Clutch pedal getting harder to push in

So I've started noticing a new problem with my jeep after I drive it for an extended amount of time all at once. After about 20 minutes of driving or so and working the clutch, it starts to get hard to press in the clutch. I drove it on a 200 mile round trip for work the other day and after, my left leg was worn out. After a while you can actually hear a slight squeak like metal on metal sound when you work the pedal back and forth. It did it with the engine off too. When I park it and drive it again say the next day, the travel is smooth again untill I drive it for a while.

I've thought it could be the pedal/linkage/cross tubes, but all that is new and well greased. It's got a brand new clutch and throwout bearing too.

I think it's got something to do with built up friction and/or heat on some moving part in there. Could it be the throwout bearing pushing on the clutch "finger springs" or some contact point on the fork that needs grease?

Has anyone had those symptions before?

 

where the throw out retainer slides on the front transmission retainer and where the fork piviots are what I would forget.

safest thing would be to slide a camera under as your parked once home and take a video as you work the clutch.

 

Have you ever tried to grease the fork and all Joe?

 

I did all when the engine was out, the pivot ball and socket should be a matter of seeing what you are doing, mirror, or digital camera and flashlight looking down the fork

My thought is to load a flexy straw with grease fold over and tape the non grease end for a little seal
pry the fork off the ball enough to get the straw between then squeeze the straw like a tube of tooth paste, should not need much.
as for the input shaft retainer, i think i would grab some fish tank airline or similar and a syringe, tape the airline to a heavy gauge wire load the tube with grease using the syringe.
then try to feed the wire and attached line to the end of the fork, and use the syringe to push the grease out slowly onto the input retainer, ideally the clutch would be down but that is a little scary when someone is underneath. might have to use some well mixed knuckle pudding in place of grease, just be very careful underneath and don't make a mess inside the bell
with a line of sight via mirror or camera where a head can't and enough patience i think it can happen
if you were closer i would take this challenge myself.

good luck Matt!!

 

Hey Joe. I took the boot off the fork and if I take a flashlight, shine it in the hole and look between the frame rail and the inner fender flashing, I can just make out a flicker of metal of the thowout bearing collar. Even with trying to use tubing, you just can't get at that collar; the fork is in the way. I did have a big can of WD40 with a long hose on it. I was able to soak the whole collar with it. I don't think it got on the clutch as it was sprayed behind it. The excess ran out of the bell housing. This may work for a while. I'm about to go drive it, I'll let you know. I kind of wish my jeep had a front driver's floor like yours where there isn't one...lol. This would make it allot easier to get at. You know, the army jeep bell housings had an inspection plate hole and cover on the top side of the bell housing. I wish this one had one

My dad seems to think its the input shaft splines rubbing on the clutch plate. If that's the case, there's nothing to do but pull the tranny.

I hope this works

 

It could very well be your throwout bearing heating up and getting stiffer. Be careful spraying WD40 in there, though, as you may get some on the clutch disc and cause more problems.

 

Sometime rodents will nest in a bell housing and their debris clogs the clutch fingers/springs, etc. Centrifugal force can jam it in even harder.

Fibers from a failing friction plate may possibly do the same.

On the other hand, those words "brand new" always send a shiver down my spine...

 

I spray a little white grease on the fork piviot and every thing gets smoother. I have a body lift and NO boot on the fork/ bell housing so it is much easier to see in there

 

By the way, WD40 is not a lubricant. It was designed to remove water from electrical switches and contacts. WD = water displacement. If you want to spray some lubricant, try some Tri Flow. You can get it at hardware stores and bicycle shops. If you get water in your distributor, use WD40. That works great. Also, there is a groove on the inside of the throwout bearing collar that is supposed to be filled with grease before you install it over the input bearing retainer.

 

i had a chevy that the throwout bearing was installed wrong, it would seize up after getting hot

 

Ok guys, I sprayed the pivot ball and carpet bombed the shifting collar with WD-40. I did go and buy some "Campion Spray Grease" As soon as it quits raining, I'll go respray the area again.

I did go drive it probably 40 miles yesterday after the WD40 treatment and that seemed to fix it as the pedal didn't get hard