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Clutch throwout travel questions

Jagman60

Jagman60

Silver Level Sponsor
Hi All, Look at the attached pictures, it seems as though I do not have enough travel in my slave cylinder to disengage the clutch.The pictures of the arm show the relaxed position touching the pressure plate. The new slave cylinder is for a series 3 and later but they provided an adapter for the inlet pipe to make it work on my series 2. It is machined to be installed on the engine side. it seems like either the rod is not long enough or the bearing should make contact sooner. In my defense I recieved this car in multiple boxes and coffee cans so I am not sure how it was originally. Out of frustration I just bought a new master and slave but I still don't think it will fix the problem.
I guess my question is should the arm be further forward in relaxed position and is my pushrod the correct length. Maybe my arm is bent?

clutch arm1.jpgclutch arm 2.jpgnew slave1.jpgnew slave 2.jpgpushrod1.jpgpushrod2.jpg
 
Thanks for the reply, but the machined face is on the other side? I will try it that way (as you suggest) Aside from that, does the arm look right? I remember seeing a drawing on one of the posts that showed dimensions for the rod but i cant find it.
 
Jagman60 said:
Thanks for the reply, but the machined face is on the other side? I will try it that way (as you suggest) Aside from that, does the arm look right? I remember seeing a drawing on one of the posts that showed dimensions for the rod but i cant find it.
Click to expand...
I not sure about the visual on the throwout arm .. where it should sit but the rod looks right if memory serves me .. though the slave cylinder looks "curious". And as Bepine said: .. "The slave cylinder flange should be bolted to the transmission side of the bell housing" ....

.... David
 
Jagman60 said:
The new slave cylinder is for a series 3 and later but they provided an adapter for the inlet pipe to make it work on my series 2.
Click to expand...
Be advised that the slaves using the 3/16" line includes Series 1/2/3/4. The larger 1/4" line is only used in the Series 5.
That clutch slave, push rod is from a Series I. It was the only series that used that adjustable rod and a much shorter slave cylinder All the others was just a straight rod of 1/4" round bar.
Someone swapped that S-I rod in there. If you are using that S-I adjustable rod, the slave can be placed on either side of the bellhousing. It doesn't matter which side because now you can adjust it both ways.
(I don't see that as any advantage, it just adds to more confusion)
Jan
 
Hi guys, just waiting for F1 to start from Silverstone thought i would check my replys, thank you all. I am still hung up on the arm position, seems like it should be forward more. I hate to put it all back together without some kind of input on this. in this position rod is short.
 
Jagman60 said:
Thanks for the reply, but the machined face is on the other side? I will try it that way (as you suggest) Aside from that, does the arm look right? I remember seeing a drawing on one of the posts that showed dimensions for the rod but i cant find it.
Click to expand...
Yes, the machined face is wrong. Also, the workshop manual is wrong.....the slave gets mounted against the transmission side, or rear, of the bell housing. My series V was set up wrong, ran for years like that....until the piston popped out.
 
I had a problem disengaging the clutch five months ago. It became difficult to shift into 1st gear and even more difficult to shift into reverse, which does not have synchromesh. I could hear and feel moving parts grinding against each other. I determined that the clutch throwout rod was not traveling far enough to completely disengage the clutch.

Draining a small amount of fluid from the clutch slave cylinder increased the throwout rod travel, and easy shifting was restored. I thought there must have been some air in the system. The problem returned again yesterday after driving 330 miles since May. As before draining a small amount of fluid corrected it. I do not understand what is happening.

As shown in the photo, the clutch slave is mounted on the engine side of the flange, not on the gearbox side as numerous people have stated is the correct position. Could this be causing or contributing to the problem? Yesterday I noticed that the rubber boot is torn around its circumference. This indicates that the slave piston could be extending too far.
 

Attachments

  • Alpine clutch slave.jpeg
    Alpine clutch slave.jpeg
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Move slave to other side. Replace rubber boot. Use clear tube for bleeding and ensure no air bubbles present.

As clutch parts wear, the slave rod will extend more out of the slave. Eventually the rod will probably extend all the way out of the slave if you leave the slave mounted on the wrong side.
 
Thank you for the advice. If I move the slave to the gearbox side of the flange, it will be 1.0" closer to the clutch arm. I just removed my slave rod and measured an overall length of 6.0" vs. 4.36" for the Series V rod shown above. The extra 1.6" length more than makes up for mounting the slave on the engine side of the flange. I had to exert some force on the rod to push the piston into the slave and insert the clevis pin. The 6.0" rod will not fit if the slave is mounted in the "correct" position on the aft side of the flange.
 
Do you have non-stock parts for the master and slave? What are the bores of the master and the slave?
 
I believe they are stock parts. They look like the ones sold by Classic Sunbeam.
classicsunbeam.com

Clutch Parts

Sunbeam Auto Parts for 1959 to 1967 Sunbeam Alpine and Tiger sports cars. We have an extensive parts reproduction program and a large inventory of NOS and aftermarket parts. Our knowledge and experience in repairs and restorations are always available to our customers.
classicsunbeam.com classicsunbeam.com
I do not know the bores.
 
The original parts are Lockheed and are marked as Lockheed.

1761267056191.png

1761267188294.png

Maybe you are somehow getting air in the system. If you see air bubbles when bleeding, then that would confirm that is the issue. Then you need to figure out how the air is being introduced.

Mike
 
The short travel of the slave rod was corrected twice by draining a small amount of fluid from the slave. This indicates that air had entered the system, possibly the slave unit.
 
I did not use a clear tube to observe the fluid I drained from the clutch slave. I will do it the next time to see if there are any bubbles.
People I spoke to think that air could have entered the system through a loose fitting. They advised loosening and then tightening the fittings.
The photo shows the clutch down pipe from Classic Sunbeam (SKU: CP116). The pipe has a double loop to, I presume, absorb relative motion between the clutch master and slave. My car has a shorter pipe without loops. Perhaps that is stressing one of the fittings and causing a leak.Sunbeam clutch slave line.png
 
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