Ford Workshop Service and Repair Manuals

The self-adjusting clutch has the following advantages over conventionally designed clutches:

• lower release forces, which remain constant over the service life and thus ensure high driving comfort throughout the entire service life
• increased wear reserve and therefore greater service life due to the automatic wear adjustment

Function

A conventional clutch responds to clutch wear with an increase in the release force, which ultimately has to be delivered by the driver to press down the clutch pedal.

This increase in the release force after clutch wear is used on the self-adjusting clutch as the key indicator for adjusting the clutch.

The main distinction to a conventional clutch is that the main Belleville washer is not riveted in a fixed manner to the cover, but instead is supported by a so-called sensing Belleville washer. In addition an adjusting ring (ramp ring) is used to compensate the wear of the clutch lining.

The sensing Belleville washer is hooked into the clutch cover at the outside and, with the inner tongues, forms the bearing for the main Belleville washer.

The sensing Belleville washer is designed to deliver a slightly greater opposing force under normal conditions than the maximum required release force.

If when the clutch is operated the release force is less than the opposing force of the sensing Belleville washer, then the pivot bearing point of the main Belleville washer remains in the same position.

If however the release force increases due to lining wear, then the opposing force of the sensing Belleville washer is exceeded.

If the opposing force of the sensing Belleville washer is exceeded, the sensing Belleville washer and therefore also the main Belleville washer are displaced towards the flywheel.

This displacement towards the flywheel has the effect that the release force is reduced again.

Once the release force has dropped to the level of the opposing force of the sensing Belleville washer again (equilibrium of forces), the displacement of the components towards the flywheel stops.

When the sensing Belleville washer is displaced this results in an air gap between the main Belleville washer and the clutch cover.

The adjusting ring (ramp ring) arranged around the circumference immediately compensates for the air gap. To do this, springs press the adjusting ring and therefore the ramp against the main Belleville washer.

This results in a balancing of the clutch actuation mechanism, which keeps the forces required to operate the clutch constant throughout the entire service life of the clutch.