90 Clutch Advice please...

M

McBad

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #1

My clutch pedal is behaving a little oddly... Put it to the floor and
disengage the clutch; no problem. Lift the clutch and it engages fine and
behaves normally until you get towards the top of its travel. Rather than
being smooth to the top position it seems to catch an inch or two from the
top and then flick up. Odd sensation and a bit hard to describe; the weight
of the pedal changes. Severity varies but its only suddenly started doing
this in the last two days. Sometimes I can lift my foot off and as I do the
clutch jumps up the last bit of travel and firmly slaps the sole of my foot.

I can't see anything externally wrong. No leaking clutch fluid, no bent
pedals or broken springs. However, I'm worried!

Any ideas???

thanks,

M.

 

M

McBad

Guest

• Aug 7, 2004

• #2

"McBad" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My clutch pedal is behaving a little oddly...

Did some investigating. I don't think it is the clutch pivot arm in the
bell housing collapsing.

Clutch fluid reservoir was all but m/t so I refilled that and things have
improved, although there is still a slight feeling of 'not returning to the
upper limit of travel properly'. What worries me now is where did the
clutch fluid go - it doesn't just evaporate? Perhaps very slight dampness
on the back of the pedal but that might be my over active imagination, no
real sign of wetness anywhere... I'll keep an eye on it an see if the level
drops again.

Off up to Abergavenny this morning so that will give me a decent test run.

Cheers,

M.

 

O

Olafur Agust

Guest

• Aug 5, 2004

• #3

> I have a good guess that it's the clutch fork thats collapsing.

The clutch fork on my 1988 90 collapsed the other day. It did not
behave like this at all. The clutch pedal just became stuck all of a
sudden on the way down, most likely because the slave cylinder was
pushed all the way out and didnt return because the fork was ruined.
This would certainly sound like the pedal pivot giving you a hard
time.

 

M

McBad

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #4

"Richard Brookman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "McBad" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > My clutch pedal is behaving a little oddly... Put it to the floor and

> My guess would be that it's the pedal itself rather than the brake
> system. Bit obvious, but try a squirt of WD40 on the pedal pivot to
> make sure it's free, and check that you're not catching on the edge of
> a mat or carpet. After that, you need to check the pedal movement
> from all angles, looking for something physically catching as it
> moves. Only then should you start to investigate the system, and I
> would be starting with the master cylinder.
>
> Rich

Thanks Rich. It's got worse through the day to the point that I had to
flick it back up with my toe a couple of times this afternoon, because it
was sticking on the up swing and not returning to the top position. I'll be
going out there now to have a poke round and see if I can find any answers.

M.

 

J

JD

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #5

McBad wrote:

> My clutch pedal is behaving a little oddly... Put it to the floor and
> disengage the clutch; no problem. Lift the clutch and it engages fine and
> behaves normally until you get towards the top of its travel. Rather than
> being smooth to the top position it seems to catch an inch or two from the
> top and then flick up. Odd sensation and a bit hard to describe; the
> weight
> of the pedal changes. Severity varies but its only suddenly started doing
> this in the last two days. Sometimes I can lift my foot off and as I do
> the clutch jumps up the last bit of travel and firmly slaps the sole of my
> foot.
>
> I can't see anything externally wrong. No leaking clutch fluid, no bent
> pedals or broken springs. However, I'm worried!
>
> Any ideas???
>
> thanks,
>
> M.

Had a similar problem with my 110 - was the master cylinder sticking, and i
solved it temporarily (over a year now, touch wood) by taking the cover
off, peeling back the boot and stuffing the back of the cylinder with
rubber grease.
JD

 

M

McBad

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #6

"JD" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> McBad wrote:
> > My clutch pedal is behaving a little oddly... Put it to the floor and


> Had a similar problem with my 110 - was the master cylinder sticking, and
i
> solved it temporarily (over a year now, touch wood) by taking the cover
> off, peeling back the boot and stuffing the back of the cylinder with
> rubber grease.
> JD

Hmm. Investigations show that the fluid reservoir was m/t. Not sure about
where it is leaking out; piston rod on master cylinder seems slightly damp
but it is not running down the clutch pedal. Can't see any external leaks
which implies a leak from the slave cylinder into the bell housing. Is this
likely / possible? I've refilled the reservoir and will see if there is any
improvement tomorrow or if there is brake fluid in the drivers foot well.
If no clear answer I'll try the rubber grease; cheaper than new cylinders
and easier than new seal sets!

Cheers,

M.

 

R

Richard Brookman

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #7

"McBad" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> My clutch pedal is behaving a little oddly... Put it to the floor and
> disengage the clutch; no problem. Lift the clutch and it engages fine and
> behaves normally until you get towards the top of its travel. Rather than
> being smooth to the top position it seems to catch an inch or two from the
> top and then flick up. Odd sensation and a bit hard to describe; the weight
> of the pedal changes. Severity varies but its only suddenly started doing
> this in the last two days. Sometimes I can lift my foot off and as I do the
> clutch jumps up the last bit of travel and firmly slaps the sole of my foot.
>
> I can't see anything externally wrong. No leaking clutch fluid, no bent
> pedals or broken springs. However, I'm worried!
>
> Any ideas???
>
> thanks,
>
> M.

My guess would be that it's the pedal itself rather than the brake
system. Bit obvious, but try a squirt of WD40 on the pedal pivot to
make sure it's free, and check that you're not catching on the edge of
a mat or carpet. After that, you need to check the pedal movement
from all angles, looking for something physically catching as it
moves. Only then should you start to investigate the system, and I
would be starting with the master cylinder.

Rich

 

O

Olafur Agust

Guest

• Aug 5, 2004

• #8

> I have a good guess that it's the clutch fork thats collapsing.

The clutch fork on my 1988 90 collapsed the other day. It did not
behave like this at all. The clutch pedal just became stuck all of a
sudden on the way down, most likely because the slave cylinder was
pushed all the way out and didnt return because the fork was ruined.
This would certainly sound like the pedal pivot giving you a hard
time.

 

M

McBad

Guest

• Aug 7, 2004

• #9

"McBad" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My clutch pedal is behaving a little oddly...

Did some investigating. I don't think it is the clutch pivot arm in the
bell housing collapsing.

Clutch fluid reservoir was all but m/t so I refilled that and things have
improved, although there is still a slight feeling of 'not returning to the
upper limit of travel properly'. What worries me now is where did the
clutch fluid go - it doesn't just evaporate? Perhaps very slight dampness
on the back of the pedal but that might be my over active imagination, no
real sign of wetness anywhere... I'll keep an eye on it an see if the level
drops again.

Off up to Abergavenny this morning so that will give me a decent test run.

Cheers,

M.