Clutch Adjustment?...TURTCEL

[TURTCEL]

So I am not sure if it just me or if maybe my clutch may be a little out of adjustment. I have a Ford Escort with a 5 speed and my 4wd Terc with a 6 speed so I drive two vehicles with different feeling clutches pretty regularly. My Escort only needs to have the clutch pedal released a very small amount before the clutch engages and away I go, but my Terc is another story.

When I start out from first gear I have to let the clutch pedal almost completely out before the clutch will engage. I am not totally positive but I am sure the clutch was done about 30k ago when the trans was rebuilt. If I don't release the clutch completely the car will studder a bit and chug to get going a little. If I make sure I releae the clutch quickly enough I do not have this issue.

Is it normal to have to release the clutch this far before engaging on these cars? I believe these Tercs have a cable operated clutch so I would think there is an ajustment. Can anyone tell me if there is an adjustment for the clutch and would it affect the engagment time of the clutch when I release the pedal? I am guessing that the clutch is fine since I have no slipping issues and it seems to engage fine.

Like I say it might be that I am going betweeen driving two different cars regularly so maybe it's all in my head and I just need to learn how to drive my Terc. Any help would be awesome. I will refer to the FSM too but I really dig the inside advice from the guys who know whats up. Thanks.

Peace

[ARCHINSTL]

There is an inside adjustment on the clutch pedal; look on pages CL3 & 4 of the FSM.
It's easy to adjust, if a bit convoluted to access - no biggie, though.
Tom M.

[TURTCEL]

Thanks for the tip on the clutch. Nice to have people that can direct me quickly to answers...much appreciated. I will check it out after work today.

Peace

[keith]

The clutch adjustment is automatic. It is possible that the self adjuster has gotten stuck.

[TURTCEL]

I am not sure what you mean by the self ajuster. Is it by chance just another name for the "release sector and pawl"? That is the only component shown in the FSM that I would figure to be the part that you are refering to as the "self adjuster". I have not had a chance to check the pedal assembly yet but now that I have checked the FSM I have a pretty good idea of what to look for as far as the pedal assembly is concerned.

If the count on the number of teeth is 6 or less on the release sector would the clutch most likey slip? I have no symptoms of this but when I inspect it I would like to have an idea of the condition of my clutch based off of the teeth count. How many teeth on the sector is considered a good amount? If I am close to the 6 teeth mark what can I expect to see happen with my clutch and how long till the clutch would be in need of service if it was close to 6 teeth? (considering I baby the car when I drive it.

If the clutch needs to replaced soon is this something the common backyard wrencher could accomplish being that I work on jack stands or is this job better off done by a shop? I have read some posts that make it sound like it is reasonably doable but takes a good amount of time and is it recommended to pull the motor or the trans for this job from someone who has done this job themselves or know someone who has? What brand of clutch and seals is best recommended to install and what else besides the clutch kit would I want to do at the time? I see the rear main seal is recommended at time of clutch. But if the seal is dry should it just be left alone for risk that the new seal may leak?

Out of curiousity can anyone else describe how their pedal feels before their clutch engages? Meaning, is it common for these clutch set ups to need the pedal almost fully released or do some of you have a very short release to engagement point? I feel that compared to other vehicles I have driven this seems to be the furthest out pedal before engagement of all of them.

Peace

[marlinh]

If the clutch engages close to the top of the pedal it usually means that the clutch is' worn out'. The pedal self adjusts. Normal clutch engagement would be closer to the floor.

[TURTCEL]

Not exactly the answer I was hoping for but I will inspect the car tomorrow so I can I get a better idea of what I am dealing with.

Peace

[tercel4wdrules]

I have bought tercel wagons that only had about 30k on the clutches since they were replaced, but they were either chattering or slipping. If the vehicle is driven properly, the clutch should last a lot longer than this. One these cars I experimented by changing the pedal height. The higher the pedal, the more likely it was to slip. Conversely, if I lowered the pedal height, it was able to drive near normal. Perhaps you can experiment with the pedal height a bit to see if the engagement will improve. If the clutch slips and chatters on take-off, then it will have to be replaced at some point. You can force the self adjusting unit to reset if you pull the pawl towards you and depress the clutch pedal a few times, it will self adjust again. In my experience, if the clutch engages near 3/4ths of the way up, it doesn't have much life left. Good luck.

[TURTCEL]

So I went out to the Terc and did an initial inspection on the clutch pedal assembly...looks like new just like everything else on the car. The count of teeth was 7 or 8 depending on where you start counting from. I reset the adjuster and it went to 8 or 9 depending on where you count from. Then I adjusted the pedal heigth 1 1/2 turns in on the adjuster bolt. The teeth count went to 10 or 11 depending on where you count from.

I took the car for a test drive and the clutch now activates at about 1/4 to 1/3 of pedal release. It feels really good now. I would say the adjustment is right on. The clutch releases and engages smoothly and it never feels like it is engaged when it shouldn't be.

Thanks to all the advice on this project of mine. I was really worried initially when I went out for the first inspection to what I would find but all is good now.

I keep learning more and more priceless information everyday about this little car.

Peace