1977 308 clutch grabbing LOW

Hi, thanks for all the help so far... new fuel pump is in and wow... what a difference. car starts up great, runs great and idles perfectly.

However, the clutch pedal is grabbing really low. I don't recall it being like this. The car has basically sat for over a year... no major leaks under the car, but the usual weeping.

Ive never done any work on the clutch ever.

Car is a US 1977 308 GTB.

Any thoughts?

 

You mean it engages and releases at really low pedal? I can't think of anything that is failing mechanically to cause that issue.


The clutch isn't hard to do at all, as long as you have the proper sockets for the ring nuts.

Doug

 

Hi, yes, that is exactly right. the clutch engages very soon after release, like an inch off the floor. In my mind I feel like this means I need to have the pedal fully pressed down in order to shift gears and this doesn't leave much room. ideally would be better if it grabbed about midway.

I don't think my clutch disc is worn, not having driven the car much. If the cable had some slack in it, is there a way to adjust this or tighten it up? How would I determine slack, for example if someone pushed down on the pedal and the linkages didn't move until they were far down would this indicate too much slack in the clutch cable?

 

Check your clutch cable ends. When they fail, they fray. This in essence lengthens the cable making it less effective at releasing the clutch. If left alone it will soon not even let you engage a gear when the engine is running - or get your stuck on the road unable to safely stop or start.

 

Hi, when you say the clutch cable ends, do you mean one end up by the pedal and the other end at the bottom of the linkage, just behind the fuel filter housing? are there clevis linkages on the ends of the cable? I'll look again tomorrow. thanks.

 

(Assuming that you still have the stock 1977 clutch linkage set-up and haven't been "updated") One way to monitor this is to make sure it is adjusted per the 308GT4 WSM (holes aligned), and then see if the adjustment is way out-of-whack when a problem occurs (so invent a time machine and then do that ). Another thing to do is make sure the cable is still "on" the pulleys and the pulleys are rotating well (i.e., the cable is not sliding and "sawing" into the pulley -- since the pulley is plastic, the cable slides on it pretty easily).

 

Hi Steve, well I have the issue now. I suppose I can see if the clutch is setup as per the WSM... I didn't realize my system has pulleys, are they visible with the driver side wheel well out. I just reinstalled that damn wheel well, having had it out for nearly 8 months, damn!!! At least it went in very easily, hopefully I get it out again with some ease...

 

Yes, doing the clutch adjustment and checking the pulley is a LR wheel liner out thing (and Andy's good suggestion to make sure that the cable itself is still OK is a prerequisite before worrying about anything else). The pulley the cable rides on is item 20 here:

https://www.ferrariparts.co.uk/diagram/ferrari/308-gtb-gts-carburetor/020-clutch-operating-control

Here's a good photo someone posted before to illustrate the text description given on page D7:
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thanks Steve, is it possible for the the cable to fall off the pulley thereby giving the cable more slack? I'll be able to dig in tomorrow.

 

Sorry for not being clear. What I am saying is that the clutch cables are made of stranded metal wire that is twisted in a spiral over the course of its entire length. It runs from your clutch pedal all the way to the clutch linkage by the bellhousing. What happens to these (when I bought my '77 308 30 years ago mine was already starting to fray) is that the individual wires that make up this stranded cable break. One breaks, then another, and so on. Eventually, so many of them break that they allow the spiral pattern to unwind and essentially make the cable not only weaker, but longer. This is why I made the suggestion - because your car is acting like the cable has gotten longer.

So I am not talking about the clevis ends - I am only talking about the cable itself. In my case, and probably in most cases, the cable starts fraying at its ends and not somewhere else (although that isn't a guarantee). If you poke your head into the drivers footwell with a good flashlight you should see the very end of the cable. Same goes for the adjustable linkage end. Steve's suggestion to establish a baseline adjustment makes sense too.

 

Thank you... I am going to give it a look. Makes sense about it extending as the spiral unwinds.

In the case where the cable is extended or stretched. Do you think my adjustment on the linkage will then be visibly out of whack when at the resting position?

Thank you everyone for the help so far.

 

The pulley is on the left frame rail as the clutch cable exits the passenger compartment and enters the engine area (see pic, mine is removed and placed about an inch aft)... it's a good & easy idea from Steve to check this. When my cable failed, it was at the clutch (vs. pedal) end.
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In some ways I'm no benchmark but in others I'm the poster boy. I've had my 308 for longer than some FChat members have been alive. In 1986 I set up the distributors, set up the Webers, replaced the clutch cable and adjusted the clutch. I have NEVER had to disturb any of them through hundreds of track miles or thousands of street miles. Granted, I need to look at those points now because the idle has changed. But that's been after 35 years - and its off topic.

My point is that if you have to adjust your clutch, something changed. You will change belts on a 308 four or five times before you need to look at the clutch adjustment (unless you really punish your clutch or someone else has) IMO

 

got it.yeah, it's very odd... the car has literally sat, with a dead fuel pump... meanwhile I've been driving my 348 and testarossa. Could just not remember how this clutch grabs and feels.. Can't be.