Correct clutch adjustment - 300tdi

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the_wolf

the_wolf

Well-Known Member
Posts
16,791
Location
Stonehouse, Scotland
Is anyone able to further advise on properly adjusting my clutch pedal. My biting point has been near enough at the top since I got the clutch replaced a few years ago and since then I've fitted a new slave cylinder and a new master cylinder. I've read the LR workshop manual on correctly adjusting the pedal and although it's sitting at the correct height I can't see to get much slack when the pedals sitting at rest, even with loosening off the nuts on the master. Last night it seemed to be quite hard while driving with no slack at the top at all yet this morning it seems to be back to normal. I'm worried that it's applying constant pressure to the clutch plate (no matter how slight) and want to try and adjust it better.
Also I'm sure I'm right in saying that I can't really do anything about the biting point?
 
Is the pedal its self free on its pivot and easy to move when master is off or nuts backed right off and return spring removed.
 
tottot said:
Is the pedal its self free on its pivot and easy to move when master is off or nuts backed right off and return spring removed.
Click to expand...
Haven't taken the return spring off but the pedals not stiff or jammed in any way, it was just quite hard rather than not pivoting properly. The return spring could do with an oil as its started squeaking when coming off the pedal though
 
Scooby22 said:
Mike has several videos on this, here is one, have a look at his channel
Click to expand...

Cheers, I do watch his videos but I'll have a go again at sorting out the adjustment nuts. Access is a pain when the pedal box is already fitted but I'd rather that than take it out and have to rebleed it again
 
Update on this - the pedal has the correct amount of freeplay when I first start driving and it seems to be when the vehicle (and the clutch) warms up it becomes quite hard and there's no freeplay whatsoever, I can press the clutch slightly while driving and can tell that it's disengaging the clutch. Any ideas why this is only happening when it's warmed up?
 
Don't know what can be going on but it may be worth setting in a tad more free play in the set up so when warm there is some left and the clutch is not being " ridden" by the pedal its self.
Come to think of it if the above is the case the release bearing could be getting hot and expanding some and if it is the plastic type may well melt.
The one on my series 3 did just that when its bearing seized.
 
tottot said:
Don't know what can be going on but it may be worth setting in a tad more free play in the set up so when warm there is some left and the clutch is not being " ridden" by the pedal its self.
Come to think of it if the above is the case the release bearing could be getting hot and expanding some and if it is the plastic type may well melt.
The one on my series 3 did just that when its bearing seized.
Click to expand...
I can't remember off the top of my head what type was fitted when I had the clutch done. Still not sure why it's doing this when warm as it just seemed to start out of the blue and had been running absolutely fine beforehand
 
I had the opposite problem once upon a time when I changed my clutch and the master and slave cylinder at the same time. I'd adjust it so the bite point was somewhere sensible and then, the further I drove the nearer the floor the bite point would get until it was hard to change gear at all. After a lot of adjustment and several weeks it reached a sort of equilibrium. It stayed that way until I suffered a clutch failure (the splined boss came lose from the centre of the friction plate) and I replaced the cylinders again and this new set were much better. Easy to adjust and bite point at a sensible position from the outset. I never quite worked out why the previous set changed as I drove. They've all got personalities of their own.
 
Brown said:
I had the opposite problem once upon a time when I changed my clutch and the master and slave cylinder at the same time. I'd adjust it so the bite point was somewhere sensible and then, the further I drove the nearer the floor the bite point would get until it was hard to change gear at all. After a lot of adjustment and several weeks it reached a sort of equilibrium. It stayed that way until I suffered a clutch failure (the splined boss came lose from the centre of the friction plate) and I replaced the cylinders again and this new set were much better. Easy to adjust and bite point at a sensible position from the outset. I never quite worked out why the previous set changed as I drove. They've all got personalities of their own.
Click to expand...
How were you able to adjust the biting point? I thought that was pretty much fixed. Mine has been near the top of the pedal travel ever since the clutch was done a wee while ago
 
With those nuts on the shaft of the master cylinder. The further you go towards the front of the car the higher the bite point. They're fiddly to adjust as there isn't really a lot of room for a spanner, so I usually use pointy pliers. The trouble with my problem master and slave set was that I ran out of rod though.

