cluch pedal free play

[1983Pinin]

Hello,
I know there have been hundreds of postings here and elsewhere about clutch pedal cable adjustment and free play at the pedal, and I have done this operation myself numerous times on both of my 124 spiders.
My 83 spider cable adjustment slipped because I did not bear down on the 10mm locking nut enough,and eventually I started having trouble shifting.
During this time I never actually felt the free play becoming excessive-- about an inch or 25mm before I felt resistance. I did notice that upon release the pedal occasionally became stuck at the bottom of the one-inch free play position, and I'd need to pull it back up. I actually did this a few times using my hand on the pedal, just to get the feel. Sometimes the pedal just didn't come all the way back up.
Anyway I went under and noticed that even with this situation ( tough getting into reverse and first gear ), when I moved through the "free play " position I could see motion of the release fork (fork pulled towards the front of the car).

My question is should you see movement of the release fork while moving within the free play position?

Thanks
--Peter

[18Fiatsandcounting]

My question is should you see movement of the release fork while moving within the free play position?

Peter, I haven't observed this directly, but my guess is you should see only a very slight movement of the release fork when the pedal is within its 1" of free travel. Maybe a millimeter or so, but not much more than that. The free play essentially takes up any slack in the cable and firmly presses the throwout bearing against the "fingers" of the pressure plate, and that's when you start to feel resistance as those fingers are very hard to move.

If you see much movement of the release fork within the free travel span, you probably don't have the free play adjusted quite right. Or there is some issue like a binding cable that makes it seem like you're feeling resistance when it's really just the cable that's providing this resistance (not the fingers of the pressure plate as it should be).

-Bryan