[Mk2] [Turbo] Clutch master, pushrod deflection

[feckdeamon]

Been having a headache for the last few weeks with clutch on my Rev 1 tubby...

Lost the pedal in traffic, replaced slave (old one was definitely passing a little internally), replaced master cylinder, bled & adjusted for hours and hours till I got good pedal feel.

The problem I'm having now is that due to the 'weight' of the clutch springs (I think)(RPS upgraded jobby), the master cylinder pushrod is deflecting sideways at the pedal end, which occasionally causes the clutch to not disengage, and I'm sure is slowly killing the master cylinder seals.

Has anyone experienced this before, and any suggested solutions? I was considering having a larger diameter pushrod turned up. Would an extended clutch slave rod help? I'm reasonably certain the system is air free, but I suppose there could be a small amount in there somewhere.

Car has recently been put back on the road after being laid up for 3 years in a dry garage.

[Peter C]

Hey,

I've recently spent a fair amount of time fiddling with the clutch pedal pushrod, trying to adjust the height of the biting point.

I've found the pushrod to be a very sturdy piece of kit. It would take a lot of force to bend the pushrod.

Are you 100% certain that the pushrod is at fault?

Peter

[feckdeamon]

I can watch it deflecting as I push the pedal down (with head in footwell)

[Driftlimits Performance]

inspect/replace the fork

[feckdeamon]

Swapped it with three different ones - original from the car, one from brand new master, and one from master from a breaker. Assuming you mean the piece that attaches to the clutch pedal.

[djpkins]

...or is it the one that works the thrust bearing, surely not, that's like a piece of cast iron...fk shabba if it is matey. Did you push the cluch pedal in when it was in storage? ...this is to stop the plates sticking and ripping apart upon startup I think, not sure if it can cause any side affects though, like a displaced spring???
Has the master lost it's oem pin or lock nut somehow?

[feckdeamon]

Nah it's the pushrod between the clutch pedal and the clutch master.

Worked fine for a couple of days after I started running it again, then the master cyl seals went.

Starting to think it might not be quite bled through right.

[uglee]

Is it a possibility that the area where your clutch pedal bracket is mounted on the firewall is flexing under the force of operating it. The pushrod would be slightly out of alignment putting a sideloading on the master cylinder seals?
I've seen how much it flexes when operating the brake pedal, however it was a hell of a lot of force and a slightly uprated RPS shouldn't require that much extra effort, so maybe a look at that is needed.

I've got an ACT rated upto 500ftlbs and that doesn't distort the firewall when pressed and that was an absolute monster to use before fitting the assisstor springs.

[Driftlimits Performance]

ahhh I see. So where exactly is it buckling? If the rod has been wound too far out then it could do it.

[Peter Gidden]

Adjuster wound on enough threads? Locknut tight?

[feckdeamon]

Peter - Yes and yes. Seems to be the wee plastic widget between the hole the linkage threads into and the clip for the pedal.

Wish I had a lathe here, be sorted by now!