A diaphragm spring assembly for a pull type friction clutch (10) comprising, a diaphragm spring (20) consisting of an outer belleville spring portion (21) joined to a plurality of radially inwardly projecting spring fingers (22) circumferentially separated by slots, an adaptor plate (30) connectable with a clutch release bearing (13) and operable to disengage the friction clutch, and fixing elements such as a rivet or a nut and bolt or a bolt engaging a tapped bore in the adaptor plate, which join the adaptor plate to the diaphragm spring prior to the connection of the adapter plate to the release bearing, whereby the fixing elements may act to resist an axial connection load that occurs during the connection of the adaptor plate to the release bearing.
Furthermore the diaphragm spring assembly may include a radial and circumferential clearance (R,C) between each fixing element and the or each adjacent finger to allow a limited amount of relative radial movement between the diaphragm spring and the adaptor plate.