Different clutch sets give you different bite points too. After my clutch failure I fitted a fairly standard parts store one (possibly an AP brand, I can't remember) and that ended up with a fairly high bite point. Then this February I put a recon gearbox in and thought I might as well change the clutch at the same time. This time I bought a LOF clutch, because I liked the look of them because the friction plate is all one piece. It doesn't have a separate boss in the middle to come loose. Once I'd got everything back together the bite point was quite low. But unlike the previous time it didn't have a tendency to drift downwards as I drove. It's coming up to 4 or 5 thousand miles now and it seems to be OK.
 
Brown said:
With those nuts on the shaft of the master cylinder. The further you go towards the front of the car the higher the bite point. They're fiddly to adjust as there isn't really a lot of room for a spanner, so I usually use pointy pliers. The trouble with my problem master and slave set was that I ran out of rod though.

Different clutch sets give you different bite points too. After my clutch failure I fitted a fairly standard parts store one (possibly an AP brand, I can't remember) and that ended up with a fairly high bite point. Then this February I put a recon gearbox in and thought I might as well change the clutch at the same time. This time I bought a LOF clutch, because I liked the look of them because the friction plate is all one piece. It doesn't have a separate boss in the middle to come loose. Once I'd got everything back together the bite point was quite low. But unlike the previous time it didn't have a tendency to drift downwards as I drove. It's coming up to 4 or 5 thousand miles now and it seems to be OK.
Click to expand...
Those will adjust the free play, that shouldn't have an effect on biting point. Can't mind the parts I had fitted to mine but I supplied them to the garage. Sure they were decent mind you.
A friend of mine looked up the problem without specifying land rover and it seems that it could possibly be air or moisture in the fluid that causes stiffness when it heats up fully. I'm going to bleed it tonight and see if that'll help
 
the_wolf said:
Those will adjust the free play, that shouldn't have an effect on biting point. Can't mind the parts I had fitted to mine but I supplied them to the garage. Sure they were decent mind you.
A friend of mine looked up the problem without specifying land rover and it seems that it could possibly be air or moisture in the fluid that causes stiffness when it heats up fully. I'm going to bleed it tonight and see if that'll help
Click to expand...

Yes they adjust the freeplay, but adjust them enough and they will effect where the pedal is in relation to the master cylinder piston when pedal pressed, so will effect bite point, but you will have more or less freeplay which would make it horrible to drive.
 
I've been through a few clutches on the Land Rover now, and you certainly can shift the bite point at the pedal end depending on where the other end is sitting on the master cylinder shaft. If it's right out at the end of the shaft it'll shift the necessary 10cc of fluid to separate the clutch plates and still be (say) 10cm off the floor at the pedal end. Wind it in a few threads and the pedal end will need to go a bit nearer the floor to shift the necessary volume of fluid, say, to 5 cm off the floor. Wind it in even more and pressing the pedal right to the floor will probably not shift enough fluid to separate the plates, so you'll be getting clutch drag and poor gearchanges.

It never does any harm to blow a bit more fluid through. But I wonder whether my problem, and possibly yours might be to do with something strange happening to the seals as the temperature changes.
 
I've no problem with where the biting point is as I'm used to it. Going to pop out just now and try and bleed it and see if I get any air out then nip up all the nuts if that's the case
 
I removed the clutch assembly entirely and reset the adjuster nuts as per Britannica Restorations video, I then gravity bled the clutch as per another video of his (very handy to learn!). I now have actual free play in the pedal as I should do, the valves are fully open and properly closed when they should be thanks to it being set properly and the biting point feels better. I'm hoping this will still be the case when I'm driving it, just finished so it's a bit late to take it out a drive just now
 
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