The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Clutch Pedal Adjustment

My clutch pedal is riding at about half the height of my brake pedal. Do you adjust the pedal height with the fork ball first and then adjust the pedal free travel on the linkage? I can't find anything about the clutch ball adjustment in my shop manual.

Also, is the 3/4 - 1 inch free travel the amount you can press down with your finger or is it the up and down movement you can get?

Finally, my wrenches are too fat to adjust the fork ball. Do you adjust it with the clutch pedal depressed?

Thanks a lot!

Wally, I posted this in response to another clutch question yesterday,,

What you should be concerned with is pedal freeplay. You do not want the throw out bearing to be constantly riding on the pressure plate fingers . This will wear out the clutch disc prematurely.

Adjust the linkage until you can push the pedal with your fingers an inch or so. This freeplay is telling you that the throwout bearing is not jammed up against the pressure plate fingers.

After doing this start the truck in neutral and make sure the clutch dis-engages. In other words, you should be able push the pedal all the way to the floor and shift easily to first or reverse without grinding a gear.

You may have to try a couple times to get it right. Make sure after each adjustment that you DO NOT start the engine with the truck in gear and your foot on the clutch. Make sure you are in neutral before you turn the key.

Wally, the pedal freeplay is the distance you can press the pedal with your fingers..You do not adjust the clutch with the pedal depressed. As long as you have some freeplay and the clutch dis-engages properly, you are done..

If your pedal doesn't come all the way back up however, it might be a case of a needed adjustment and a new pedal return spring.

Thanks for your replies. I had searched for clutch fork but didn't look down the current listings.

I think the problem is I don't have a pedal return spring. That's why I get 1 inch of free travel when I pull up on the pedal not when I push down. In case I can't figure it out from the shop manual photos, where does it go? That might be hard to explain. Thanks, again.

I have this same problem on my 1953 Cab Over. Looked over the clutch pedal adjustment process in the trusty Factory Shop Manual last night. Looks easy enough. But after reading this post, seems like a broken return spring might be part of the problem, too.

I just finished replacing the starter and oil cannister last night and tried to get it into gear (with engine running). I could get it into 3rd but that's it. The rest of the gears just wanted to grind. I know my idle speed is too high at the moment. As a test, I put the truck in 1st gear with the engine off, pushed the clutch pedal in all the way and hit the starter button. The truck lurched forward and I let off the starter.

Guess I'll adjust the pedal first and see how far that gets me...

Anyone live around Fort Worth and have some extra free time? All of my wrenching buddies live over an hour away.

Thanks for all the great Stovebolt info!

Corey

Alright. I adjusted the clutch pedal per the instructions and got her shifting again!! The only thing is that while I was down there adjusting the linkage, I noticed that there was a lot of play where the adjuster linkage joins the main linkage. Should there be some sort of grommet or anything connecting the two? My linkage is just metal-on-metal and there is lots of play between the two. I don't think that the two pieces could come apart due to the way that the slot in the static linkage is notched. But it doesn't quite look right.

This is a COE truck so the setup might be a bit different from the light duty trucks. ???

Corey

Hey Wally, Might save you a trip....I found that Tractor Supply has a good assortment of relatively heavy duty springs that can be used for the clutch return. Even the heavier springs have very little effect on the amount of force you have to put on the pedal to operate the clutch. This is especially true with the diaphragm pressure plate.

The stock clutch spring as well as the heavy brake pedal return spring, attaches to a u-shaped bracket that mounts inside the frame under the steering box. The Tractor supply springs don't have the long extension so I just got one of their 1/4" turnbuckles to add the necessary length. Now I can "Tune" my clutch spring. Not stock but it works, and you can get your pedal "free play" under control. The guys are right about it taking a couple times to get it right! If you've got the "lower cover tin off" the bottom of the bell housing (with the engine off) you can visually look up and make sure that the throwout bearing is at least 1/16" off the pressure plate fingers. Even minimal contact will spin the throwout, overheat it, sling the lube and you'll be hearing the dreaded "singing" until it's replaced. How do I know this......well, just take my word for it!!!!!!!! "keep'em rollin"

Dave