I recently had the clutch and throw out bearing replaced on my car using an oe clutch and a hills bearing. The gearbox was a bit crucnhy from time to time. I noticed the biting point to be very low- meaning that the clutch may not have been fully released on pressing the clutch pedal. I also noticed that the pedal had to be very firmly pushed to the floor to get a clean change. I found an adjustment on the pedal that allows a change in position of the push rod that connects to the master cylinder. Using a 13 mm spanner under the drivers foot well I loosened the nut and turned the rod by hand. The clutch now has a slightly higher biting point and I am confident that it’s now totally clearing the flywheel when the pedal is depressed. The change is certainly improved. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just wondering why you are fixing something that wasn't done right in the first place? Have you read the manual section on adjusting the pedal? "Pedal position needs not to be adjusted because the mechanism is hydraulic.". Then it immediately contradicts that and gives instructions on how to adjust the pedal. "Pedal travel is to be 115mm. If the clutch pedal is no longer aligned with the brake pedal after disassembling the pedal board, adjust as follows... etc, etc. Note: Do not use the entire cylinder stroke because this would be excessive and give the feeling of forcing the pressure plate springs" Did you rule out all hydraulic (bleeding, etc) problems?
There is no discernible change in the pedal position..I know the bleeding was done a couple of times and the clutch generally feels great. It lottery a change of a couple of mm to where it now bites.
We have what's known as a "constant contact" release bearing in the 550, which means there's no detectable free play at the top of the pedal travel. This can cause problems if the initial engagement is too high in the pedal travel, so it may be why the techs initially left the engagement close to the bottom. And perhaps they thought once the clutch had bedded in, the engagement would be slightly higher. It's probably fine where you have it now, but do be sensitive for any clutch slippage under high torque, heavy acceleration conditions. If you feel any slippage at all, you should probably restore the rod position to where it was.
Clutch pedal pushrod has one correct position. It needs very slight freeplay between rod and piston. Any other adjustment will lead to problems. The clutch pedal stop screw likewise has one correct position. Your initial symptom sounded more like an incorrectly bled system, possibly incorrect parts or a poorly rebuilt clutch. You really need to reestablish the correct adjustment of the pushrod and address the real problem.
It feels 100x better. I only turned it 2 threads. I will definately bleed it once more. The components were direct from Ferrari and the bearing from Hills. The flywheel was replaced too. It’s the best 550 change I have experienced. I am now over the moon with it
Whose to say it was correct in the first place? It’s a crude mechanical device with a multitude of components, seals and liquid which wear, expand etc etc. Please provide a definitive inspection and measurement method statement and I am happy to test it,,
Not a single thing you said would have any effect on pushrod adjustment. I already gave it the information to set it. If you do not understand it or the importance of it I suggest leaving it to someone who does.
My 550 has almost zero free play with clutch pedal travel at cold start, but after some spirited driving there seems to be a lot dead pedal travel before clutch engagement. In fact, engagement is almost at the floor and I couldn't get the car to engage reverse despite trying 7 times when I got home in my driveway. I replaced the clutch 5k miles ago. Any ideas?
You need to bleed the clutch. It is a real pain because you have to do it from under the car. When you do it suck the old fluid out of the master and refill with new. Then bleed the clutch until you get new fluid. Our bellhouse area gets hot! Next time I have nothing to do I'll made a AN-3 line from the bellhouse bleeder to up near the clutch master so I can bleed the clutch from under the hood. We racers do this on any manual box.
