Hi there,

Can anyone recommend a good clutch+gearbox mechanic or someone familiar with Escorts in inner Sydney (I'm in Petersham)?

Here's why.

The clutch doesn't disengage the gears fully when depressed (there's more). It was fine when I first installed the new cable, then a couple of months later it needed adjusting, then a few month later adjusting again (continue this for 9 months), now the clutch cable is right at the end of its adjusting range and has finally rendered my van almost undrivable. 1st is a battle of strength to engage and we crunch gears a lot. At first I thought the cable might have stretched a bit, because it was new... but it couldn't have stretched 3 or 4 inches! Also, I don't know if this is related but there is a chronic shuddering through the drive train when I reverse.

I feel like this might be expensive, but don't have anywhere to conduct the work myself at the moment. It'd be swell to get a reading of the situation from the brains trust here, so I might help an unfamiliar mechanic in the right direction perhaps.

Cheers guys, look forward to your insight. ;)

Could be a broken spring in the clutch plate. or
http://classic-ford.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20438

Check if the clutch arm is bent? is it running close to the bellhousing?

Thanks Mark,
That link looks like an irritating problem right there...
I'll see if I can get under for a peep. I'll still need a mechanic I reckon.

Go and see Frank at Camperdown Brakes (they're in the book). One of the few mechanics I'll trust my Corty to

Robert

Frank is great i deal with him threw work (REPCO CAMPERDOWN) he knows what's hes doing!

Yep, thanks for the tip. Frank is a decent guy. Did a nice job with a collection of tricky drive-train issues + came in well below his estimate $.

Cheers -T