OK so this afternoon I was adjusting my clutch stop bolt as my gears starting crunching and previously playing with the stop bolt has worked and I would love some reassurance of the process I went through as I've read that many posts you kinda start to second guess things.

First of all I'll admit it, I miss read the manual and thought a gap was needed between the stop bolt and arm in the resting position. So needless to say, I was well off the position required.

So next step was I wound it out with car running and kept checking the clutch action. For a very very long time the clutch went in and the gears didn't engage. After lots of winding the stop bolt out, there was some very minor engagement but the clutch would slip and it would rev out under acceleration with the car only going very slowly forward etc.

So i kept winding it bit by bit until clutch stoped slipping then I tightened the lock nut.......

I am a complete novice and was doing this by myself so couldn't measure the .20inch gap etc.

AFter this process and the gears engaged..no slip etc. I'll run it tomorrow to work and if all good I'l use some Loctite to stop the damn thing moving....Is this all i need to do ??

So why do you think you misread the manual???..and what do you call the stop bolt?

As there really is only one bolt associated with the clutch adjustment (the others are nuts) we'll assume you have the right one.

Point One (actually the only point) is that, yes, there should be a gap between the head of the bolt and the clutch arm. I think the manual says 20 thou but 10 thou is adequate.

I don't know what you are doing from your description.. However..

Step 1 - remove clutch arm to slave spring.
Step 2 - pull clutch arm away from engine.
Step 3 - measure gap (between arm and bolt head). Actually - ensure there is a very small gap
Step 4 - there is no step 4.

Its not rocket science

Good luck, Ian

+1

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Step 4 - refit clutch return spring

Optional... I used to but don't any more - on the advice of someone older and wiser...

Step 4 probably should be "tighten lock nut"

Cheers, Ian

Step 5. Be proud you did it yourself. Have beer.

U have a feeling it may have been the throw out nuts he has adjusted. Winding the return stop bolt out will "engage the clutch" opposite of what he said happened.

Was it the 7/16 bolt and lock nut or the 2x large nuts on the end of the clutch plunger?

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The best part of fixing your mini is the test drive

Minis..

1976 van daily drive
1975 van
1968 deluxe in the shed
1967 deluxe high strung 1310
1959 austin healey sprite

7/16 bolt and lock nut. Problem is when I remove the spring there is no way I can budge the arm to measure gap.

The two large nuts on the end of the plunger can be quite happily left off if you want to eliminate them from the list of variables.

Playing with it this morning and the stop bolt in the clutch plunger doesn't seem to screw out ???

I wind out the lock nut a few turns as a point of reference and then no matter how much I screw the bolt out to engage the clutch it doesn't seem to move.... Its not at its full length, can the thread wear out ?

It can wear out, it can also be slightly shorter than it should be, however it has been at the correct adjustment in the past, so should be able to be found again.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

It will be the thread in the alloy case playing up, not the bolt. The alloy is softer and lets go first.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

If you need to wind it out a very long way it indicates there's wear in the plunger hole, the ball on the arm, and/or the clevis pin.
Time for new parts.
You could fit a longer bolt, it's unlikely the thread in the cover is stripped all the way in.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I'm still troubled by the language.. If you can't wiggle the clutch arm then the bolt is already too far out.

I don't understand "... no matter how far I screw the bolt out to engage the clutch.....". Screwing the bolt out does not engage teh clutch ...it actually disengages it. If the bolt is out too far then the clutch cannot engage fully and will slip.

So, remove the spring at the top of the clutch arm, screw the bolt in until there is a gap between the head of the bolt and the clutch arm.

Now your clutch is adjusted.

If the thread is indeed stripped then cut the bolt off. With the spring removed you don't really need it and the clutch will be self adjusting....

However, as Kev says, the clutch arm (or rather the ball on the bottom end of it) may be worn out. Do this check for us... remove the rubber boot at the outer end of the slave cylinder (or at least pull it out of the way so you can see inside the slave).

Have some one push the clutch pedal to the floor while you look into the open end of the slave. Does the shuttle (that the slave rod sits on) touch the circlip (that should be) at the outer end of the cylinder?? If so then you probably need a new clutch arm... A longer clutch arm to the slave cylinder rod will provide a temporary (might even last a year or two:) fix.

Its all new to Matt, but he's getting on top of it pretty quick. I'm going to take a look at it on Sunday for Matt.

The lock nut on the adjustment bolt seems to vibrate loose and throw his adjustment out. This time once adjusted I'm going to loctite the nut. I'll also double check the clevis pin and the arm and plunger.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.