Slipping Clutch.. Or Haunted Cobra .. I'm not sure..

[Denny S.]

After 3 days in the shop renewing every gasket from Thermostat
to Rear Main. New plugs,filters,thermostat, changing out all the fluids from Coolant ( Now 80% Water,20% Coolant and 1 bottle of Water Wetter. New gear lube in the toploader ( 80-140 Valvoline) Differential changed out to (Red Line
and a Tube of Equatorque ) New springs and limit bushing in the MSD Distributor ( Former owner had timing at 6 degrees initial
and 20 something max advance.Timing now at 10 Initial & 38 Max.
All this was brought about by numerous oil leaks and a blown head gasket. Head gasket I'm attributing to former owner getting it hot on his first runs after build. I back it out of the shop after we check timing and carb adjustment. Back it out into the road and drop the hammer... Clutch smokes and stinks and no wheel spin... I'm Pi**ed at this point AND it looks like it's leaking oil STILL
If it is in fact still leaking it could only be coming from oil galley plugs. So out comes the 428 or the toploader.. So I load it up on my rollback and take it home disgusted. Now here's the kicker.
I decide to repair the E brake cable ( 5th tIme) correctly and just put in a new one. I'm looking under the car and see that my half shaft on the drivers side is all shined up. Upon closer inspection I find that a Bolt had disapearred out of the rear suspension and the right rear unequal arms are wedged down on the axle. Anyhow I repaired that and checked every other fastener. So thats what that strange rattle was. No permanent damage
done , but I'll bet it woulda got ugly sooner or 140 mph later.Ok to end this tale of woe. How much travel does the Clutch Master cylinder have with a Mc Cloed Hydraulic Throw out. I think mine is overextending or my master cylinder is leaking by...

[bmalone]

Hi Denny:

I am sorry, do not know the answer to your clutch master cylinder question. But I was curious about your car. Was it the one on Cobra Country located in Venice, FL? The reason I ask; I was interested in buying that car.

Bill

[Back in Black]

Article in Kit Car, September, 2001:

"The bearing only needs to move just enough to release the clutch.
If the bearing extends too far, it will overcenter the diaphragm spring in the cover. This may cause one of the rivets in the cover to loosen and lose some of the preload. You could also bend one of the fingers on the clutch spring. "
AND:

"You need a pedal stop for the hydraulic throwout bearing type clutch setup. You need only 0.380 to 0.500 inches Throwout bearing travel. The ratio with a 3/4 inch master cylinder is two to one, so you would need between 3/4 to 1 inch of pedal engagement travel. If you don't have a stop, you will blow out either the piston or blow the O-ring ! "

Sorry to bring this potentially bad news, but it seems doubtful that you have *Christine 2*, at least in the clutch area

[Cobranut]

Denny,

There is also a threaded sleeve on the back of the T/O brg.
This sleeve needs to be adjusted so that when the slave is fully collapsed, there is clearance between it and the pressure plate fingers. As the clutch wears, this clearance diminishes, so it may need periodic adjustment.

After taking mine apart the second time because of a leaking slave, I switched to the external slave setup. I have a much stiffer pedal now, but at least I can adjust or repair it externally.

Good luck,

[Denny S.]

Thank you all for your replies.. No I didn't buy it out of Florida... I have a pedal
stop, But it allows about 2 inches at least of master piston travel. I guess I try to adjust the stop and see how it shifts, It feels like it's leaking by somewhere.
When sitting at a stop clutch depressed you can sometimes feel it start to try engage a little. No fluid is leaving the clutch resevior.(SP) ? If you miss a gear you have to double clutch it to get it without grinding.. To get reverse you sometiimes have to double clutch or it will grind. I would love to get rid of this HYD TOB.. I don't care how much it adds to pedal force....

[Back in Black]

But it sounds like yours has been improperly adjusted for WAY too much travel. Looks like you need a new Master cylinder, and to back that adjustment off to between 1 and 1.25 inches from the actual dis-engagement.
The standard non hydraulic clutches can actually cause occupational *left clutch leg* syndrome. My 4 x 4 has one, (Mc Leod) and it's a real pain in stop and go.

[Slide]

Denny, with the bearing commpressed you need .1-.125inch clearance between the bearing face and clutch fingers. If the motor and trans is out of the car just hook everything up and reach in and spin the bearing until it contacts the clutch take it apart and screw the bearing back about .1 in. You may need a collar if bearing seems to short. I have a 3/4 in. master and get clutch release almost instantly. Hope this helps.