Clutch: Description and Operation

The Clutch System Is Fully Hydraulic.

Power is transmitted from the engine to the gearbox via a clutch. This clutch consists of a single dry clutch plate and a pressure plate of diaphragm spring type. Clutch operation is hydraulic.








Clutch operation is hydraulic and entirely self-adjusting from the start of the 1998 model year. The mechanism consists of a master cylinder (1), a connecting pipe (2) and a slave cylinder (3). Refer to the illustration.

The master cylinder is mounted on the bulkhead wall and linked to the clutch pedal by a piston rod. The slave cylinder is an integrated unit mounted in the clutch housing and consists of a cylinder housing (4), a split piston (5) and a fixed release bearing (6). The slave cylinder cannot be dismantled. The hydraulic pressure from the master cylinder presses on the seal which then forces the piston and release bearing against the pressure plate. There is a spring mounted between the cylinder housing and release bearing which ensures that the release bearing is always held against the pressure plate, reducing play in the clutch pedal.

In order to prevent dirt from reaching sensitive parts of pistons and seals, a rubber gaiter is mounted between the cylinder and release bearing.

A hydraulic line links the master cylinder and the slave cylinder's damper pipe (to reduce pedal vibration) and has a quick-release coupling at each end. The lower quick-release coupling, to the slave cylinder, has a bleed nipple.

The clutch is a single dry-plate clutch of the so called fan type.
Power is transmitted from the engine's flywheel to the gearbox via a plate and a plate shaft, in which the plate shaft is integrated with the input shaft in the gearbox. The power is transmitted by the pressure plate, which is screwed into the flywheel, pressing the plate's friction coating against the flywheel.

The plate's spring-dampened hub is connected to the plate shaft by a splines joint. When the releasing bearing presses on the fan's "fingers", these operate as levers and release the pressure plate's nipping power from the plate/flywheel. In this way, the engine is released from the gearbox.