I have an interesting/frustrating issue with our 1984 XJ 900 31A.
We have just rebuilt the clutch (new plates and springs) and having an issue where the pull rod has way too much play (more than 1cm) when the pressure plate is installed. It has so much play that the pull rod hits the clutch cover (when the clutch cover is installed) before pulling on the pressure plate and can not release the clutch.
We have rebuilt it at least 7 times now and have followed the Haynes instructions. We pulled the clutch components out all the way to the oil pump sprocket to inspect for wear and have reinstalled it as per the manual. All bolts and nuts are torqued to the specs in the Haynes manual.
We had a spare engine and opened that clutch up to see if we were doing something obviously wrong and now we have 2 engines with the exact same symptom
We are obviously doing something wrong. It feels like the clutch assembly is sitting too proud and it needs to sit into the clutch housing further in so the pull rod will sit flush against the pressure plate so we can actually actuate the clutch.
I hope there's a trick to this and appreciate any help you can provide.