PART II - Still Problems
Yesterday, after two hours of stop and go freeway traffic a problem developed. The clutch pedal would not spring back, it only came back halfway from the floor and I was grinding the gears terribly. This happened only after two hours of use in hot weather.
The clutch no longer slips after heating up. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the mechanic has adjusted the clutch pedal FOUR TIMES since the new clutch was installed 90 days ago - twice my complaint was the clutch slipping after ten miles, and twice my complaint was the clutch pedal not springing back (apparently opposites).
Both of these past/present problems, the past slipping after ten miles, and the present not springing back/grinding gears after two hours of very hot stop and go freeway traffic occur ONLY after heating up. The Dodge Stealth is always shifting perfect early in the day.
Perhaps I need a new master cylinder for the hydraulic clutch? - but why only after two hours of clutching?
The pedal adjustment issues seem to be that we cannot reach a happy medium. If I understand Bob's post correctly if the pedal adjustment makes the master cylinder pushrod throw too long then the clutch slips when heated up because the clutch plates are not returning to full contact once the pedal is released. Perhaps then, if the pushrod throw is too short then the plates do not separate enough when the clutch pedal is pressed so the gears grind and the pedal does not fully return from the floor.
So therefore if the clutch slipping is the opposite of the pedal not springing back (with the correspondent grinding of gears) one would expect there is a happy medium for the clutch pedal adjustment. If there is no middle ground then maybe the master cylinder is bad, but there are no leaks and no problems until it heats up.
Guess that I will first try experimenting with the clutch pedal/pushrod throw myself. The mechanic cannot seem to adjust it satisfactorily (perhaps due to faulty master cylinder). Since the most recent issue is gears grinding rather than clutch slipping I will make the pushrod throw "slightly" longer then take a long trip.