Am hunting for a diagram of the clutch linkage to a 1983 Camaro 5 speed. Car not engaging properly and looks to me as if something may be missing from the clutch fork adjuster. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Not much to diagram....

It's 3 pieces. The one that has bolt threads on one end and the ball end to fit into the clutch fork at the other end; the L-shaped one that goes to the Z-bar at one end, and has inside threads on the other end for the first piece to screw into; and the jam nut.

What makes you think you're missing something?

 

Rod doesn't seem quite long enough to adjust properly. Have replaced clutch, clutch fork, and throwout bearing and have not had any luck attempting to adjust clutch in order to make it disengage. Took car to shop and after having them review it have concluded that adjustment rod just doesn't seem to be complete. Problem is they have no idea of what exactly the piece is that is missing. According to conversation I had on phone with mechanic today, they're looking at a small diagram and seeing what is missing but have no idea of exactly what it is or even where to get it (claim GM has discontinued it, and of course none of the local auto parts stores or salvage yards have it either). Say they can fabricate something but would rather not go that route. Guess I may need to purchase an entire adjuster assembly (somehow) and just reinstall it but would like to find a descent diagram of a complete one to maybe aid in my hunt of locating a sutable replacement.

 

Simple answer to the problem: You have the wrong clutch. Somebody gave you a "raised diaphragm" (6-cylinder) clutch instead of even a weenie cheap stock replacement V8 clutch, let alone a performance one appropriate to your car.

Get the right clutch. I'd recommend a centerforce Dual Friction one. That's what I use in my 83 Z28 HO.

There's probably nothing wrong with your linkage, or missing from it. The only thing wrong with the adjuster is the individual doing the adjusting.

I'm also going to guess, being the intuitive sort of guy that I am, that the same mechanic that put in the wrong clutch is telling you all this.

In that case, get the right mechanic while you're at it; or do it yourself. That way you can be sure it's done right. Verify that the flywheel has been re-surfaced and balanced, and the pilot bearing replaced, while you're at it.

Also, if you look closely, you'll find a little hole in your Z-bar; put a grease fitting in it, and shoot it full of grease until the grease comes out both ends. You'd be amazed at how much better your clutch pedal will feel without all that friction.

 

Are the bushings missing from the ends of the Z bar tube? If they
are gone you will have excessive slack in the linkage.BTW, my
'83 Z28 had a 10.4 diaphram pressure plate with raised center and the shortest throwout bearing which had a flat face.

 

There are no bushings in the Z-bar. Its steel tube rides directly on the pivot *****. It is possible for the tube or the pivot ***** to wear, especially if they haven't been kept greased. This is one of hte many reasons why I detest linkage style clutches, and swapped hydraulics into my 83 the minute I could find a setup at the local buzzard. (must have been around 86 or so when I did that)

The "raised diaphragm" type of clutch has the diaphragm "raised" off of the cover; so looking through the hole in the cover at the fingers that the throwout bearing rides on, it looks like the diaphragm is depressed into the cover. It doesn't look "raised". The "raised diaphragm" type clutch uses the long throwout bearing, since the diaphragm is located about ½" farther away from the fork, toward the flywheel, as compared to a good clutch. The better clutches including the stock ones for these cars (especially the HO cars) use the short throwout.

All throwout bearings have a flat face where they meet the fingers of the diaphragm.

 

Absolutly nothing wrong with clutch. Had a new clutch put in a year ago in Mississippi and replaced it thinking that maybe the mechanic I had paid to put it in didn't do so, only adjusted it to work. Clutch worked properly for about a year then I began to have problems getting the clutch to disengage so I personally put a new one in two weeks ago in an attempt to fix my problem. Old clutch still had some padding to it and really didn't need to be replaced but did so anyway since i had already purchased the parts and tore it apart. Car was then taken to a mechanic family friend to look into the linkage problem when i was informed of the problem. Therefore, clutch not the problem, and neither is the mechanic.

 

The clutch is the problem. Believe it. There's nothing wrong with the linkage if it's all there.

I've told you what the pieces that are supposed to be there are, what clutch you have, what clutch you're supposed to have, and what you need to do. Keep in mind I have the same kind of car you do; I've had it since it was almost new; I had 4-speed cars for many years before I got this one; basically I've been driving stick-shift cars all my life. I know how they work, what the parts are, and how they go together. Of course you don't know me, so you wouldn't necessarily know that; but you can trust what I tell you about clutches.

If you don't want to fix your car, go ahead and think you know what's wrong. Won't bother me a bit. I'm telling you what the deal is, now what you do with the info is up to you.

Most likely, the failure to disengage was caused by a bad pilot bearing or bushing, and not the clutch itself. The actual clutch almost never causes that. Which type (bearing or bushing) did you replace it with when you put in the 6-cyl clutch?

 

Appreciate the input but clutch didn't just stop working after I replaced it with a "6 cylinder clutch". Have fought impropper pedal play for about 2-3 months now (have almost an inch and a half of clutch pedal play) and replaced the clutch in order to solve the problem after grasping at a few straws. pulled z bar out and inspected it at one time and it looked alright so i reinstalled it. replaced transmission mount, didn't solve the problem. replaced clutch, throwout bearing, pilot bushing, clutch fork, and resurfaced flywheel.....didn't solve the problem. Not a problem that just appeared at time of replacement of clutch. Unfortunatly ilt has persisted for some time, and after exhausting my ideas I finally decided to take it to my buddy and let him have a look. Immediatly after engaging the clutch pedal he decided that it felt like a linkage problem (like said before, excessive amounts of play) and we're now working on trying to determine the exact set up.
Clutch is cumberland (autozone part number NU0056) made for 1983 Camaro 8 cylinders 5.0 L 5bl. I know, it's cheap but at this point in time is all i can afford due to upcoming move an marriage, along with some other problems with the camaro.