OK, the clutch acts liek its slipping (not engaging fully when pedal released) *ONLY* when driving for longer periods of time.

Is it possible that the clutch is adjusted too far, but not far enough to cause trouble when cold??

also, is it logical that the clutch would ever tighten??? Or maybe the pressure plate is dead?

It's not contaminated by leaking rear main or input shaft seal is it?

I think the book said 1in travel in the pedal before it starts to disengage the clutch.

I dont think so, but i'll know when i tear it apart

I have to wait a bit before i do it though, I still need ball joints, tie rods and then clutch stuff

but then again--the clutch is slipping now.

I dunno.

Idon't know if it is the case but a clutch will slip more when it is hot. If you have

it over adjusted it could act like you are discribing. You would have constant

contact between the throw out bearing and the preasure plate, not a good thing.

Try and adjust it with about 3/4" of play at the pedal and see what happens. It

could also be a PP on its last legs.

See

here's the wierd part--worked fine until now.

Could a clutch tighten with use, or does it just get more loose

Sounds like the pressure plate is dying. Spring action is getting weak as it heats up.

I don't think I have ever seen one tighten up with use, I have seen the

adjustment nut loosen with use (add another nut and tighten together), but

tighten? New one on me.

heres the deal:

*adjustment has not gotten any more loose since last adjust (double nut on cluctch adjustment)
*everything works fine until clutch heats up, then it slips.

From that, I can only assume that either its too tight and I just now noticed (could be) *OR* the PP is dying like Rick said and I need a replacement.

Besides the needle bearing in the crank, what else shall I do while i'm in there?

*Needle Bearing in crank
*T/O Bearing
*Cup Bushing for throw out arm
*Input Shaft seal (?)
*Crush washer for flywheel
*Seal that goes somewhere around/behind flywheel


any others?

The felt washer and check the FW for wear, if your fly wheel was warn out (face)

it could cause your clutch to slip also, PP has only so much reach into the FW.

How old is your PP and CP?

Well my dad got it replaced when I first got the car on teh road, like two or three years ago...

Depends on how you drive, could be warn out. If it were me I would pull it

apart first and look at the FW, mic it and see if it has been cut to much and

then warn to the point of no return. What you will pay for a CP and PP you

can get a good used FW. Worth a look see before you lay out cash.

I just sent him a good used flywheel, pressure plate and disc, so he should have those on hand if need be. They had been sitting for a long time, but they looked to be in serviceable condition.

When you have it apart, check it out real well and take pics to post here. I'm sure you'll get some good free advice then.

I would venture to guess that if the old clutch was only 2 years old, there is some reason that it is slipping/prematurely worn.

I would also guess (without seeing any of it) that the clutch cable may have been too tight to begin with. If the throw-out bearing is partially collapsing the fingers all the time, it would stand to reason that the fingers/spring action would weaken quicker.

I don't like the way that the cable is set up. Pressure on the throw-out bearing is what holds the clutch pedal in the up position (in fact the spring pressure at the pedal cluster has to be overcome for this to happen)

When a new owner/mechanic reads about adjusting the freeplay of the clutch, it can be a bit ambiguous at best.

I have found that there is typically a break-over point in the clutch engagement (pushing the pedal down), where it becomes easier to press the pedal. It is sometimes slight, but it is always there. I adjust the cable so that I can reach that point just before the pedal is all the way down.

I also check that I can engage 1st and reverse without gear clash. If there is clash, I tighten the cable a tiny bit and tighten the double nut. I don't measure the pedal travel.

Usually, I can pull the pedal a bit to raise it up to the full up position. If you can't pull up on the clutch pedal, it is too tight.

Just some of my opinions.