[burntblacktoast]

hey 350 people. or anyone for that matter. after adjusting clutch on my 72 cl 350 and getting everything back into place and tightend up i gave it a test squeeze. after lever back about 3/4, there is a loud THWAK! Something having to do with the actuator cam running out of travel and snapping back. Got it to work for awhile but any minute adjustment causes problem again. I have found similar descriptions on lesser, less active forums but have yet to find a suitable answer that solves my problem. Clymers can only tell me so much.

 

[bfd]

Are you using stock levers? How old is the clutch?
Some levers pull too much cable and pop the cam out of place. Old, worn clutch may require too much pre-adjust. Also make sure the little ball is still in place behind the rod

 

[burntblacktoast]

Levers are original. as is the clutch. I recently had the clutch apart and plates appeared to be fine, just old. they were checked with vernier calipers and within specifications. not warped either. And yes the little ball is still present. Could the ball or clutch rod be shimmed to reduce amount of travel necessary to actuate or is that just asking for trouble. not like it would stop me or anything.

 

[joe c]

you just have to get it perfect. sometimes its a pain. thats a common issue. keep working on it. its a small amount of movement it needs, and its easy to over do it.

its just the adjustment.

jc

 

[burntblacktoast]

im gonna trust you, cause that is honestly the most straight forward and logical answer i've gotten so far. no excessive wear on any particular part of the assembly. the often overlooked houman factor. sometimes it is easy for me to overdo things and get worked up when things don't go like they should. i like this place

 

[craig641]

Are you adjusting it the way the factory manual tells you how to do it? I think the way they tell you to do it is opposite from what you'd think would be the correct way. I've heard of others having your same problem and they didn't follow the manual's method. I thought Clymers was lacking in their discription.

I think the proper method was to loosen the cable up at the lever, then loosen the adjuster that's on the top of sprocket cover. Then loosen the nut on the adjuster screw on the side of the sprocket cover. Then turn the screw counter clockwise until it gets snug, then back off 1/4 turn. Then adjust the screw on the top of the sprocket cover, and then the adjuster at the lever. The counter clockwise seems to catch the most people.

If you're doing all of that then I don't know. But don't shim anything to make it work. If it worked before without the shim it's got to work again without one.

Craig

 

[joe c]

craigs right. if you look at how it works, its very self explanatory. redundant in many ways though. this pushes that and turns this whcih pushed this which turns that. kinda kooky. but it works. the adjustment is a little finicky. mines still a little wonky. but bill got his on the first try. youll get it.

jc

 

[ROSKO]

Craigs explanation is perfect. But, If you have been messing around without result try adjusting the cable so the 'thwack' is just past the full travel of the lever.