clutch needing shims ? or replacement?

[M1L3S]

I bought a motor with tranny bolted to it already , being on the short time frame and the newb I am, i just installed it all into my car (have to move at the end of the month so i needed to get the car drivable)


problem i'm having is the clutch fork seems to not ingage where it should.

first pic is where i feel resistence of pressure plate.

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this pic shows how far over it goes

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last pic wont upload.....


basically the questions i have are:

1- do i need a new clutch?

2- can i just add shims?

3- is my slave just bad?

4- do i have to drop tranny to add shims?

5- if i have to drop tranny how do i know if mine is truly shot?

I test drove the car before i bought the engine and tranny from it, it just felt like it needed to be adjusted..

any information will be greatly appreciated, im on a short time frame.

 

[TurboTsiThatFly]

I had this issue with my car awhile back. I had to shim the pivot ball with about a 1/4" spacer. And then the problem was fixed. And i replaced every component on the clutch system. Before finally having to shim the pivot ball with that 1/4" spacer. Just my .02 cents. Give it a shot. Its worth the try.

 

[M1L3S]

I had this issue with my car awhile back. I had to shim the pivot ball with about a 1/4" spacer. And then the problem was fixed. And i replaced every component on the clutch system. Before finally having to shim the pivot ball with that 1/4" spacer. Just my .02 cents. Give it a shot. Its worth the try.

so you replaced everything when you only needed to shim it? where did you get the shims? i have no idea what they look like or even where to find them....

 

[cola]

a shim is just a washer

 

[spyderdrifter]

+1 on just shimming the pivot ball. I replaced the clutch in my previous spyder and it had this issue, although I don't think the slave cylinder thing was that far away from the shift fork, was 4 years ago so I could be wrong. Threw a couple washers on the pivot ball and all was good afterward. Give it a shot, quick and free, if you already got washers.

 

[NHerron]

To add shims you need to take the trans off anyway. So in that case you might check the real reason the fork is sitting that far over. I would only add shims if that's the last possible solution because most times it's just worn parts

Heres the best links that should give you an idea

TRE TECH TIPS
RRE's Clutch And Flywheel Tech Info
Pivot Ball Shimming - YouTube

 

[M1L3S]

To add shims you need to take the trans off anyway. So in that case you might check the real reason the fork is sitting that far over. I would only add shims if that's the last possible solution because most times it's just worn parts

so I pulled tranny (Pain in the A#$) was alot easier doing a motor swap honestly.......

first pic is of the clutch

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secons pic is of the flywheel

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3rd pic is of the clutch disk, i dont want to pull it if i do not have too, i dont have a balance tool, not to mention broke my only 3/8 drive ratchet removing tranny.... (clutch isnt completely round like a stock one, its looks like parts have been cut out of it all the ### around the disk.

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the whole kicker in the situation is that the car has sat for years. i drove the car before i bought it, everything just felt untuned and loose. like it needed a good tune up.

im hoping it just needs a shim because the flywheel was resurface caused it to shorten, and the fact its not a oem clutch kit so the width is off causing a even more need for shims. what do you think?