The reason I started this thread should be obvious; I have clutch issues.
The clutch that was in the car when I purchased it had failed and I elected to replace all of the hydraulics as well as the pilot bushing, clutch disk and throwout bearing. Unfortunately, the pressure plate was not in good shape(the disk in the center that the bearing sits against moves around freely). The original part is no longer available, so a replacement kit (pressure plate, roller bearing and fork) were ordered from Rick at SS. Flywheel was resurfaced, and an entirely new clutch system had been installed by a local British car mechanic. After this install, the clutch had a definite chirp to it that would stop if I slightly depressed the clutch pedal. It was also present when the clutch was fully engaged(say, at a stoplight). Unfortunately, about 150 miles later, the clutch would neither fully engage nor fully disengage. I had an overdrive trans to install anyways, so I pulled the old trans out and found the reason the clutch didn't work correctly; bent fingers on the pressure plate. upon closer examination, I realized that the (diaphragm?) that the fingers are all attached to was actually split and broken. The surface of the steel roller bearing was originally flat and is now very concave from wear. I spoke with Rick and sent him this same video. He assured me that he has sold many of these setups and has never had an issue with any of them. He surmised that because of the wear, that the clutch was not adjusted properly and was putting substantial pressure on the roller bearing against the fingers of the pressure plate. He sent me a new plate and bearing, which have been installed. This new setup still has a chirp, only not as pronounced. Rick was of the opinion that because this is a self adjusting clutch, as long as the slave was not bottomed out and therefore not applying unwanted pressure, that this setup should adjust itself properly. I pushed on the rod in the slave and was able to move it inward, therefore not bottomed out. unfortunately, while test driving it, the distributor had a tantrum and imploded. A new complete Pertronix setup goes into it this week and testing will resume.
A few things I noted:
-The original clutch plate was worn quite oddly, as If it had been sitting against an uneven surface. I had the flywheel resurfaced and checked for balance.
-The fork that moves the bearing is not exactly firm in the mount on the bellhousing. I can wiggle it up and down a bit. The mount and bellhousing are the only original parts other that the flywheel.
-I have long legs and I tend to push my clutch pedal right to the floor. Is there an amount that the pedal should be able to move? My pedal seems to stop moving when the saddle connecting the master cylinder rod to the pedal arm bottoms out against the master cylinder. I have many theories about how this could be affecting the clutch action as well as exacerbating the chirping noise.
Any opinions are welcome, and facts are cherished.
Thank you all.