Clutch question

[Hurvinek]

Hi folks

I have another question:

Is it possible to adjust the clutch from the outside in some way or is it needed to remove the gearbox?

The clutch on my '30 Chummy started to slip recently, luckily not until I was almost home. The clutch and everything around it is practically new, I suspect that the clutch has settled a bit through use and now needs to be readjusted.

To be more precise, I can say that the free travel until the clutch engages is very short, but the distance from the gripping point to the floor panel is much longer, I think 4 to 5 times longer than above. So I hope to be able to ensure the clutch works with a readjustment without having to take everything apart.

Is that possible? And if so, how do I do it? Can anyone help?

Thank you in advance for your support!

Cheers, Oliver

[Howard Wright]

Hi Hurvinek

Your clutch problem sounds very similar to the one I have just had on my 3 speed gearbox. If the clutch toggle levers have been set too high, when the gearbox is bolted to the bell housing they are slightly compressed and start to actuate the clutch. Just slightly but enough to cause slip.

A known way of dealing with this is to put a washer between the bell housing and gearbox on each of the studs.  This pulls the clutch release bearing back from the toggles by a small amount and allows the clutch to bite properly.  

Unfortunately on my van (which is based on a Chummy floor pan) I couldn’t pull the gearbox far enough back to allow full washers to go over the studs.  I could have moved the engine forward but by the time I had removed the radiator, crankcase bolts etc etc I might as well have had the engine out. So I decided to separate the gearbox and bell housing as far as possible and then fit ‘horseshoe’ shaped washers that could be clipped onto the exposed stud shank. It seems to have worked and my clutch is operating well now. Although this is a temporary fix as I am hoping to rebuild the gearbox in the near future.

When you do attempt to solve the clutch slip make sure the clutch pedal has a slight amount of free play before it starts to operate the clutch.

Hope this helps.

Howard