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| sluggish clutch | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: 12-08-2011 02:57 am |
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1st Post |
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rossjfox Member
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My JH5 sat for some time while I upgraded to Dellortos. With those complete, the car is back on the road, but now there's something not quite right with the clutch. When pressing and releasing the clutch pedal, it feels as if it were a hydraulic clutch filled with molasses. It's hard to push the pedal, and then it's slow to return. So slow in fact, that my foot practically comes off the pedal completely while I await the pedal to catch-up to my foot motion. The clutch does disengage the gears, but it's very difficult to drive smoothly. The gears shift fine. From the outside, I can't see or feel anything amiss with the clutch fork. Does this sound like I need a new clutch or throw-out bearing? Ross
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| Posted: 12-08-2011 05:11 am |
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2nd Post |
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Mason Jones Member 
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Sounds like the cable is sticking. Is it possible you moved the clutch cable or something happened to it when installing the new carbs?
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| Posted: 12-08-2011 02:11 pm |
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3rd Post |
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Lash Russell Member 
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Ross, This sounds a little unusual. If the TO bearing is going it usually makes a grinding/rubbing/squeeling noise whne the clutch is engaged. If you aren't experiencing this then your TO bearing likely is fine therefore probably not the culprit. Sounds like Mason is on the right track, something is binding. The pressure plate requires a fair amount of force to disengage the disk from the flywheel so it could be the clutch cable is sticking but it would have to be very bad before the binding in the cable would overcome the spring force of the pressure plate when you lift off the clutch pedal. It could also be some binding on the output shaft of the tranny where the TO bearing rides on, perhaps this in combination with a sticky cable is what is binding the clutch. I'd try removing the clutch cable from the tranny then seing how much resistance is in the cable when you depress the clutch cable and have a helper pull back on the bellhousing end of the cable, try this a few time and see, this would be an easy fix if it it a completely jammed cable requiring only the removal and lubrication or replacement of the cable (they are available at club store). If this doesn't work then removal of the tranny/bellhousing/clutch would be required. At least it would be an opportunity to completely service the clutch so it will be done for good. If it turns out that a new clutch plate/disk is required I'd strongly recommend a new TO bearing as well as a resurface of the flywheel. This is also a great time to put in a new rear crank seal if you notice it is leaking (I'd do it anyway even if it isn't). Don't forget to seal the flywheel bolts (I think someone mentioned teflon tape??) as these holes can leak oil from the crank. Someone who knows about this better than I please advise re flywheel bolt hole oil leakage. Hope this helps, Lash
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| Posted: 12-08-2011 02:37 pm |
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4th Post |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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Ross, I would agree with Mason first place to look would be the cable then take a look at the pedal box where the clutch pedal rotates on, I just checked my spare pedal box because I thought there was a grease fitting on it but not so, I would recommend spraying some lube on the pivot points though, also make sure the cable has a nice easy bend and didn't get miss aligned while you were playing about. Worst case would be if the shifting fork has become dislodged off the pivot ball inside the bell housing then you would need to get under and reposition it, which you can do from the outside without pulling the tranny. How are the Dell's ??? Brett
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| Posted: 12-09-2011 06:51 pm |
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5th Post |
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SpeedyMitch Member 
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Hay Ross, My clutch cable has the same problem. I have disconnected it from the tranny (easy) and tried to get lubricant into the cable housing with limited success. My cable also seems to be very sensitive to how it is run to the tranny. I think there is just years of accumulated gunk in the housing that causes the cable to bind. I understand replacement cables are available but it looks like the fitting in the peddle box would be a PITA. Speedy
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| Posted: 12-10-2011 03:49 am |
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6th Post |
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rossjfox Member
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Thanks everyone. I'll start by removing the cable and see how it glides. It would be great if that's the culprit. Not looking forward to a clutch job if that's neceassy. BTW, the Dells are good, but hard to enjoy with the clutch as it is, I'm sure you can image! Ross
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| Posted: 12-12-2011 04:44 pm |
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7th Post |
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Greg Fletcher Administrator 
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I'd guess it's the cable also. They work great when they are new, but only last so many years. In my experience, it's pretty much impossible to lubricate them once they are old, it just needs to be replaced. You can pull carefully pull back the pedal box without removing the brake lines to change the cable.
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| Posted: 12-25-2011 02:03 am |
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8th Post |
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rossjfox Member
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Just to complete the thread, I replaced the clutch cable as everyone suggested. What a difference! Totally solved the problem. I never knew the Jensen had such a light clutch. Thanks again, everyone. Ross Last edited on 12-25-2011 02:05 am by rossjfox |
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| Posted: 12-26-2011 02:16 pm |
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9th Post |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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Ross, take your old one and hang it straight up and down and spray penatrating oil into it with a bowl at the bottom to catch the run off, after awhile it should free up. Then you can throw it in the boot as a share should you need one. Brett
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