There are The clutch is not self-adjusting, but the hydraulics are. There are a few reasons for a change in the release point.
1. When the flywheel or pressure plate warps.
2. The diaphragm is in a different working range that requires more travel.
3. An increase in friction from lack of lubrication.
4. Problem with hydraulics.
5. Pressure plate bolts coming loose.
6. The release bearing is not installed all the way into the pressure plate.

By extending the slave cylinder rod, all it does it put the piston of the slave cylinder in the same position as it would be when the disc wears which pushes fluid back to the reservoir so the net result is... nothing!

 

I was incorrect regarding the Washer............

That trick does not work on the EVO only the older DSMs................


I spend about 2 hours with Jon from TRE getting an education when I dropped off my tranny yesterday. Great guy...........................either way he said it won't work on the EVO.

Mattj

 

So ACTman are you saying that once the clutch is adjusted the first time, no more adjustments should be needed? I'm just about to replace the stock clutch (44k miles) and I'm trying to decide between another stocker or the ACT. I drive this thing over 50 miles/day and I'm not going to want to be adjusting it time and time again.

 

What I am saying is that the position of the arm, the slave cylinder rod, and everything downstream of the master cylinder gets adjusted for by the hydraulics. It makes no differerence if the rod is long or short, the throw created by the pedal is the same. There are a few reasons for the clutch to take more travel over time (mentioned before), but this is a matter of throw, not position. You can increase throw by raising the engagement/disengagement point which is done by adjusting the rod. In theory you should only have to to do this once. One problem we see is that people don't have the pedal adjusted right to begin with and the transmission suffers as a result until finally you are forced to adjust the pedal when the trans is screaming for help, but in reality you are a bit late. For those that are abusive, you may have to adjust it more than once because of overheating the clutch and flywheel causing warpage. If the surfaces are not perfectly flat the clutch will require more travel to release.

 

Hmmm, ok that makes sense. I don't do any launching or racing or anything like that. The only reason I'm looking at ACT at all is to just get something a bit stronger than stock that has a bit more bite to it. I don't really plan on trying to launch the ACT clutch either. The problem I see is that people have it adjusted fine for a few months and then it needs to be adjusted again. So you're saying that normal daily driving shouldn't need this, just for those that launch or really heat the clutch up? I mean I've had the stocker stink a couple times from being stuck on a ramp in a parking garage, but I've never had to adjust it again...

 

Yes, that is correct. We haven't done anything with our clutch to make it require further adjustment than a stock clutch would, just possibly an initial adjustment to be sure it has adequate disengagment. Stock clutches require this frequently also since they are not always set up right from the factory.

 

Abusive? Kind of a relative term IMO. I wouldn't have bought an aftermarket ACT clutch if I didn't plan on launching the car hard.

 

My point is that we didn't do anything to make it more sensitive or require more adjustment. That comes from how you treat the clutch no matter what clutch you have (except maybe carbon/carbon). It can happen on the stock clutch, twin cerametallic, carbon on steel clutches, and ACT. It's pretty simple. When the clutch gets overheated the metal on the pressure plate, flywheel (and floater if applicable) warps and is no longer flat, therefore requiring an adjustment to get adequate disengagement.

You are totally right - abusive is a relative term. Abusive in terms of the clutch may be non-abusive in terms of the car. But in simple terms, it is a matter of heat when it comes to the clutch. If your driving practice is to slip the daylights out of the clutch at every stop sign and every shift, this is easy on the car, and very hard on the clutch. But a lot has to do with where your throttle position is and how much load you are putting on it at the same time.

You mentioned launching hard. Well that is a relative term to. If you mean side stepping the clutch at 7K (without the restrictor), no big deal on the clutch. Of course the rest of the driveline may complain. But if you mean sliding the clutch out for 50 feet while you are at 7K, that is another thing altogether. The clutch is not designed to handle that much heat.