DIY - Easy clutch grab adjustment (~10 mins)

[Unleashed]

Originally Posted by Foobar

If you're able to lift the pedal up from it's "rest" position, then it sounds like the clutch return spring snapped off. Does the clutch seem lighter to press down on?

Either way, yeah - it would be a good idea to adjust the switch regardless, but get that return spring checked out first.

The pedal is no easier to press down and today was able to return on its own most of the time. I am going to just adjust it back up some and see what happens.

[Rinzler]

question, after the adj, I noticed when I ease out clutch, my car would just keep going without gas at all. I can roll half a block without gas. not sure if this is normal or not. and I also noticed that the car doesn't lag as much.

I've noticed the same thing in mine. Is this normal? if I just leave it in 1st gear, drive at 3k rpms for a while, then coast, my tactometer basically stops going down at 1k RPM's and the car just kinda goes 2 mph by itself on a flat-ish surface for quite a while. It stalls normally otherwise starting and going up hills. (I found that learning it lol)

[HunterGreene]

Originally Posted by Rinzler

I've noticed the same thing in mine. Is this normal? if I just leave it in 1st gear, drive at 3k rpms for a while, then coast, my tactometer basically stops going down at 1k RPM's and the car just kinda goes 2 mph by itself on a flat-ish surface for quite a while. It stalls normally otherwise starting and going up hills. (I found that learning it lol)

Do you smell your clutch burning? The car should not be moving by itself.

[Rinzler]

Originally Posted by HunterGreene

Do you smell your clutch burning? The car should not be moving by itself.

No. It doesn't smell burnt at all, it won't move by itself normally unless it was already started properly and put into gear. If I turn on the car and put it in gear and let off the clutch it just shuts off normally, etc, etc. But if I'm in first gear, then I'm driving around, eventually I can left off the gas and it just coasts for a while with no pedals in or anything. It's odd.

[HunterGreene]

Originally Posted by Rinzler

No. It doesn't smell burnt at all, it won't move by itself normally unless it was already started properly and put into gear. If I turn on the car and put it in gear and let off the clutch it just shuts off normally, etc, etc. But if I'm in first gear, then I'm driving around, eventually I can left off the gas and it just coasts for a while with no pedals in or anything. It's odd.

Definitely Odd. I would consider changing the pedal back to stock height and see if it still does this.

[CamryDS]

Originally Posted by Rinzler

No. It doesn't smell burnt at all, it won't move by itself normally unless it was already started properly and put into gear. If I turn on the car and put it in gear and let off the clutch it just shuts off normally, etc, etc. But if I'm in first gear, then I'm driving around, eventually I can left off the gas and it just coasts for a while with no pedals in or anything. It's odd.

Funny, I don't appear to have this problem -- how low was your clutch pedal set to when you adjusted it? I barely moved mine down till it was sitting right above the brake.

"But if I'm in first gear, then I'm driving around, eventually I can left off the gas and it just coasts for a while with no pedals in or anything."

Can you explain this part a bit more? If you're in 1st and you let everything go, it should coast around a bit before dying. Does it ever die eventually or does it just constantly go?

[Rinzler]

I'm going to test it when I get off work, but I adjusted it to a hair below the brake. I'm going to see if it would eventually die off, but I remember it just sitting at 1k RPM's on a seemingly flat piece of road for at least 30 seconds.

The exact procedure I did was Reverse ---> Turn to get out of driveway, stop, start to go right, make a right at the first right turn without stopping (no traffic), but sitting around 2,500-3,000 RPM's. Once I got there, I let off the gas and the rpms slowly dropped to 1,000 and then they just.... sat there and my car just moved along at like 1 MPH or something. It showed no sign of going below that RPM, but I didn't let it roll to a hill or anything. I am kind of surprised that even if it's a slight downhill, that it wouldn't just crap out almost immediately since there's zero gas. But this is my first manual and I don't know as much as I'd like to. My friend is a mechanic and he made the adjustment for me.

