Sticky clutch pedal

[Madmerc]

Hi guys I have finally got to drive my 230 Sl  and all is going well except for a sticky clutch pedal  I have installled a new couch master cylinder as well as a new slave cylinder cleaned all the fluid lines  and it still is a bit sticky  is there any. Other adjustments that I need to make or should I replace the clutch /pressure plate  any advice thanks

[ejboyd5]

What do you mean by "sticky?"  Does the pedal not return to its released position as quickly as it should or is it something else?

[ctaylor738]

You may still have some air in the system. 

Or some incorrect adjustments.

There is an eccentric pivot bolt that connects the master cylinder rod to the pedal.  You can turn it to adjust the clutch pedal play, which should be about 1 mm of rod movement.  But this is measured with the clutch pedal back against its stop which is frequently broken or missing.  If yours is like this, you will have to play with the adjustment.  There should also be an adjusting screw on the slave cylinder.

Finally, there is an adjustment on the return spring.  The book says the length of the spring should be 40.5 mm between the outer edges of the retainers.

[jameshoward]

My clutch pedal gets caught up a little sometimes and doesn't quite spring back to the fullness of its travel. I flick the toe of my shoe under to bring it back, noting that the clutch has fully engaged by this point, so it's more of an annoyance than a mechanical challenge. I should sort it, though.

Is this the sort of problem you're having?

[ja17]

If your slave cylinder adjustment is too loose,  the clutch pedal may not return. Make sure that you have approx. 1/16"- 1/8" free-play at the adjustment rod on the slave cylinder.

[Raymond]

I've never had a problem but is the 230 slave cylinder different from the 280?  I just took a peek under the car and there is no adjustment visible.  How do you do that?

[ctaylor738]

From memory.  The pin that goes into the slave cylinder threads into the release arm, and there is a lock nut to secure it.  So in effect, you can change the effective length of the pin and thus the clutch play.  I know the 280 doesn't have this, not sure about the 250 - maybe the early ones?

I have worked on some 230s where that pin wasn't long enough to work the clutch, and I made longer ones from cap screws.

[ja17]

Yes, the early cars are different. On the latter cars even the return spring is deleted. Anyway, take a look at the pin, it is threaded so that the length can be adjusted. Two different designs on the early and late cars. The pressure plate and throw-out bearings were also re-designed.  The later cars had no return spring and were not meant to be adjusted. Take the spring off your slave cylinder and check to see how much free-play there is at the fork. Adjust the free-play to 1/16"- 1/8" and re-install the spring. Your pedal should return fine.

[Madmerc]

Thanks  guys what I have done is I purchased a bleeding bottle and re bled the clutch and adjusted the spring down on the slave cylinder and it has made a big improvement