1991 grand am clutch problems

[honerboys]

i just replaced clutch on 91 grand am 2.5 - all went well - when i removed the clutch the throwout bearing had almost worn through the springs on the pressure plate - i thought this was odd assumed my son had been resting his foot on the pedal and forcing the bearing to run all the time - however after replacement i see that the slave cylinder rod is actually pressing the clutch fork to the pressure plate even without foot on pedal - pedal comes all the way up and starts moving the slave rod as soon as it's touched - there is no adjustment on pedal so what's wrong - slave cylinder bad? - thanks

 

[planenut_2000]

Did you bleed it?

 

[honerboys]

no i didn't - i didn't think i had to since the system was not opened - i'll try to tonight and see if it helps - it seems like there is a spring in the slave that's pushing the rod out too far but it could be air in the system - i'll check it out and let you know - thanks

 

[melsg5]

since the system compensates automatically as the clutch wears, the push rod on the slave has to be fully pushed in with the bleed screw open and then immediately close the screw before releasing the rod

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[honerboys]

ok so i bled the system - i compressed the slave cylinder completely while bleeding - nice clear fluid running out now - but the slave rod still seems to be pressing the clutch actuator arm on the bellhousing too much - it seems to me there should be just a bit of play between the slave rod and the actuator arm or else the throwout bearing will always be in contact with the springs on the pressure plate - or should it always be in contact? - on the pressure plate i removed the bearing had gone 75% through the springs even though the bearing itself seemed ok - spins good no binding or rough spots - evidently that pressure plate and bearing had only been installed about 35-40,000 miles ago - can i shim out the slave cylinder with washers to pull it away from the actuator arm to give it a bit of play - or should i just go get a new cylinder - could the cylinder have been overextended during the last clutch replacement and now be defective - i blocked the pedal on this install so i know it wasn't pressed while slave was removed from bellhousing - thanks

 

[melsg5]

elsewhere on the internet I read an article about the hydraulic clutch on a fiero and the clearance between the throwout bearing face and the clutch fingers is 0 to .003. Thus there basically is no clearance, yours may be perfectly normal for a hydraulic clutch.

 

[honerboys]

i'm probably old school - just seems like you'd want a little clearance so the bearing isn't spinning all the time - using your advice the rod now does seem to be staying in a little more but it still does just touch the bearing to the pressure plate springs - the clutch operates ok and the car is old - just need it to hang on until the last of my sons finishes school (2 years ) - so i guess we're good to go- thanks to all for your help