[doctorona]

Hey Gang,

I’m going to be doing the clutch adjustment on my Mom’s 2006 smart car.

After reading lots of threads on this, I want to be clear on a few things.

1) Make sure the car is in neutral before/while doing this.

2) Disconnect the negative battery cable before starting.

3) Mark a line for a point of reference before removing clutch actuator.

4) Lots of penetrate on bolts, possible heat for removal.

5) Actuator “should” be moved away from bell housing for adjustment, but could be moved other way as well… won’t know until the car is driven.

6) A little dab of grease on tip of rod that goes toward the clutch side.

7) Install a little grease on bottom of actuator to help it slide for future adjustment.

8) Don’t over tighten bolts ( 12lbs force )

Anything else I should be aware of?

 

[Jeb Baker]

clutch actuator tips

Yeah, a couple of things: 1. If you have time, put penetrant oil on the night before removal, you hopefully won't need heat.
2. Use the correct Torx socket, i.e. don't substitute a hex socket.
3. don't worry about marking the old spot - you can see where it was quite easy, and it's not going back in the same location anyhow. The key for me was to feel where the tip makes contact and then slide it in three more lines. Replace according to adjustment procedure from MB WIS catalog. Hopefully, you have a copy of the procedure page. I will try to post it here. If that fails, pm me.

 

[doctorona]

Yeah, a couple of things: 1. If you have time, put penetrant oil on the night before removal, you hopefully won't need heat.
2. Use the correct Torx socket, i.e. don't substitute a hex socket.
3. don't worry about marking the old spot - you can see where it was quite easy, and it's not going back in the same location anyhow. The key for me was to feel where the tip makes contact and then slide it in three more lines. Replace according to adjustment procedure from MB WIS catalog. Hopefully, you have a copy of the procedure page. I will try to post it here. If that fails, pm me.

Thank you!
I'm having a hard time understanding #5 and #6
Is it what you're saying?
Where the tip makes contact and then slide it 3 more lines?

 

[Jeb Baker]

Thank you!
I'm having a hard time understanding #5 and #6
Is it what you're saying?
Where the tip makes contact and then slide it 3 more lines?

Yup, I think of the actuator as being my left foot on a manual transmission car. So when the tip of the actuator is just touching the clutch pedal, and then sliding the actuator 3 bars in is just lightly pressing on the clutch pedal, but not quite "riding the clutch" at that point. So that point is a moving target as time (and normal clutch wear) goes on.
So marking where the actuator was and then returning it there could be the wrong spot, hence the adjustment procedure states the correct way to reinstall.

 

[doctorona]

Yup, I think of the actuator as being my left foot on a manual transmission car. So when the tip of the actuator is just touching the clutch pedal, and then sliding the actuator 3 bars in is just lightly pressing on the clutch pedal, but not quite "riding the clutch" at that point. So that point is a moving target as time (and normal clutch wear) goes on.
So marking where the actuator was and then returning it there could be the wrong spot, hence the adjustment procedure states the correct way to reinstall.

Ahh... that makes sense now.
Thanks for the analogy!

 

[gk_mn]

How does a person "teach in" the new adjustments as mentioned in step 9 of the document?

 

[penncove]

teach in

The actuator calibrates itself each key cycle . So as long as you haven't put in a new actuator, it should be close enough to the old base setting it will work. But if your putting in a new one, you better teach it in. You don't need a wis system to do this. Some of the better aftermarket scanners can do it. My Autel 908pro can do it. Call around to the shops. The Autel maxsis series can do it, Autologic probably, as well as Launch scanners.

 

[doctorona]

Update...
I ended up just moving the clutch actuator in about 1/4 or so toward the bell housing.
Originally I was going to remove it and clean everything up, but I couldn't get the electrical clip off with so little room to work in.

I took the car for a quick spin around the block a couple times.... definitely seems better!
I'll do a few more trips to make sure.. might even move it in closer.

Thanks for the help gang!