I ran into a small problem during the installation of my David Godfrey Manual Clutch adjuster on my 89 XR. About 6 months earlier, I had clutch pedal problems that were traced to the original 100K mile clutch cable going bad. A readily available replacement cable was found through Advance Auto Parts for $16.99. This particular version is stamped "Made in Italy." I noticed that this cable was a bit shorter than the stock cable but other than that, it installed OK with a bit of persuasion to get the end of the cable reinstalled onto the clutch fork as the final step of installation.
Now onto the problem...
Recently, the main spring from the clutch pedal to the cable cam broke leaving the pedal hanging limp and the clutch engaging at the very bottom near the floor board. Instead of getting fustrated with trying to find a replacement spring, I opted to go with the David Godfrey Manual Clutch Adjuster. Information can be found at the following link:
http://www.key-ideas.com/DG_ClutchAdjuster.htm
This replacement part is a beautiful example of David's engineering prowess and installing it removes the need for the spring. The only problem is that the design relies on the longer length stock cable. Because I had the shorter aftermarket cable, I had no adjustment to make other than have the clutch grab at the very top with nearly no toe play. After a quick call to David for help indentified the problem. He explained that I needed to make more slack in the cable length by removing the spacer on the end of the cable. This part is pictured above and the small diameter snout (opposite the penny) is were the cable end would extend through the firewall and onto the clutch cam. The end of the cable needed some lube and lots of persuasion, but with enough oomph, the spacer came free of the cable. Once this was removed, the cable now had sufficient slack to create more length and allow for the DG adjuster to function as designed. |
