MTFCA Forum

Hi from abroad,
Two days ago when accelerating from an intersection the clutch pedal
suddenly felt less firm and I had to push it closer to the floor to engage
low gear. Despite heavy rain I decided to take a look and removed the
tranny cover, but I couldn't detect anything unusual. I put it back
together and adjusted the band a little from outside the hogshead. The next
day I saw that the outside nut holding the notch inside the hogshead wasn't
castellated and I was able to give it almost a quarter turn. Since it
didn't really felt loose i assumed this was probably not the reason. I
will take the cover off again, but could it be that the notch broke off the
bolt, because the sloppy feeling of the pedal appeared so suddenly? Has
anyone ever had that happened? The bands have kevlar lining and I would say
they were adjusted perfectly. I am not allowing much slipping, because I'm
afraid of destroying the low speed drum. Any ideas where to look at?
Thanks in advance with
greetings from Germany,
Bernd

Inside cam is pinned. Check that it has not sheared. Was the proper solid pin used?
Same with the pedal to shaft.

Look @ the low drum all the way around for cracks.
Band adjustment: With the motor running, tighten the low adjusting screw.(start with a loose setting) When you just start to hear a change in gear noise, stop.(thats the tripple gears starting to engage) Now back off the adjustment 1/2 turn. You are now accurately set for maximum/optimal band adjustment.
If, after adjusting, you have to much engagement travel, the band is out of round with a high friction point. Thats critical bad with Kevlar. Needs a redo.
Kevlar bands feel very soft, like cotton & take 3 or 4 adjustments to be set IF installed correctly.(perfectly round with the HH off, not thru the inspection cover door)

Thank you John,
whatever I might find out next weekend I will certainly adjust the band per your instruction. I really hope that it will be some minor problem and not a cracked drum.
I'll keep you informed. Thanks again,
Bernd

Hi everyone,
well I adjusted the low band again until I heard a difference in sound while the engine was turning and backed off a half turn. It still felt as if there was too much engagement travel so I took the inspection cover off again.
I checked the drum and it looked o.k. I recognized that the pedal support which mates with the cam on the shaft did turn with the shaft, albeit just a little tiny bit. The nut on the outside of the hogshead was tight. I thought it should not be able to turn at all.
Is it possible that the pedal support broke off just above where the bolt is, like the flange seperated from the cam part? The surfaces of the cam and its mate do not look worn to me. The pins in the cam and in the pedal are also tight. Since the band have kevlar linings I'm afraid to tighten it even more.
Suggestions very much appreciated.
Thank you MTFCA,
Greetings from abroad,
Bernd

Any thing is possible. Try getting a visual of the suspected break with inspection/dental mirrors.
The extra travel can come from a loop/hi spot in the lining or an out of round band. Thats a condition that appears after a new band install.
Could you be used to a hard lining? I find Kevlar acts like soft cotton. Kind of mushy until it locks up. A very worn low cam set makes for more wasted travel. Easy to detect. How far does the pedal move before your tripple gears start to make the noise change? Like when you did the proper adjustment. Do not try to take out the travel by adjusting the band a little more. You are set optimal. One fellow broke 2 low drums from this trap.

John,
thanks for the advice using dental mirrors. So far I haven't had time to check again. Slow speed engages almost when the pedal touches the floorboard. Also it sounds like the transmission already whines when still in neutral with the emergency brake upright. When I adjusted the band with the engine running I seemed to not have recognized it. Now with the boards in again it sounds different.
Hmm, has something happened inside? The bands are not new they were installed by the last owner and worked perfectly for the last four seasons.
I will have to check with the mirrors and let you know.
Thanks again,
Bernd