dparker (AT) erggroup (DOT) com (David) wrote in
news:15c0821d.0307061701.6c4c3b0c (AT) posting (DOT) google.com:

Does it reflect how many times you've used the clutch?
i.e. you drive straight onto the motorway and drive for 100miles without
and problems when you come to a stop and change down?

If so, it could be a poorly manufactured clutch plate, the QH ones have a
habit of slightly buckling up between the rivits when they heat up, causing
the already miniscule friction plate clearance to get even smaller in some
cases.

Perhaps not though.

Splam

No, not Mini's. Metro's got a cable clutch in the late 80's, though.

--
Rgds
Steve
steve (AT) dsnclassics (DOT) co.uk
www.dsnclassics.co.uk

Dan wrote:
Fundamentally, the Mini only just barely has enough pedal travel
available at the best of times, and it doesn't take much, poor
adjustment, thick carpet or a squishy spongy hydraulic hose to
compromise it's operation. I can't help wondering if there might be a
market for Mini clutch master cylinders bored out 20% to increase the
travel available at the clutch by 44%, assuming of course that there is
20% more metal remaining around the hole in a standard master cylinder!
(20% increase in diameter = 44% greater cross section area)

David wrote:
OK, so it's not air in the system.

Yes but....

It absorbs water and is prone to boiling in hot brake calipers, as well
as corroding the innards of the system, and flushing it through with new
fluid is cheap preventative maintenance, but it's unlikely to be the
cause of your troubles.

Ahhh yes....

There are two adjustments.

The small bolt which fixes the rest position of the arm determines the
starting point when you step on the clutch.

If it is screwed too far into the housing then the first half of your
pedal travel is taken up just pushing the lever until it contacts the
clutch, leaving insufficient pedal travel.

If it is screwed out too far, the clutch lever is continuously in
contact with the clutch and will weear out the release bearing.

When it's just right, you can push the lever away from it by hand and
there will be a very small clearance between the bolt and the lever.


The throwout stop simply prevents you from pushing the clutch "too far",
from pressing into the innards of the clutch further than it is designed
for. It just limits the travel of the lever.

Make sure you understand how the adjustment works, then make sure it is
almost, but not quite tight. There must be a very slight play between
the adjustment and the lever.

Graham.

While there are two adjustments on the Mini clutch, neither of them
will typically fix the problem your are having. The possible exception
is if the clutch arm stop bolt is screwed too far into the clutch
housing. I've never seen this happen but it could. In face, I've seen
the bolt missing completely and the clutch still functioned perfectly.
I've seen missing throwout stop nuts that caused no problem either.

Usually the problem is wear in the the various pivot points in the
system. The first one to check is the pin that connects the clutch
pedal to the master cylinder. The pin may be worn or the hole in the
pedal may be ovaled. The second place to check is the pivot pin in the
clutch actuator arm. These don't often wear as badly as pedal pin
since they are usually covered with oil leaking out of the engine.

It's also possible to have a little bit of wear in each pivot and a
little too much padding under the clutch pedal so that you can not get
the amount of throw that is necessary to fully disengage the clutch.
This is usually initially evident in 1st and reverse since you tend to
engage these with the car stopped.

Good luck,

Kelley


On 7 Jul 2003 20:40:29 -0700, dparker (AT) erggroup (DOT) com (David) wrote:

On Tue, 08 Jul 2003 17:49:20 +1000, Graham <zebedee (AT) alphalink (DOT) com.au>
wrote:

You might like to have a look at clutch levers from other cars like
the Morris 1100 or 1300(?). I remember when I 'modified' my motor,
the standard clutch was slipping so I installed a heavy duty clutch
spring only to find I was running out of clutch travel with all the
extra load. I came across a 'different' lever where the engine end
was a bit longer (about 2-3 mm) and the whole arm was much thicker.
The only problem was the angle of the arms from the pivot point was
wrong, a bit of heat & creative bending fixed that. The end result
was that I could now push the clutch to the throwout stop with a bit
to spare.... no more problems.


--

Australia isn't "down under", it's "off to one side"!

stanblaz (AT) netspace (DOT) net.au
www.netspace.net.au/~stanblaz/
www.cobracat.com (home of the Australian Cobra Catamaran)