Stiff clutch pedal = failing clutch?

[wolff at turboquattro.com]

Thanks for the explanation. Makes total sense. So it's not really the
pressure plate that has gone bad, but the thickness of the friction disk
that makes the difference.
Wolff

>
>  Kneale and Wolff,
>  The reason a clutch feels the way it does involves how close to "center"
the
> diaphragm arms are on the pressure plate and thats a function of clutch
> thickness.
>
>  The center or breakover point of the pressure plate diaphragm is the
point
> of max resistance. Its very like a compound bow, when you begin pulling
the
> bowstring the effort required increases until you get to the breakover
point,
> once past that point effort drastically decreases. A new clutch disc is
thick
> enough to keep the pressure plate very close to its breakover point. As
the
> clutch wears it gets thinner and requires you to move the pedal further to
> reach the breakover point. Eventually the clutch gets so thin that you
never
> reach the breakover point of the pressure plate. You feel this effect in
the
> pedal as stiff at the top and easy at the bottom when new and easy at the
top
> and stiff at the bottom when old.
>
>  Sorry for the poor explanation but its the best I can do without
drawings.
> Keith
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