How To...Adjust Your Clutch

[VT-Doo]

Recently there have been a number of people complaining about their clutches and/or crunching while going into gear.
These complaints can be solved with just a few checks & adjustments.

First of all you have to make sure your gearbox oil is fresh. The number of people who do not even consider this is shockingly bad.
There are many brands out there claiming to be the best, personally I use Honda MTF III.

Another vastly overlooked fluid is the clutch fluid itself. This is easily changed, the hardest part will be getting the right amount of access to the slave cylinder.

These both need to be addressed before you adjust the clutch.

There is no point adjusting the the clutch if you're pushing against air and dirt.


To adjust the clutch you only need a 12mm open-ended spanner.
As you can see in the picture below the top of the clutch pedal pushes on a rod in the clutch master cylinder through the firewall.

1) Loosen the 12mm locking nut (clockwise - looking at the firewall from inside the car).
2) Rotate the rod to adjust the clutch
3) Push against the clutch pedal with your hand and re-tighten the locking nut.

Depending on the result you're after depends on what way you turn the rod - experiment.

If you are experiencing a slight crunch at high revs there is a high chance the clutch is not disengaging fully; or, if your biting point is too low to the floor you need to lengthen the rod to remove the free-play.

Longer rod: moves biting point up.
Shorter rod: moves biting point down.


I must stress, if you are having problems with a low biting point you need to first change the clutch fluid.




*I have read this over to myself many times and am still not completely satisfied. I will continue to edit this post with any information I have been too vague on or have completely missed out.*

 

[sinbad]

fan dabby dosey! 8) 8)

My bite point is too low, ive changed the gearbox oil and clutch fluid to try to resolve this but no change.

Hoping this will sort it out. :xcheers:

 

[Marpol]

VT-Doo thank you very much!

Ive recently changed my gearbox oil (Honda MTF-III) and also flushed the clutch fluid but im still not happy!

Hopefully adjusting the clutch as above will sort this, I know what im doing this weekend! :wink:

 

[donkeykong]

I will try to adjust it this weekend, i have a feeling if have to get a lower biting point.
thk u very much for this DIY!

I did it just now and i lower the biting point, how low can u go? i still have a few cm from the ground before the clutch engages, is this fine or is it to low??

 

[bezza4]

How do I need to adjust it to prevent the crunching in to second when cold?

 

[sinbad]

How do I need to adjust it to prevent the crunching in to second when cold?

Ideally, You want it so your biting point is in the middle of the pedal travel, so when your foot is off its fully engaged and when your foot is pressing fully down that the clutch will be fully disengaged.

 

[VT-Doo]

How do I need to adjust it to prevent the crunching in to second when cold?

Ideally, You want it so your biting point is in the middle of the pedal travel, so when your foot is off its fully engaged and when your foot is pressing fully down that the clutch will be fully disengaged.

xthumbsup

 

[C&S Evo7]

its a bit personal i think, i used to have mine right at the top so i only had to touch it to change gear rather than press down, seemed better that way on track but was an arse on the road sometimes due to the angle of your foot

 

[therealspooner]

I've got the same problem only just bought the car as well, didn't do it when I bought it! 3 weeks down the line... I've had Tgm change the box oil, mo difference. Going to have the 2nd gear synchro replaced. Sometimes you gotta bite the bullit and get the work done at a price

 

[coyote_dc5]

Great post! Anyone had any success from the adjustment? I also get 2nd gear crunch so deffo gonna give this a shot!!

Thxs

 

[sinbad]

Worked for me but it wasn't fully disengaging in all gears.

 

[ricco121]

great thread.... my gears crunch from first to second if i try changing while flooring it. its a bit annoying cos its means i cant use first if im having a bit of a dabble with other cars.... how this works any1 had any results yet

 

[Fotonas13]

Worked for me but it wasn't fully disengaging in all gears.

Hi, you shortened rod?

 

[The One]

The crunching between second and first is normal (if its not serious crunching) there is a triple cone synchro mesh on !st and 2nd gears so that they can take a bashing on the track. What this means is that because of the triple cone synchros there is literally more material in contact during a gear shift. It is completely normal when cold for it to be a pig to shift. Once its warmed up tho it should free up considerably but it isn't gonna be as easy as shifting in a micra its just not that type of gearbox its a Type R. Only use Honda MTF 3 gear oil. I reasearched it recently and found out that it is closer to engine oil that gear oil and the gearbox needs the special lubricating qualities to work properly. I tried another type from castrol a few years back and sometimes just couldn't get it into 2nd when cold. I thought the synchro was gone. Then changed back to the MTF 3 and the problem dissapeared.

As for adjusting the clutch, I did this recently as well as changed the fluid but to no avail. Clutch doesn't disengage at high rpm and can't get it out of gear until the rpm drops so its time for a new clutch before I'm left stranded trying to get up a hill somewhere.

Remember Honda MTF 3 is the only oil that should be used.

 

[VT-Doo]

Thanks for your comment (even although I'm going to disagree with most of what you've said...).
If your clutch it not disengaging properly then there's either air in the system of the rod (pictured above) is set too short (biting point too low to the floor).

As for the crunching debate...it is not "normal". My box is brilliant, whether it be hot or cold. It doesn't make any noises/crunches between gears.

 

[TypeRDan]

Had a go at this last night, had a right job though, really awkward to get to the locking nut and i just couldnt get it to budge and after half an hour i gave up

 

[maxvr6]

Can anyone tell me if doing this will adjust the pedal height at the same time, or does it just move the biting point?

My clutch pedal is a bit high for my liking and I would like to lower it as the pedal gets in the way when left foot braking.

If there's another way to adjust the pedal height can someone point me in the right direction, searching seems to be getting me nowhere.

Thanks

 

[donkeykong]

it doesn't change the pedal height, just the biting point.

 

[maxvr6]

Can anyone tell me how to adjust the pedal height?

 

[Chris-DC5]

There is a nut at the top of the pedal that you can adjust for the height. Why do you need to adjust the height??