Freelander 1 Clutch binding k series

Marty157 said:

Hi folks, long time since I posted, but not to say I’ve not been keeping in touch with posts or having the beast up on axle stands most weekends.

I’m at the end of my tether and seriously thinking my k series is at the end of its life. I’ve posted before on here about the clutch binding and it’s started again. The engine itself is sound, doesn’t use a drop of water or oil and sailed through its emission test last mot. The clutch has started binding again. Here are my thoughts.

clutch - replaced last year with oem, including, release bearing and pressure plate
Master/slave cylinder- replaced with oem, this seemed to solve the problem last time
Spacer added - spacer added to slave cylinder to increase release distance, this helped for a while but I don’t think it was a solution

things I haven’t replaced
Gearbox - don’t see why this would cause the binding
Release arm - I covered it in moly grease when I changed the clutch
Flywheel - could it be this?
Gear Selector - it’s The clutch binding, so would this be the cause?

any thoughts would be appreciated.

edit. I also replaced the clutch pedal assembly with one from an 04 td4 (that was fun!) as I saw a thread suggesting there was a fault with some original pedals, was ok for a while but problem came back.

Thanks

Martin

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Stokeyboy said:

Hi Martin, I have an 02 1.8 petrol lwb, I’ve owned it for about 3 years & had to replace the clutch/ master cylinder set up as it failed whilst driving it. The slave had just sort of exploded, leaving me with no clutch pedal as it was just on the floor. I fitted a new one bought from LR spares, ( but not OEM) it worked, but still didn’t & doesn’t inspire confidence in operation. I oiled the release arm & put some tie wraps around the slave cylinder to try to help it, as it seemed poorly supported to me, & an all together crap design from Land Rover.
What I have noticed is that when the weather is cold it’s ok but if the outside air temp is high - say above 25C, the clutch plays up. When we had a hot day - like last Friday 31st July, eventually when driving in traffic the only way I could get it in or out of gear was to turn the engine off, depress the clutch put it in gear then start the engine again. It doesn’t do it just when the engine’s hot, but when the outside air is hot. I think the plastic piping & cylinders must expand when they get too hot & hence the clutch doesn’t work properly. It did this when we had a hot spell in the Summer of 2019 then returned to normal again when the weather cooled, but returned again last Friday...
Could this be the reason ( hot weather ) for your problem too ? I think the answer would be one of those Honda master / slave cylinder & braided hose ( Dark Ice ? ) kits ? But the cost of them is about £170 so I keep looking for alternatives, can anyone on here offer any advice please ?

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Stokeyboy said:

I think the answer will be to buy either the Sheddist kit from Dark Ice Designs ( they’re on eBay ) or the same kit from Discount MG Rover spares but they’re both £175 + p&p. The MG guys fit them & reckon it transforms the gear change. I’ve also seen a thread on here I’m sure, where some use the MGF slave cylinder & adapt the original bracket using a piece of angle iron & bolts to fit it, then graft the pipe from the master on to it using a connector. It wouldn’t be as good as the Sheddist kit but you can then bleed it & it does away with some of the plastic bits.
Good Luck, Tom
Can anyone else advise anything further ?
By the way, I’ve used this forum since I got my FL 3 yrs ago & the advice on here is brill, it’s got me out of the ****e a few times, so thanks to all. I feel a bit guilty though - this is the first time I’ve actually replied to a post !

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Marty157 said:

I’ve bit the bullet and ordered one, I’ll let you know how it goes!

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Stokeyboy said:

I think the answer would be one of those Honda master / slave cylinder & braided hose ( Dark Ice ? ) kits ? But the cost of them is about £170 so I keep looking for alternatives, can anyone on here offer any advice please ?

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Nodge68 said:

Honda master cylinder and an MGF slave with its bracket, just use the standard slave rod, as the F slave has a clevis pin for retention.

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Stokeyboy said:

Thanks, which Honda model master do I use ?

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Stokeyboy said:

Thanks, which Honda model master do I use ?

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Stokeyboy said:

Thanks Norge 68, I’ll start looking for the bits & let the forum know how it goes. Point taken about the BMW bean counters, they spoiled what could have been a really good car, it makes you wonder if it was deliberate to make their cars look better ?
Rgds Tom

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Stokeyboy said:

Point taken about the BMW bean counters, they spoiled what could have been a really good car, it makes you wonder if it was deliberate to make their cars look better ?

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