Hi folks,

I'm dragging my mk1 Escort (4wd Cossie + 2wd flywheel + T5 box) out of the garage again to hopeful finally take the SORN off, after a year or so of being covered up as I was unwell for most of last year.

Everything is working, but I've never had a great clutch on it. It's a cable clutch (Burton Power part - escort top, sierra bottom) with a new bearing, new AP HD organic plate and a new Helix cover (60-4708). The cable has had to be adjusted virtually all of the way up, the cable is as tight as a guitar string now! Even with that I only get the clutch just engaged with the last 1/4" - 1/2" of travel on the pedal and because of that it's so on/off, can't feather it at all. It makes even getting the car in and out of the garage a pain in the bum.

Since all of the parts, bar the clutch fork, are new, is there anything that could be wrong with the new parts? Also, with the cable slack, and pedal unpressed, about where should the top of the clutch fork be, in relation to the hole in the side of the box? MIddle, or closer to the rear of the bellhousing than that? I'm looking at it and just thinking it's sitting further towards the engine side 'at rest' than it should be?

John

 

I had the same with my helix 6 paddle clutch, would only disengage with the pedal on the floor.
ended up converting to hydraulic setup.

 

I'm just wondering if it's to do with the escort pedal box and the attachment point for the cable. It obviously doesn't have a ratchet-quadrant at the top like the Sierra, just a pin for the eye on the end of the cable.

I've a suspicion that the escort pedal isn't pulling the cable enough per-press, hence having to use the adjustment to take up all of the 'slack' and still only barely engaging the clutch at full travel.