Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Broken clutch pedal return spring

Unless you are using the clutch pedal as a foot rest, I believe the spring is redundant. At least it was on my previous car, a 1981 4/4. I enjoyed a light clutch for several years.
Harald

Depends on the clutch mechanism. A small amount of space is needed between the thrust race and the pressure plate, otherwise the race wears.

It's one of those things you could get away without having for years, yet another supposedly identical car will wear things out. I'd not omit it, you have the bit and it's not that hard a job to change.

While I can't offer any tips for changing the spring, I certainly have done it over 20 years ago, and the fact I've no recollection of the technique suggests it is reasonably easy. Easter's suggestion would seem likely to be what I did though.

Failed miserably to wind the spring onto the pedal weldment. I’m not saying that it’s impossible, it just that my fingers weren’t up to it and I thought I would wreck the spring if I forced it. I only had the one.

Plan b! Shorten and reform the spring tang to locate on the smaller arm. By doing this the spring could be located next to brake spring. Works a treat (so far!) and the clutch pedal still has the correct pre load. Photo below.

Might order up another spring and have another go sometime but at least its working for now.

Thanks for all the input.

Good solution. I would have replaced the car. Such are my DIY skills.

Thanks or sharing the fix

It is quite normal for ball type clutch release thrust races to be slightly pushed against the clutch tangs with the clutch fully engaged, thus the bearing rotates with the clutch but under very little load. If there is slight clearance then the ends of tangs on the rotating clutch will wear against the stationary release bearing. There may also be a slight ringing noise [caused by the tangs vibrating at high frequency] with a released clutch that goes away with a slight push on the clutch pedal as the clearance is taken up and the thrust race starts to turn again with the clutch. Of course any increase in noise as the clutch disengages is probably a clutch release bearing problem.
eg http://www.british-cars.net/triumph-tr6-bbs/throwout-bearing-noise-200303231415551745.htm
Regards PJB.

I think we differ here. I've had a release bearing give out, and if you adjust a rod clutch (as per 72 4/4) that way, you can get clutch slippage over bumps.

With a working pedal spring, your clutch will be working as per the design and if a hydraulic clutch operates with a slight contacts, fair enough, but you don't want load being introduced via the pedal mechanism.

As for wearing pressure plate fingers with release bearings, never seen it, I've changed a very worn out clutch on the 4/4 and if it was as easy a job as on the three wheeler, I'd have reused the bearing and pressure plate as they looked perfect. No so the driven plate which was utterly worn out.

Martyn, indeed I agree one does not want clutch slippage over bumps due to the linkage.
Cables can be set to preload and most/many co-axial hydraulic release bearings add preload by design anyway so their thrust races spin all the time.
The clutch on my 1986 4/4 after 30,000 miles showed signs of significant wear on the tangs from rubbing on the thrust race (cable operated) with clearance and ringing when disengaged (as do many Triumphs TR6 etc), so I now run with finger tight adjuster nuts then locked up and the ringing stops meaning that the thrust race is probably spinning. Best regards PJB.

My only comment is an odd ball one, I wonder if the release bearing had some friction? Not enough to make noises or cause operational problems but enough to cause wear every time contact was made.

All the thrust races of the bearing type I've seen are pretty hefty items and could easily cope with the small amount of extra spin permanent contact would give (bearing would not be spinning when clutch not pressed etc).

Clearance is needed though on the three wheeler - that has a carbon release bearing and the less work that it does, the longer it lasts.

Martyn, the thrust races I use for the 'Ford' clutch are sealed and do have some spin resistance when new - after changing one thinking that the noise was from the possibly worn bearing I still had the same noise! Oh bother I said. Then played around with the cable adjustment, looked at the preload from modern Ford coaxial hydraulic release bearings, asked some other classic car types (Triumph sports cars) and asked some experts and so I tried a sight preload on the clutch cable with finger tight nut then locked and the noise goes - hence the thrust race is probably spinning. Swings and roundabouts I guess too.
Carbon release bearings, thought they went out with the arc? ;-)
Cheers PJB