Question about warm/hot clutch sticking...

Unknown
Unknown
edited November -1 in HUDSON
Finally have the electrical and starter bugs ironed out in my '49 Club Coupe (with later 308) and have been able to take it out for some brisk drives and have made a few two-hour round-trip blasts down to Capistrano Beach, CA a few times. In city driving (which I avoid as best as possible) that lasts more than twenty minutes, once the clutch gets warmed up real good - maybe a bit hot - I feel it requiring more 'oomph' to shift from 2-3. Nothing horrible, but noticeable. Clutch fluid level is good and the shifting linkage is all lubricated. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance...

Comments

  • hudsonsplasher1
    hudsonsplasher1 Senior Contributor
    If it's a new cork clutch, you may want to adjust the linkage up as far as possible. I experience the same thing when I'm in a parade. By the time I get to the end, the clutch swells from the heat and it gets hard to shift. As soon as I get it up to normal speed it cools down and works normal again. It's Just the nature of the beast.
  • Huddy42
    Huddy42 Senior Contributor
    Hudsonsplasher is right, if you ride the clutch or in a parade as he said the corks do swell, if and I don't do them any more had a parade I would always throw the car into neutral when idle, never leave the foot on the pedal to the floor so to speak while idling.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Excellent...and thanks for the info. From what I know, the clutch is not new, but it hasn't been used much at all since installation (barn car, sort of) and, yeah, its the city stop-and-go driving that makes it require more force to run through the gears. Once cruising at speed, if I need to shift from 3 to 2, everything's fine, and when the car cools down, everything is fine...or...cool.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    It's very possible that this is a rebuilt disc that didn't get baked long enough to get all the moisture out of the corks. When they get hot the corks swell up and the clearance dissappears.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I think I agree with setting your clearance as much as you can and in city traffic get it fully engaged/diss-engaged as quickly as possable with out jerking . You really should'nt be haveing this problem unless it's constant stop/go traffic and it's set a bit too tight . , it's the necesary slipping to start/stop smoothly that builds heat and swells the corks so minamize that as much as possable. BUD
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Yeah, I'm in Long Beach (near LA) and there is alot of traffic at certain times of the day - lots of stop and go. Will open up the linkage spread more than it is this weekend, get the car hot and report back. Thanks again for the input (my only experience with wet clutches is on my old Vespas!).
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