Stiff Clutch....or is it normal?

[Nickol]

I perceive that the clutch on my '68 traveller is rather stiff and requires good leg muscles to operate it. That is, when compared to my everyday modern Opel. To determine if its normal, I could try someone elses Minor but living in the wilderness of Hessens' Siberia (so-called because it is over 600m high and the winters can be interesting) the number of MMs about is not much.
Would others here confirm or otherwise that the ease of operating the clutch on modern cars is not directly comparable to my TRaveller? Otherwise I might have aproblem.

[bmcecosse]

It is probably heavier than you are used to - but the first 25mm of travel should be 'easy' - this is the 'freeplay' required to make sure the carbon thrust pad is not in contact with the release pad of the pressure plate. You should try to lubricate the shaft and pedal pivot - spray with 'liquid grease' or engine oil. Need to lift the little plate over the master cylinder to get access to that. Also worth having a look at the external return spring hooked on the linkage and on the backplate ( under the car) - someone may have fitted an excessively strong spring - it only needs to be strong enough to return the pedal on the 'freeplay'.

[rayofleamington]

Modern cars benefit from 40 years of engineering to give a lighter clutch pedal!
(diaphragm spring & wear adjustment etc..)

However that only answers half of your question - the pedal shaft, intermediate shaft & bellhousing lever all rotate on a pivot (or bushes for the intermediate shaft). Therefore any/all can all be a source of friction.
Comparing to another Minor is about the only way - which is difficult due to where you are. I've never known anyone actually measure the pedal effort on a classic (it's a normal part of new car design) - in theory it can be done, but even after measuring, it'll still be just as hard to push.

Friction:

Inspect the intermediate shaft & bushes (under the car between gearbox and chassis leg)- if they look worn, then replace. Even if not, they can be stripped apart and re-greased.

The pedal shaft is not an easy strip & rebuild as the spacer can seize on the shaft - try oiling the shaft to see if it 'feels better'. If so, then a strip & re-grease would be worthwhile. Bear in mind that the pedal shaft can wear very badly and fixing needs some time & effort.

As for the clutch lever in the bell housing - if you remove the linkages, you will get some free play - if the free play is 'free' then that's probably enough (they are normally ok). If it's stiff, then you need to split engine/box* (major job) to get access to the pivot bolt.

Even after all that, it might be the clutch cover being stiff - not much to do here apart from replacing, but that's a major job - as per previous paragraph.

[Nickol]

Besten Dank to you both - Roy - always active and full of good advice but...a reply from Leamington Spa as well, and so informative. My old stamping ground and last school days (Leamington college 65-69).

I have it mind actually to convert the whole thing to a left hand drive anyway. Not that driving it as a Rechtslenker is a problem but I quite fancy just doing it. Thus to determine whether the pedal linkage itself is stiffer than it needs to be, just have to disconnect it from the clutch fork. When the Gearbox gets removed to access and change the front cover, the clutch itself can be tested. Actually when you get that far it might as well be changed anyway as it is not a job you want to do every month. Is it worth investing in an original rathe than a late copy? Borg & Beck ? Lockheed-Leamington....here we go lamenting again!

[alexmcguffie]

I'd say the clutch on my Minor is lighter than my Subaru(250hp) but heaver than our Clio(200hp). Both hydraulic though and French cars 'over assist' everything hence that feeling quite light.

Saying that, the chances are your clutch mechanism probably could do with a bit of lube if it hasn't been done for a while. An easy first test is to take off the return spring that goes to the engine back plate and move the pedal. Does it stick or feel tight over the first inch of travel, then the rest? Second, either undo or remove the rod linking the clutch fork to intermediate pivot and move the pedal again. You should be able to move the pedal nice and easily to the floor now.

There's a chance the bronze bush on the intermediate pivot has siezed onto the shaft causing it to drag in the rubber bush but your main cause will be the pedals rusting together on their shaft (and the spacer). If you take the cover off, see if the bush and brake pedal move freely against the clutch pedal. If not give it a good amount of penetraiting oil until everyting is free and then work some heavier oil into it to keep it lubricated.

When you do your LHD conversion, you could do what I did in my post below

http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=56258