Selfajusting clutch

[erog]

I have a 95ranger4leterv6 I'm what to put a self adj. Clutch but what I'm told that didn't put that in till 98 so will a self adj.clutch from a98 fit my 95

 

[RonD]

Welcome to TRS

Yes it will, no problem, have one in my 1994 4.0l Ranger

 

[Josh B]

What's with the self adjusting clutch, don't they all have that?

 

[sgtsandman]

My understanding is if it’s hydraulically actuated, it’s automatic adjusting by default.

 

[fastpakr]

My understanding is if it’s hydraulically actuated, it’s automatic adjusting by default.

I thought so too... Now I'm really curious.

 

[RonD]

The pressure plate is the Self-Adjusting part

This is a standard pressure plate: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/g1cAAOSwVEVi2uUS/s-l500.jpg

This is a self-adjusting pressure plate: https://s3.amazonaws.com/rparts-sites/images/996a7fa078cc36c46d02f9af3bef918b/90e79fff6ba2befce05e74419d57b45b.jpg

The 3 smaller springs around the plate finger springs cause the plate to move closer to the flywheel as clutch disc gets thinner from wear


With standard pressure plate when clutch disc is new you have to have the pedal all the way down to the floor to disengage, even thru the floor, lol
As the disc wears down the disengage point moves up in pedal travel until its at the top and clutch is slipping

With self-adjusting the disengage is at lower end of pedal travel, not bottom, and stays at the same place until disc is thin and disengage starts to move up and starts to slip same as standard does

You can(need to) reset self-adjusting pressure plates when installing a new clutch disc but most just replace them

One is not better, mechanically, than the other, or make the clutch last longer
It is a personal choice, although self-adjusting can be more forgiving of a little air in the system since you have that extra inch or 2 of pedal travel at lower end

 

[fastpakr]

Thanks for the lesson. I've learned something new!

 

[sgtsandman]

I was always taught to replace the pressure plate with the clutch. The only negotiable item is the fly wheel, depending in what it looks like after you drop the transmission.

Based on the pictures supplied, I have a self adjusting pressure plate.

 

[Josh B]

I was always taught to replace the pressure plate with the clutch. The only negotiable item is the fly wheel, depending in what it looks like after you drop the transmission.

Based on the pictures supplied, I have a self adjusting pressure plate.

Mine looks like the standard but it has never needed adjusting?

When I first started catching up on this thread I first thought of the hydraulic disc brakes that do basically the same with each pump they push the caliper a bit farther

 

[RonD]

Calipers or wheel cylinders don't need/have the strong springs that the clutch pressure plate uses to hold clutch disc tight against flywheel
And it's the reverse of what our Brakes do, unless its Air Brakes, lol
We press the brake pedal to apply the brakes
We press the clutch pedal to release "the brakes", the pressure holding the clutch disc to flywheel

I don't think there would be an automatic hydraulic method to self adjust that like with brakes, needs to be mechanical
With external hydraulic clutch slaves there was a pushrod you could adjust

The self-adjusting pressure plate came in with internal slaves

If a clutch lasts you 8-10 years then you really won't notice pedal changes, except when new disc is in and it can be hard to shift into gear when stopped, but just the first week or so
Or at end of life when pedal is at the top and clutch is slipping

 

[sgtsandman]

Mine is 11 years old and has not had an easy life between towing trailers in a parade (not clutch friendly at all), log work, and towing and hauling. It’s not slipping yet but does make some “whining” noises sometimes when starting to move off a hill. I think it’s service life is about done and the flywheel is cooked. I plan to replace the flywheel, clutch and pressure plate next summer as a preventative measure as a result.

 

[4x4junkie]

I too have never noticed the clutch pedal height change on my '94 Ranger (which I've owned since new), or my '90 BII, they've always had a somewhat high, but consistent pedal.
(my pressure plate also is the "standard" one)

I thought that as the PP fingers move outward due to clutch disc wear, the slave cyl simply absorbs it (the piston moves deeper into the slave cyl housing, which also raises the fluid level in the clutch reservoir), negating any need for the PP itself to adjust.

But since one exists, I guess it must have a purpose...

 

[Josh B]

I don't believe my fluid level has changed since I worked on it and that's been about 2 years

 

[sgtsandman]

I’ve never noticed a level change in the master cylinder either. Of course, I did have a slave cylinder failure a while back and just changed everything. So, there could have been a change but got negated due to the cylinder changes.

 

[4x4junkie]

It's a very very slow change, you probably would never notice it. But over the course of maybe 60K miles (provided there's no leaks) it should go up slightly. I think this may be why Ford put that bulbous diaphragm thingie in there so that the clutch fluid has a place to go, at the same time keeping out any moisture (the diaphragm collapses as the fluid rises).