[Sensisnow]

This sounds completely normal to me and has been the case with every manual car that I've ever owned. It would be different if this happened with the clutch pedal depressed, but if you're just coasting along in first gear with the clutch engaged, then it should coast along very slowly at around 1k RPM on a flat road. I do this in heavy traffic on the interstate all the time.

[CamryDS]

Originally Posted by Sensisnow

This sounds completely normal to me and has been the case with every manual car that I've ever owned. It would be different if this happened with the clutch pedal depressed, but if you're just coasting along in first gear with the clutch engaged, then it should coast along very slowly at around 1k RPM on a flat road. I do this in heavy traffic on the interstate all the time.

I was thinking the exact same thing -- reason why is if you let the clutch up slowly while the gear was in 1st, once the clutch engages it will slowly move you forward. If you're on an incline, it'll most likely stall if you just let it go. If you're on a flat surface, it wouldn't just die since it'll just keep going based on it's momentum and the way the clutch works.

If you slowly apply your brakes then it will just die eventually and stall out.

unless I have this thought process wrong, I think it's normal.

[Rinzler]

Originally Posted by Sensisnow

This sounds completely normal to me and has been the case with every manual car that I've ever owned. It would be different if this happened with the clutch pedal depressed, but if you're just coasting along in first gear with the clutch engaged, then it should coast along very slowly at around 1k RPM on a flat road. I do this in heavy traffic on the interstate all the time.

To clarify, I had no foot on any pedal. No clutch, no brake, no gas during this. It's still normal then? Sorry for the idiot questions but thanks for the help!

Edit!:

Originally Posted by CamryDS

I was thinking the exact same thing -- reason why is if you let the clutch up slowly while the gear was in 1st, once the clutch engages it will slowly move you forward. If you're on an incline, it'll most likely stall if you just let it go. If you're on a flat surface, it wouldn't just die since it'll just keep going based on it's momentum and the way the clutch works.

If you slowly apply your brakes then it will just die eventually and stall out.

unless I have this thought process wrong, I think it's normal.

Thanks for the explanation! Puts my mind at ease...

[Imrac]

It's normal. Your engine is "Idling" with minimal load, so it won't die. Your car will always try and keep the RPMs the same at idle. Actually, I found when learning to drive a manual, taking the vehicle on a flat surface and VERY VERY VERY slowly with the vehicle in gear and not giving any gas, release the clutch was a great way to get a feel for the clutch. If you are slow enough, you can get the car moving and eventually release the clutch fully.

[Rinzler]

Thanks again! ...

[Koji_Online]

Good replies here! Yes this is definitely normal on all manual cars; the car will always try to keep your idle RPM; if you let out the clutch pedal really slowly in 1st (& on a flat or downhill surface) the car will be moving forward slowly with no additional gas input; as someone else stated on this page, this is exactly how I began to learn how to drive manual & understand how the clutch works; I actually still do this a couple times when getting ready to drive a new car & get acclimated to the grab point.

Actually, this whole process/ reasoning is why I was seeking a solution to the high clutch pedal engagement in our cars, as I like to have my cars grab at where I've always become comfortable with (and this DIY thread was made) Lol

[CamryDS]

Originally Posted by Koji_Online

Good replies here! Yes this is definitely normal on all manual cars; the car will always try to keep your idle RPM; if you let out the clutch pedal really slowly in 1st (& on a flat or downhill surface) the car will be moving forward slowly with no additional gas input; as someone else stated on this page, this is exactly how I began to learn how to drive manual & understand how the clutch works; I actually still do this a couple times when getting ready to drive a new car & get acclimated to the grab point.

Actually, this whole process/ reasoning is why I was seeking a solution to the high clutch pedal engagement in our cars, as I like to have my cars grab at where I've always become comfortable with (and this DIY thread was made) Lol

I want to thank you for writing this DIY, without it I couldn't get use to the FR-S/86 stock height with the clutch engagement. I'm 6'4" and I thought I had to live with it. My knee and leg thanks you, now that they aren't banging on the steering wheel upon letting go of the clutch.