Clutch Problems

[benfriesen]

Hey hows it going guys?

Just got an fj the other week and been thoroughly enjoying it. Untill the other day, my clutch wont fully engage. When i have it fully pulled in it still creeps foward and then it wont change down gears.

ive heard it might be the clutch slave seals?

any help would be appreciated

[FJmonkey]

Yep. A temp fix is bleed the clutch. Chances are your slave is leaking and letting air in. Time for a slave/master rebuild. I do both when either one needs it.

[Flynt]

I have a new twist on this one for you all...  the '84 was exhibiting similar symptoms, but both cylinders appeared to be working fine and a thorough bleed did nothing.  Upon inspection we found the clutch lever itself was badly worn where it contacts the piston in the master cyl.  The lever arm ratio means even a little missing material on this contact point would produce a big difference in engagement point for the lever.

My fix was to drill and tap a hole in the face of that worn contact point, then insert a screw and make the engagement point (now the screw head) adjustable...  so far, so good and it's working well.

Sorry no pictures, but hopefully this is a simple concept and fix.  The '84 doesn't have the brass bushing setup on the later models, so this fix is of limited value to later models.

Frank

[Pat Conlon]

Very good Frank!

That is a keeper

[movenon]

Welcome. Yep as FJmonkey said.  FJ troubleshooting 101, Clutch slave unit: Inspect the area down under and around the slave unit.  Paint missing or peeling ?  If let go long enough it will eat the ABS on the lower scoop also back where it bolts to the frame.  If the bore is in good shape you can rebuild the slave. IMO the best approach is just to buy a new slave unit.  RPM stocks them and also the seal kits. http://www.rpmracingca.comproddetail.asp?prod=Clutch%3Aslavecyl.

George

[ribbert]

I have a new twist on this one for you all...  the '84 was exhibiting similar symptoms, but both cylinders appeared to be working fine and a thorough bleed did nothing.  Upon inspection we found the clutch lever itself was badly worn where it contacts the piston in the master cyl.  The lever arm ratio means even a little missing material on this contact point would produce a big difference in engagement point for the lever.

My fix was to drill and tap a hole in the face of that worn contact point, then insert a screw and make the engagement point (now the screw head) adjustable...  so far, so good and it's working well.

Sorry no pictures, but hopefully this is a simple concept and fix.  The '84 doesn't have the brass bushing setup on the later models, so this fix is of limited value to later models.

Frank

This is very true and an excellent fix Frank. As you probably know, BMW's (and probably others) have a screw there for just that purpose. As you pointed out, it doesn't take much with the mechanical advantage ratio to alter the lever position considerably.

Good find.

Noel