and pedal wear and just a fraction of wear gives a lot of un adjustable free play.
its also possible that the innerds of the master cylinder are worn/damaged.
that said do try the adjustment!
the clevis pin and pedal wear and just a fraction of wear gives a lot of un adjustable free play.
its also possible that the innerds of the master cylinder are worn/damaged.
that said do try the adjustment!
-
garyd
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- Posts: 490
- Joined: 20 Sep 2006, 18:36
- 80-90 Mem No: 2934
- Location: Wells, Somerset
Re: clutch pedal adjustment
Well, what a struggle this is! Thank God for the engineer who designed the clutch master cylinder to be connected by flexible hoses. thanks for the mention of wear, Billy, I did find some but not too much.
After two hours of struggling I eventually managed to adjust the push rod and minimise the free play. For anyone else who has to attempt this, here is what I did.
Remove the rubber floor mat or whatever you have to maximise the clearance for your hands. Probably best to remove the driver's seat to give the best space for your body, too. I did a lot of this laid on some heavy cardboard (flattened boxes) across the drivers seat runners and using my left hand up behind the clutch pedal.
First a little description. As you look at the pedals, the master cylinder bolts to the other face of the pedal box with the push rod operating downwards into the top of it. At the top of the pushrod is a fork and clevis pin attachment to an arm on the side of the main pedal arm.
Undo the two bolts which mount the master cylinder to the pedal box. Don't undo the hydraulic connections, just pull the cylinder gently downwards to slip the rubber boot off the push rod. Take the boot off the cylinder and check for fluid leaks - you may be needing to change the cylinder and now would be a good time. Push the cylinder forward (against the bodywork) and up as far as possible, maybe even tie it up.
You now need to undo the locknut which retains the push rod in the clevis fork at the top. There is simply no room to use a 15mm spanner up behind the pedals so you need a very deep socket (100mm deep?) I don't have such a thing but I remembered my old imperial tools and used a (5/8ths?) box spanner (a length of tube with the ends formed into hexagons like a socket). Slip this over the pushrod and up until it engages with the nut. Undo the nut a little (clockwise as you look down into the footwell), then remove the spanner and try to rotate the pushrod in the same direction.
I found the pushrod to be free in the clevis fork but the locknut was tight on the rod. (remember, you are going to be trying to hold one and turn the other with the fingertips of one hand!). I decided to unscrew the rod completely from the fork, take it to the bench to clean & copper grease the threads before reassembling it. Getting the rod started ion the fork could have been a real issue but actually was fairly straightforward.
I then loosely bolted up the cylinder (without the boot) and could just reach to rotate the rod until I had just a small amount of freeplay. As Billy said in the post above, there is commonly wear in the clevis pin area which adds further slack. By adjusting the rod a little at a time and testing the pedal to see what travel there is before the load comes on, this slack can be minimised. The manual says 0.5mm at the pedal but doesn't define where this is measured. I gave it a couple of mm at the pedal rubber - considerably better than the tens of millimetres there had been!
When it is right, spin the nut back up the rod until it contacts the fork. Unbolt and push aside the cylinder. Use the socket/box spanner to nip up the locknut. Refit the boot then the cylinder and give the clearance a final check. I could reach the pushrod and feel that it was not under load with the pedal fully up so decided this was OK.
My bite point is now about mid travel of the pedal whereas it had been very close to the floor. Not an easy job the first time but one which I will know how to deal with another time. I hope this info proves useful to anyone else faced with this job.
cheers
Garyd
After two hours of struggling I eventually managed to adjust the push rod and minimise the free play. For anyone else who has to attempt this, here is what I did.
Remove the rubber floor mat or whatever you have to maximise the clearance for your hands. Probably best to remove the driver's seat to give the best space for your body, too. I did a lot of this laid on some heavy cardboard (flattened boxes) across the drivers seat runners and using my left hand up behind the clutch pedal.
First a little description. As you look at the pedals, the master cylinder bolts to the other face of the pedal box with the push rod operating downwards into the top of it. At the top of the pushrod is a fork and clevis pin attachment to an arm on the side of the main pedal arm.
Undo the two bolts which mount the master cylinder to the pedal box. Don't undo the hydraulic connections, just pull the cylinder gently downwards to slip the rubber boot off the push rod. Take the boot off the cylinder and check for fluid leaks - you may be needing to change the cylinder and now would be a good time. Push the cylinder forward (against the bodywork) and up as far as possible, maybe even tie it up.
You now need to undo the locknut which retains the push rod in the clevis fork at the top. There is simply no room to use a 15mm spanner up behind the pedals so you need a very deep socket (100mm deep?) I don't have such a thing but I remembered my old imperial tools and used a (5/8ths?) box spanner (a length of tube with the ends formed into hexagons like a socket). Slip this over the pushrod and up until it engages with the nut. Undo the nut a little (clockwise as you look down into the footwell), then remove the spanner and try to rotate the pushrod in the same direction.
I found the pushrod to be free in the clevis fork but the locknut was tight on the rod. (remember, you are going to be trying to hold one and turn the other with the fingertips of one hand!). I decided to unscrew the rod completely from the fork, take it to the bench to clean & copper grease the threads before reassembling it. Getting the rod started ion the fork could have been a real issue but actually was fairly straightforward.
I then loosely bolted up the cylinder (without the boot) and could just reach to rotate the rod until I had just a small amount of freeplay. As Billy said in the post above, there is commonly wear in the clevis pin area which adds further slack. By adjusting the rod a little at a time and testing the pedal to see what travel there is before the load comes on, this slack can be minimised. The manual says 0.5mm at the pedal but doesn't define where this is measured. I gave it a couple of mm at the pedal rubber - considerably better than the tens of millimetres there had been!
When it is right, spin the nut back up the rod until it contacts the fork. Unbolt and push aside the cylinder. Use the socket/box spanner to nip up the locknut. Refit the boot then the cylinder and give the clearance a final check. I could reach the pushrod and feel that it was not under load with the pedal fully up so decided this was OK.
My bite point is now about mid travel of the pedal whereas it had been very close to the floor. Not an easy job the first time but one which I will know how to deal with another time. I hope this info proves useful to anyone else faced with this job.
cheers
Garyd
Garyd
1990 Transporter syncro camper
2 litre AGG 'GTi' engine
1990 Transporter syncro camper
2 litre AGG 'GTi' engine