General information about the clutch (Renault Symbol 1)

The clutch serves to briefly disconnect the running engine from the gearbox and drive wheels and smoothly connect it when the car starts moving, as well as to change gears in the gearbox while driving. In addition, the clutch serves to protect the engine and gearbox parts from overloads that occur in certain road situations (sudden braking or acceleration). The clutch is installed only on vehicles with a manual transmission.

The clutch drive is cable-operated with automatic adjustment of the gap that occurs when the friction linings wear out.

The clutch is a dry single-disk clutch with a central pressure spring of the diaphragm type. Structurally, the clutch consists of a clutch housing with a pressure plate, a driven disk and a clutch release mechanism. The driven disk with a spring damper is put on the splines of the primary shaft of the gearbox. The diameter of the driven disk is 200 mm. The disk includes two friction linings, the thickness of which in a compressed state is 6.8 mm.

When the clutch pedal is pressed, the force is transmitted via the cable drive to the clutch release lever, as a result of which the clutch release bearing located in the clutch moves, which compresses the central part of the diaphragm spring. The outer ends of the spring move the pressure plate away from the linings of the driven disk and the latter moves away from the flywheel. The clutch is disengaged, and the rotation of the crankshaft is not transmitted to the gearbox.

When the pedal is released, the pressure plate again presses the driven disk against the flywheel. Now rotation from the flywheel through the hub of the driven disk is transmitted to the primary shaft of the gearbox.

The original can be found on the website www.renaultbook.ru