The V8 Owners Forum -

Hi all. I've done a quick search but it didn't show up quite what I wanted to know so I thought I'd try picking your brains.

Twice now I have been driving along in my Rush in traffic and found that I'll go to change gear and the clutch will go straight to the floor. The first time I was on a road trip in France and managed to get the front of the car up a high curb and have a look (my bellhousing has a slot cut in it where the release fork is).

The hyrdaulic side worked fine and the fork moved but the clutch release bearing wasn't moving into the clutch far enough to disengage it. The slot in the bellhousing provides just enough space to remove and refit the fork complete with slipper pads and doing this fixed the problem.

I have just got the flat bed of shame back home with exactly the same problem. I have assumed a one off problem had caused it the first time but now I suspect there must be something wrong causing the problem.

What I'd like to know is whether anyone else has had a similar problem or whether perhaps it's a known issue. Without the slot in the bellhousing the engine would have had to come out twice in the last 3 weeks! The only thing I can think of is perhaps I have too much travel in my clutch pedal which in turn forces the fork off the pivot. Am I correct in thinking the only thing holding the fork to the bellhousing is the clip/spring on the pivot?

Thanks for reading. Any advice gratefully received! I can put it back on again but I'd rather fix the cause of the fault rather than breaking down every 1000 miles!

Is the clutch arm dropping off the pivot??
I had a problem where my clutch pushrod was slightly to short, and in time with clutch wear the seals would pop out og the slave, let air in the system and fubar the clutch action,
Another one I have seen is the clutch arm bend around the two forks, again losing clutch movement.
one way to check the movement thing is push the slave cyl right home, and pull the lever so it rests bearing against the clutch fingers, I dont think you should have any more than 3mm free movement in the pushrod

What I think is happening is the clutch arm has come off the release bearing. The arm didn't appear to be damaged after the first time. I'll pop it out tomorrow to see what it's like now. For it to come off the release bearing would it have to come off the pivot or can the release bearing move and come off on its own? Other than the pivot and the spring holding it on I don't recall there being any other fixing. If it is the only problem then could have too long a throw on the clutch pedal cause it to pop off the pivot briefly?

The slave cylinder is towards the end of its throw but I still think its within its normal operating range. There isn't any air in the system.

I have read that for some similar issues a longer pushrod and adjusting the pivot position can sometimes help but I'm not sure they'd help here.

Quick update.

I've discovered the clutch pedal moved at least twice as far as it needed to, perhaps more than that even. I've adjusted it so it now only moves far enough to just be able to get all the gears. The spring on the fork wasn't looks like it had been bent out so I have bent it back in again. It'll be a case of seeing if this fixes it now I suppose but fingers crossed.

Still keen to hear other ideas if anyone has any though.