solitarycheese

Ok, so I was getting a little 1st to 2nd gear grind, even after changing the transmission and clutch fluid. I found this thread where Billman recommends removing all free play from the clutch rod under the dash. I did that, and it shifts great now, no notchiness or grinding at all.

When I told someone else what I did, they cautioned that removing all free play can prematurely wear out the clutch. Their argument was that if all slack is taken out of the clutch rod, then the clutch will ever-so-slightly be engaged all the time from the slight pressure between the pedal and the rod. They advised leaving a little bit of free play to prevent this. Does this argument have any merit?

Car Analogy

Yes, it does. The trick is to get all but the very slightest play out. It is possible to go too far and introduce 'negative' play, such that clutch is always partly depressed.

All you do is zero out the play, then dial it back a very slight amount so you still have some play. But you only need the very slightest, almost imperceptable amount (imperceptable while doing the adjustment, it should be totally imperceptable while in use. If you can feel any play with your foot, you have way too much).

solitarycheese

I better get under the dash again. I turned the rod clockwise as far as it'd go and have been driving around like that for a week.

jkelley

As Car Analogy said, yes. However, I believe Billman said that technically you can adjust the freeplay to zero and press the CMC piston in by something like 1/32" (don't quote me on the exact distance) without having engagement. But that's super hard to measure under there. I adjusted mine to have maybe 1/16" AWAY from the CMC piston (so technicaly not zero freeplay), just for a little piece of mind.

chris_barry

Do not have any preload on the piston. Very early on in the piston travel the seals cover up the small hole that goes up to the reservoir. If this hole is covered any expansion of the fluid will effectively push on the clutch and lead to slipping.

In race cars we often "blueprint" the brake masters. This involves making a new overthick washer that goes between the retaining circlip and piston. We then use a surface grinder to remove material to the point where the port back to the reservoir is opened. This way there is no initial movement before the brakes start to work. You could do this to the clutch master as well.

Main thing to check is that once adjusted you can press the slave piston into the cylinder. If it locks solid its a sign that the port to the reservoir is covered and more slack is required.

zeroptzero

^ I would suggest doing this, as the majority of people will go too far trying to get zero freeplay and then the clutch will slip. A tiny amount of clearance will give you insurance against going too far. You don't want to get caught on the road with a slipping clutch unless you carry a 12mm open end wrench with you at all times, lol.

tozerman

I have just done this on my 99 s2k, I have left some free play still as when I dial it all out the pedal seems to stick coming back up.
anyway I'm happy with pedal height etc but if you look at the pics below I have an adjustment bolt which is like a pedal stop, silly question but do I need to adjust the bolt to make contact with the white nylon pad on the pedal ?

zeroptzero

There is supposed to be a switch there with a black pin that initiates the switch when the pedal fully compresses it. So yes on a stock setup the white nylon pad on the pedal should be fully seated on the switch, but is your switch missing ?, that just looks like a basic bolt ?. Normally you would lower the switch to make full contact, not by adjusting the pedal.

tozerman

Switch not missing, I assume the switch on US models is for the cruise control, in the UK we have no cruise on s2k's.
Thanks for your help.

zeroptzero

Makes sense