Clutch Questions

Hi everyone,

What exactly is clutch chatter? My Jeep has a clutch in it that when I first got the Jeep it was slipping up hills under acceleration. I adjusted the rod that goes from the pedal to the bellcrank and the slipping stopped. Did I do this correctly? It runs fine except that the clutch will not engage until like a 1/2 inch from the end of the pedal travel (pedal all the way up). I may have some more adjustment room, I may not, I have to check. But also when I am driving and not accelerating it sounds like the clutch is rattling. The rattle is not bad or that significant, is this clutch chatter? Does anyone know of anyway to get rid of it? The rattle goes away upon acceleration. Also do you think I will be able to get through the summer with the clutch like this? Thanks for the input!

 

The clutch, when properly adjusted, should engage in the middle of the pedal swing. With the pedal at rest, the only thing holding the rod into the socket on the throwout lever (release arm) should be the weak, external retaining spring.

Clutch chatter is a slight to severe shudder of the whole car when you engage the clutch, usually due to oil on the clutch disk. The rattle could be many different things - is there a spring on the end of the release arm? Is the linkage loose? does the noise change when you push the clutch in a little, or a lot?

 

Ok so it is definitely not clutch chatter then. I think it goes away when the clutch is depressed. I do have the spring in place. The real question is, can I get through the summer with the clutch like this? I plan on putting a couple of thousand miles on the Jeep this summer.

 

If the noise goes away when you push the pedal to take the slack out but not enough to release the clutch, I'd suspect the throwout (release) bearing. Pretty common failure, cheap part, lots of work to replace. Could also be rattley linkage or something else, so more vestigatin' would be worthwhile.

 

Actually after another look it may not go away when I depress the clutch??? Anyhow it drives fine, shifts fine and does not slip. Think it is ok to wait on clutch replacement? Should I wait till it starts slipping and I can't adjust anymore, then replace it?

 

Make sure you have slack at the top end of the pedal travel. There should be an inch or more of pedal travel before the release bearing contacts the clutch cover. If the release bearing is up against the cover all the time, you'll hear a noisy bearing all the time. The release bearing is only supposed to contact the clutch cover when you disengage the clutch - a very small fraction of the time. If the release bearing is pushing against the clutch cover all the time, the bearing will wear out very quickly (ie 10,000, not 200,000 miles).

If it's the release bearing, will it go another few thousand miles? Probably. It'll get noisier before it fails altogether. I don't know what will happen if it fails completely - I don't think it will stop you totally - you don't really need a clutch to drive. I've driven many miles without a clutch.

 

Tim (or anyone else) can you tell me how to adjust the bearing so that the noise stops? Is it just a matter of adjusting the pedal to bellcrank shaft?

 

The adjuster changes the length of the release rod and adjusts the free play in the linkage. This is from the '77 manual, but the operation and most of the parts are the same.

 

I am really sorry about all of these questions. But is freeplay adjusted by turning the adjust towards the fork or away from the fork. In other words do I want the clutch fork to come forward more or pushed further back? What is the difference from that adjustment to the adjustment on the clutch Rod? Thanks for all of your help Tim. I owe you a !

 

Lengthen the rod is tighter, less free play. Shorten the reverse. Test it at the pedal - you should be able to push the pedal in about an inch or two with your hand, till you start to compress the heavy springs inside the clutch cover. It's an obvious change in the amount of force required.

You see the return spring? That's the return spring for the throwout lever. That spring acts to pull the throwout lever and release bearing away from the fingers on the clutch cover. Shorten that spring (with the adjuster) and the release bearing moves away from the clutch cover.

No problemo! Anytime.