Aftermarket clutch becoming stiffer

[jevansio]

I don't know if this is in my head or if I'm noticing things like this as I'm driving the car daily now, but my clutch seems to becoming more difficult to use. It seems to becoming stiffer, & since it's an RPS Stage 3 getting the biting point is quite hard.

I seem to be able to push it the first inch or so extremely easily, then it's gets quite stiff for the rest of the way.

Will a clutch fluid change help?

Also getting reverse is a right nightmare, are there any cures for this on an aftermarket clutch?

[Chris Wilson]

A fluid change will definitely make no difference at all. When hydraulically operated diagphram clutches become heavy it's usually impending cover failure, or bearing collapse changing the geometry of the action. It's raely good news I'm afraid. Is the bite point changing? If so that's bad... :(

[Golfpro]

I don't know if this is in my head or if I'm noticing things like this as I'm driving the car daily now, but my clutch seems to becoming more difficult to use. It seems to becoming stiffer, & since it's an RPS Stage 3 getting the biting point is quite hard.

I seem to be able to push it the first inch or so extremely easily, then it's gets quite stiff for the rest of the way.

Will a clutch fluid change help?

Also getting reverse is a right nightmare, are there any cures for this on an aftermarket clutch?

Maybe your leg is getting tired;)

[foodfreak]

I had this with my rps street max.
the bearing carrier was worn & not lining up properly making the pedal harder. bear in mind that this happened after 3 yaers of running rps clutches( & a lot of town driving)
Also check the clutch fork pivot, mine was cracked making the alignment problem worse
was fine after changing the bearing ,carrier & clutch fork pivot

Hope this helps
john

[jevansio]

A fluid change will definitely make no difference at all. When hydraulically operated diagphram clutches become heavy it's usually impending cover failure, or bearing collapse changing the geometry of the action. It's raely good news I'm afraid. Is the bite point changing? If so that's bad... :(
Cheers Chris. The bite point isn't changing, it's just it seems to be slightly harder to get those smooth pull aways without giving it more revs than usual. It's more like it's harder to control the exact position of the clutch around the biting point.

It didn't seem as bad today, guess I'll keep an eye on it to see if the symptoms worsen :)

I had this with my rps street max.
the bearing carrier was worn & not lining up properly making the pedal harder. bear in mind that this happened after 3 yaers of running rps clutches( & a lot of town driving)
Also check the clutch fork pivot, mine was cracked making the alignment problem worse
was fine after changing the bearing ,carrier & clutch fork pivot

Hope this helps
john
Cheers John, next time it's in the garage I'll get the clutch inspected. Hopefully it's in my head as the entire clutch/flywheel & all bearings were brand new a year ago & haven't seen that many miles.

[jevansio]

A fluid change will definitely make no difference at all. When hydraulically operated diagphram clutches become heavy it's usually impending cover failure, or bearing collapse changing the geometry of the action. It's raely good news I'm afraid. Is the bite point changing? If so that's bad... :(
Chris, bad news confirmed, clutch has packed in, not sure the exact failure but the biting point has been dropping this last week (I guess it was before just I haven't noticed it). Clutch fluid is below min (was fine yesterday), will report back findings once the garage have it in pieces.

[johnd-mkiv]

Had this with mine a while back the clutch was dragging

[Chris Wilson]

Sounds like the release bearing has collapsed, or is eating its way through the fingers of the diaphragm, or the diaphragm itself has collapsed :(

[jevansio]

Sounds like the release bearing has collapsed, or is eating its way through the fingers of the diaphragm, or the diaphragm itself has collapsed :(
Just when I was commending the car on running well, it does this to show me it's still in control :D

[jevansio]

For completeness this problem has been resolved. The 2 bolts holding the release fork to the gearbox had sheared. The clutch itself was in great condition.

There were a couple of small marks where the snapped bolt heads had marked the clutch cover, but nothing that would affect the operation of the clutch.

Since the fix the pedal feel, gear selection, biting point & operation noise have improved massively :)