Shimming vs new pivot ball

[ramirj10]

Hello guys, i was having issues with the clutch pedal dropping when the car got hot until it did not engage at all. I made the mistake of putting an extended rod to compensate for the act 2600 clutch this i thought was going to solve my problem, well it was the complete opposite. The extended rod exerted way to much travel on the fork and it popped off the spring and now clutch is stuck. I have read a few threads on shimming the pivot ball but there are guys that fixed their problem by simply buying a new fork, TOB and pivot ball, but since im dropping the tranny tomorrow i want to know which one is the best decision? shimming or new? if anyone has pics of the shimming process i will greatly appreciate it if you can share them

 

[underradar92]

It is recommended to replace the ball and fork, that seems to solve the problem. I've used the shim trick and it worked fine too, however. Just install a washer for a 3/8" bolt, IIRC, under the pivot ball.

No pic's though.

 

[pboglio]

Hello guys, i was having issues with the clutch pedal dropping when the car got hot until it did not engage at all. I made the mistake of putting an extended rod to compensate for the act 2600 clutch this i thought was going to solve my problem, well it was the complete opposite. The extended rod exerted way to much travel on the fork and it popped off the spring and now clutch is stuck. I have read a few threads on shimming the pivot ball but there are guys that fixed their problem by simply buying a new fork, TOB and pivot ball, but since im dropping the tranny tomorrow i want to know which one is the best decision? shimming or new? if anyone has pics of the shimming process i will greatly appreciate it if you can share them

If you have a new pivot ball and/or clutch fork, new throwout bearing, new pressure plate, and the flywheel hasn't been resurfaced too many times, I don't see the need to add the washer. The shim washer helps when the pivot ball wears, shift fork fingers wear, the pressure plate spring fingers start getting grooved from the throw out bearing riding on it, and the flywheel is resurfaced a crap load of times. Then the distance between the seating surface of the pivot ball to the flywheel/pressure plate mounting bosses starts to increase excessively and you don't get enough pressure plate throw distance to disengage the clutch.

You start with all new parts then you won't have this stack up problem in the first place. I don't know why DSMers think they know more then the engineers who designed the trans/clutch system. Read the last passage in this link:

RRE's Clutch And Flywheel Tech Info

TRE put the shim washer under the pivot ball when my trans was rebuilt. When I asked why, the tech said it was to improve the geometry. Yeah, I tore that shim washer right back out.

 

[underradar92]

I don't know why DSMers think they know more then the engineers who designed the trans/clutch system.

Most of us don't, we are just cheap/broke.

 

[ramirj10]

Well thanks for the advice guys it looks like i am going to go ahead and replace everything exept the flywheel and im sure it hasn't been resurfaced so ill problably resurface it put in a new pivot ball, fork, clutch kit and TOB hopefully this will solve the godblessed clutch issues I've been having....and yes underradar92 it is hard at times but when it comes to dependability its time to break the piggybank ...peace out guys and ill post the end results....

 

[ramirj10]

By the way mitsubishi engineers did desing a fine piece of machinery, were just trying to tame the beast ........

 

[pboglio]

If you buy everything new, then you can bring everything within spec without having to worry. And when it requires the labor involved with dropping a trans again, that extra cash is worth it.

 

[Colt4G63 also]

From the sound of your original symptom, I would take a close look at your master and slave cylinders. If your clutch intermittently drops, it's usually a sign of a hydraulic issue. If there's any seepage at all from either of those parts, your pedal would get soft or drop.

 

[ramirj10]

You are right pboglio ill definitely go with everything new just to be in the safe side and COLT thanks for youre input but i have already cancelled out the hydraulics it was probably the master cylinder to begin with which i now have ready to put on. I think the seals inside the cylinder were becoming soft as the car got hot and blowby was the cause of pedal drop but inexperience led me to purchase the extended rod and thats what caused my recent problem which is i have an engaded clutch that won"t disengage because of the extra travel in the fork something snapped inside unsure until i pull out the tranny, problably the safety ring but ill go ahead and change out everything.