Hard Clutch Pedal

[rdweninger]

Just picked up the  '83 Hatch in Feb.  The clutch pedal is extremely hard to push in.   The PO installed a new clutch cable OVER the steering and heater hoses.   I took it apart and installed the cable correctly.  Set the adjustment to about 1/4" free play.  I thought that might fix the hard to push pedal.

   However, the pedal is still very hard to push in.     The clutch dis-engages near the top of the pedal.   Clutch is strong... front tires 'bark' if I take off too quickly.

  So... what... do I need more free play?   Or is the clutch fork bent?   Throwout Bearing isn't making noise.  I'm not ready to pull the motor... there's nothing wrong with it.  Great compression and NO leaks.

  Anyone ever had this experience?   Let me know... Thanks.

 

[scoobiedubie]

The only real resistance to the clutch peddle on an EA82 GL, is the spring above your toes on the clutch pedal, and possible kinks in the clutch cable.  Any kinks will wear the cable out and not allow the clutch pedal to return to it's at rest position, without some resistance.  The spring has some adjusting nuts that can slightly change the pedal pressure required to disengage the clutch.  I don't recall any springs in the clutch disc area of the transmission itself, that would cause increased pedal pressure.

[rdweninger]

I unhooked the return spring over on the hill-holder unit.   But there was no change...pedal still hard to press in...compared to my other Subies. 

I'll check out the pedal spring.   Maybe the PO put a bigger spring in there.

It's a new cable... and I don't see any kinks.  I re-routed it correctly.. with no change to pedal response.

Also, it's an EA81 Hatch.   Not sure that makes a difference.

Maybe PO put the wrong pressure plate/clutch disc in there ???  Is that possible?

[scoobiedubie]

Hill holder is part of the brake.  Brake peddle is on the right.  Clutch peddle on the left.  They are not supposed to be connected.  Perhaps something is bent up inside of the clutch disc area of the transmission.

[mikaleda]

No the hill holder is part of the clutch also and the return spring for the clutch is connected to the hill holder.

 

O.p. is the cable from the clutch to the hill holder still connected? That could be part of the problem if that cable is frayed in the sheath

Edited May 17, 2013 by mikaleda

[rdweninger]

At one point, I did unhook the cable to the hill holder.  There was a slight difference in the clutch pedal hard to push syndrome... but not much.

My brother's EA81 wagon's clutch is sooooo easy to push.     I bet I have a bent clutch fork... you think? 

[86 Wonder Wedge]

Try to isolate the problem...

 

Disconnect the clutch cable from the fork and see if the pedal is buttery smooth... IIRC, the clutch pedal box/support isnt the best built thing in the world... they can collapse and/or bend and cause alignment issues like a bent fork or bound cable.

[rdweninger]

Good idea!    I'll check that out tonight... maybe the pedal assembly is bent/misaligned.

I'll report back on Monday.

[MilesFox]

Hill holder is part of the brake.  Brake peddle is on the right.  Clutch peddle on the left.  They are not supposed to be connected.  Perhaps something is bent up inside of the clutch disc area of the transmission.

This comment doesnt explain anything but the obvious. The clutch pedal is on the left, and the brake is on the right. The hill holder is part of the brake, of course. It ties into the rear brake channel bridging the dual diagonal channels thru a valve ACTUATED BY THE CLUTCH CABLE.

 

the spring on the hill holder serves as a retrun spring for the clutch pedal.

 

Proper adjustment, presuming you are installing both cables or they are both backed off, is to adjust the clutch cable itself for actuation and free play, and then adjust the hill holder cable first to take the slack out of the clutch fork freeplay, and then final adjustment for the rear brake grab.

 

The way the hill holder works is when applying the brake with the clutch depressed, the hill holder locks pressure to the rear brake (a hard as the brake was applied) while the clutch is depressed, even if you let off the brake. This holds until the clutch is released, such as when you are starting off. This is designed so that once you stop on a hill, you can let go of the brake and stay on the clutch pedal so you don't have to do a little foot dance or stall the car if it rolls backwards.

 

If the brakes stick after reversing, the hill holder is too tight.