Clutch pedal hard / notchy gears

[ocyrion]

I own a CC GSR, when I bought it, the clutch pedal would stop travelling about 2 inches off the floor. I replaced the clutch with an Exedy OEM equivalent, replaced clutch fork and pivot ball, and put a 2mm washer under the pivot ball to prevent this problem in the future.

Since then, first and second were a bit notchy. The master cylinder had already been replaced and I recently replaced the slave cylinder with the Meek item and gave it a good bleed. I also replaced the gearbox oil with a combo of MT-90 and MTL. I adjusted the master cylinder push rod as far clockwise as I can get it. The changes improved a bit.

I still have a couple of problems - after a left hand turn the first half of the clutch pedal travel is really easy with no resistance (was like this with the original slave as well), and the pedal is always a lot harder to depress since fitting the new slave cylinder. Like 3 times harder. First and second are still a bit notchy. I can't get into first unless I'm moving at less than 5km/h.

How can I improve the changing/clutching experience?

 

[3zercrowd]

2 things.

1. Are all of the gearbox bolts done up tight?

If not the box and block may be splitting/coming apart causing engagement problems. Ive seen it before on a VR4 up here, with 1 out of 3 or 4 bolts only in the box.

2. How are all of your engine/box mounts?

The mis-alignment may be causing dramas....ALSO the shifter bushes etc...

 

[ocyrion]

2 things.

1. Are all of the gearbox bolts done up tight?

If not the box and block may be splitting/coming apart causing engagement problems. Ive seen it before on a VR4 up here, with 1 out of 3 or 4 bolts only in the box.

2. How are all of your engine/box mounts?

The mis-alignment may be causing dramas....ALSO the shifter bushes etc...

Hey, yeah I did the gearbox bolts up like a gorilla when I put the box back in (mechanic style). They felt tight last time I was under there as well (a week ago)... The mounts were all new as of a year ago, but I haven't given them a good look, but I will do that next weekend.

 

[Liberoz]

zer has already bought up engine mounts ect, did you adjust your clutch as per the pdf workshop manual method?
is there anything ie carpet (cabin side) or (engine bay side) interfering with the gear shifter or selectors?

 

[ocyrion]

zer has already bought up engine mounts ect, did you adjust your clutch as per the pdf workshop manual method?
is there anything ie carpet (cabin side) or (engine bay side) interfering with the gear shifter or selectors?

I read the PDF and followed it, but I can't adjust the pedal height to the specified 175mm, it is more like ~145mm. I don't have any further travel in the free play adjustment, and even when I wound out the master cylinder pushrod all the way clockwise it seemed to get tight and would no longer move, and also the pedal stopper still did not hit the nut on the freeplay adjustment. So there's 2 problems there ... is this a pedal box thing?

I also followed Tom's Youtube video. The clutch pedal seems to get harder in peak hour traffic, but after not driving the car over the weekend the pedal was softer (like the old slave) this morning. I think maybe the relief/bleeder valve is partially blocked on the master cylinder?

As for your other suggestions John, I haven't even looked at the shifter assembly so I'll have a look. I thought it was clutch or synchro related since it was hard to engage first when moving even with some rev matching.

Can people here engage first easily at say 20-30km/h with rev matching? If I felt brutal I could ram it into first in all my old Cordias But not on this GSR...

 

[ocyrion]

Yeah so I'm still fiddling with it ...

I've got the master cylinder adjusted all the way out, and it can't go out any further because the stopper in the master cylinder hits the end of the cylinder bore.

The clutch engages about 2" off the floor.

Shifter bushes, bolts etc are all OK. Maybe the master cylinder is not the right one? It's the type with the rubber bushes under the reservoir, not the one with the metal clamp around the bottom.

I was wondering if anyone would object to measuring how far their slave cylinder travels on a clutch depression?

 

[chris123]

Most gearboxes i've driven dont like going back into first once moving, and why would you want to anyway?

 

[ocyrion]

Most gearboxes i've driven dont like going back into first once moving, and why would you want to anyway?

Maybe I was spoilt with the Cordias then ... I don't mean when I'm moving at speed, just under 10km/h it'd be nice to get back into first as I pull up to the lights, or in peak hour traffic. It has improved a bit since changing the slave cylinder though.

 

[thirteen]

A GSR gearbox in good condition will select first gear at <10km/hr without fuss.

 

[cblancergsr]

maybe check for cracks on the pedal assembly have seen this problem before

 

[WindeX]

A GSR gearbox in good condition will select first gear at <10km/hr without fuss.

Hehe yeah, my Evo box wont select first and doesnt like any of the gears really, but hell its pretty good for a 15 year old junker.

 

[rob323]

Most gearboxes i've driven dont like going back into first once moving, and why would you want to anyway?

One word, motorkhanas!

Ocyrion, it really seems to sound like an incorrect master cylinder, especially if you can't adjust the pedal to the factory height. Wrong pushrod length or something. Maybe find an original one and check it against it.

 

[thirteen]

One word, motorkhanas!

Or (for us non-motorkhanering lamo's) when the lights turn green just as you are about to stop, so you shift down to first to save laboring the engine in 2nd gear as you take off. lol.

 

[ocyrion]

One word, motorkhanas!

Ocyrion, it really seems to sound like an incorrect master cylinder, especially if you can't adjust the pedal to the factory height. Wrong pushrod length or something. Maybe find an original one and check it against it.

That's what I'm thinking ... where can I get a good one/the right one from? The ones with the clamps around the base of the reservoir are the right ones aren't they? As I said I've got the one with the reservoir that sits on the rubber bushes.

I've done everything I can do with what I've got... I thought it might be the fact that I have the washer AND new clutch fork in the box, but I only get 11cm of rod from the firewall to the clevis pin on the adjustment, so I must need a new rod!

I also thought about trying to get a longer slave cylinder push rod to make up the difference, any suggestions for one that fits and is a couple of mm longer than the std one?

 

[Richard]

Have you used an air bleeder? Thats what I used on the type of clutch master you have when I had to bleed one, it worked great.
By the way I have a 2nd hand clutch master if you really wanna try that instead.

 

[SIVART]

CC GSR and evo had factory problems with the clutch master cylinder, I just bought new one from A.B.S for about $110-$140

 

[ocyrion]

CC GSR and evo had factory problems with the clutch master cylinder, I just bought new one from A.B.S for about $110-$140

Would you mind taking a pic of it, and/or telling me the part number? ABS ... Auto Brakes Service right? If I get one I want to make sure it's not the same as what I've already got! Does it have those rubber bushes under the reservoir?

Have you used an air bleeder? Thats what I used on the type of clutch master you have when I had to bleed one, it worked great.
By the way I have a 2nd hand clutch master if you really wanna try that instead.

An air bleeder? I used the hose into the jar of fluid method on the slave cylinder, is that what you mean?

The pedal itself feels good with no softness or air like symptoms, just the rod physically can't be adjusted out any further.