the_village_idiot Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Hi guys, My 500k series s3 has a slightly funny issue. The footwell area is v small and my size 11 feet don't fit down particularly well. I squeeze into some size 9.5 kart boots whenever I drive it- but I do have one problem: The clutch pedal seems to require a deep push to fully disengage the clutch? Is depresses 75% easily- but to engage reverse it requires me to twist my foot 30 degrees and push with the tip of my foot a further 2" before it's fully disengaged. Is there any easy way to adjust this? When pressing on I really don't want to have to think about twisting my foot every time I change gear- its really quite distracting. Any info would be great thanks :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elie boone Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Cable operated or hydraulic with slave cilinder ? i think your solution would be to lenghten the lever that operates the cable or master cilinder by 1" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_village_idiot Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 Tbh I have no idea! R500 k series if that helps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 If you have the oil tank magnesium belhousing the clutch arms are known to be weak, sounds like the early signs of it failing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_village_idiot Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 Hmmm- ok thanks guys will have to do some investigating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 What year was it built. The DS clutch arm was changed but I can't recal when. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markiebabes Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 My 2003 R400 dry sump bell housing it had similar and we thought it was a stretched cable turned out to be a cracked clutch release arm ☹️ http://i1076.photobucket.com/albums/w445/markiebabes/76603266fd545581c51496147fcb25f2_zps8bbeba58.jpg here Edited by - markiebabes on 26 Apr 2013 19:29:30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_village_idiot Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 Had a look today and thanks to Tin Duck Racing It's now sorted- just needed a bit of tweaking in the pedal box so the clutch engages earlier. Thanks Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Hate to say it but you could still have a failing clutch arm. In the early stages adjusting the cable can me all seem well but as it bends a bit further the problem recurs. Hope this isn't the case for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted April 29, 2013 Leadership Team Share Posted April 29, 2013 I had to repeatedly adjust mine .... then eventually there was no adjustment left! Straightened, repaired and strengthened and I'm not convinced the clutch actuation has ever felt as positive as it does now. This is one failure that can leave you stranded and will not be a roadside repair, so worth checking. http://i.imgur.com/AzNJYHl.jpg?1 Stu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 I'd meant to add above that mine went (the same as Stu's) and I got a friend who's a welder to straighten it and weld on some strengthening plates. Much cheaper than a new one from CC. Think it cost me a tenner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_village_idiot Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 Hmmmm- thanks for the warning guys. How big a job is it to examine the clutch arm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark w Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Do these fail above the line of the clutch bearing ? I.e. the end nearest the cable . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Probably engine out ... or at least moved forward off bellhousing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted April 29, 2013 Leadership Team Share Posted April 29, 2013 Quoting Mark W: Do these fail above the line of the clutch bearing ? I.e. the end nearest the cable . Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted April 29, 2013 Leadership Team Share Posted April 29, 2013 Quoting Stationary M25 Traveller: Probably engine out ... or at least moved forward off bellhousing. Engine out. Stu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 As above Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Occulomency Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 You've got me worried now. I have the same clutch pedal issue, fine when normal gear changing but requiring an extra deep push when selecting reverse. It's a c1998 6 speed box, would this have the same clutch arm issue? Thanks, Fraser. Edited by - Occulomency on 30 Apr 2013 11:30:45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted April 30, 2013 Leadership Team Share Posted April 30, 2013 The arm that fails is a bespoke Caterham part fitted to the dry sump install. The non dry sump setup uses the standard Ford arm which rarely has problems. Reverse always needs a little more clutch depression (no syncromesh) so you might benefit from adjusting it a little. Stu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Occulomency Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Great, thanks. That's put my mind at rest. I'm still learning about my Caterham, so I probably spook easily. It comes from too many years of Jag ownership. Fraser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tin duck dave Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 To go back to the original post / adjust I actually think it was just a matter of adjustment as problem pushing pedal extra fraction down for reverse was that pedal was hitting transmission tunnel before sufficient travel . It had actually started to wear a groove in the aluminium. A simple adjust to raise bite point higher up pedal travel resolved the problem. There was no sign of any crack / distotion on the actuator lever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 You wouldn't be able to see any cracking/bending of the arm without splitting the engine/gearbox. The travel of the pedal being too long/low down can be an indication of a failing DS clutch arm but isn't by any means certain to indicate this as poor adjustment can be the cause. The other thing that could be a cause is clutch release bearing in the early stages of failing. I've suffer both problems so have experienced the symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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