Clutch gone bye bye

Well, driving off to my absolute goal A-race of the century (I'm something of a runner) this morning, got about 4 miles down the road when all of a sudden I can't get any gear and the engine stalls at the junction.

Yesterday 1st and 2nd were a little tricky to get into at times and the clutch pedal was hitting the floor and not springing back up as far as usual.

Seemed no worse this morning so off we went at 4:50am.

By 5am we were phoning the recovery company and I've missed my chance to race 100 miles along the North Downs Way!!!

So, looking under the car there appears at first glance to be no sign of trauma. I mean, nothing is leaking and my gearbox didn't appear to have fallen out. The only sign that some thing has happened is that the clutch pedal is hanging limply against the carpet and you can't select a gear. Infact, when the winch broke on the recovery vehice he basically had to kangaroo hop the car up onto the platform! Ha, great times at 6am :-(

Any thoughts folks? On a) what the problem might be, and (perhaps most importantly) b) how much will it cost to fix!?!?

Oh, it's a 2003 TD4 manual (with a newer BMW engine and transmission in it) if that makes a difference.

Air in the hydraulic system - bleeding it may well cure the problem, but you need to find why the air got in there.

Mine used to need bled every couple of months....it would get hard to select 1st gear, then within a day or two, no gears at all. A replacement master cylinder appears to have cured it.

Thanks Dave. Will have a look into that then.

Now, where did I put my haynes manual and spanners?

Check the clutch fluid level. If it's low you'll have a leak. The slave cylinder is a good candidate for that.

Mines slipping I got parts for £450 and there being fitted wenesday for £400 so at £850 there not cheap

Well, it's gone to the garage now. I sit by the phone with baited breath for news!!

:behindsofa:

Positive news = just needs a new Master Cylinder. Bad news is that I am nowhere near competent enough to replace myself! should be able to pick it up this afternoon though! Lovey Freelander ownership

cmmercer said:

Positive news = just needs a new Master Cylinder. Bad news is that I am nowhere near competent enough to replace myself! should be able to pick it up this afternoon though! Lovey Freelander ownership

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Not to bad then , I would be interested to know what they charged to do it .

£300 for the lot. Including recovery from my address and then they dropped it back to me in the afternoon so I didn't even have to leave the house
I know it can be a pricey part, but I don't know how that compares to having it done elsewhere - the key was getting it fixed asap and seeing as they already had the car I just agreed to them doing the work!

my new clutch
borg & beck clutch kit
bearmech slave and bearing
luk dmf
total £476

fitting top end £365

being done tomorrow ill let you now how it goes

cmmercer said:

£300 for the lot. Including recovery from my address and then they dropped it back to me in the afternoon so I didn't even have to leave the house
I know it can be a pricey part, but I don't know how that compares to having it done elsewhere - the key was getting it fixed asap and seeing as they already had the car I just agreed to them doing the work!

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I replaced mine Friday gone , due to an annoying vibration , and it was squeaking , It took me over an hour to release the union that had seized I was just about to give up on it , when I gave the clutch pedal a stab and it freed ! that was the worst over , the OEM replacement , AP Lockheed , cost £71.95 , I saw one quote for a L R part at £165 any way no more squeak

Ian jones said:

any way no more squeak

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Hooray for no more squeek!!

I'm preparing to do my first ever oil change this weekend, maybe one day I'll build up the confidence to attack a hydraulic clutch system the next time it fails!!

FFS. One week later and clutch pedal feels like its got some play in it again and gear selection was a little tricky at times on the drive home!

Freelander ownership has been a rather rocky path over the last few weeks.

Whats next to look at? Slave cylinder?

cmmercer said:

FFS. One week later and clutch pedal feels like its got some play in it again and gear selection was a little tricky at times on the drive home!

Freelander ownership has been a rather rocky path over the last few weeks.

Whats next to look at? Slave cylinder?

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Hi , the new master cyilinder may need bleeding by the sound of it , take it back to the garage , half an hour job , do that first as the slave is inside the bell housing

Ian jones said:

Hi , the new master cyilinder may need bleeding by the sound of it , take it back to the garage , half an hour job , do that first as the slave is inside the bell housing

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Thanks Ian. That's a job for first thing tomorrow morning! Hoping that will sort it. Could it be a settling-in kind of thing with a new part or does it speak of more woes that it is doing this already?

something is coming out the bottom of the gearbox so it looks like it's time for a new slave and clutch whilst the gearbox is off. I know DMF should probably be replaced at same time, but if it looks OK I don't have a spare £300 for a new one! :-(

Oh the joys of landrover ownership. My S2a isn't this bad, and that's in pieces!

cmmercer said:

something is coming out the bottom of the gearbox so it looks like it's time for a new slave and clutch whilst the gearbox is off. I know DMF should probably be replaced at same time, but if it looks OK I don't have a spare £300 for a new one! :-(

Oh the joys of landrover ownership. My S2a isn't this bad, and that's in pieces!

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O well , a clutch can go in any motor , did you see rhodies thread last week on ere , maybe better to source quality parts cheaper yourself , inc a dmf have a look , I would change the lot , peeps have had problems not changing the dmf !

my fly wheel was goosed and even if it was ok paying another £400 to fit it later down the line would be stupid.
doing it all at once is the way to go.
clutch is sweet now but at £860 not a cheap job i got a LUK flywheel for £312 from carparts4less the origanal flywheel on my freelander had BMW stamped on one side and LUK on the other side.
so was oem replacment and the cheapes i could find
i used 4x4 island for the borg & beck clutch agine oem and good make
the slave was a oem by bearmach

Cheers for input guys. No DMF required as it was in good knick. The engine was actually replaced with a newer BMW engine just 15k ago which included 'transmission' - that's the extent of my info. It has only done 60k in total now. The clutch plate and slave cylinder have been replaced, as well as the four bolts on the gearbox that were missing!!

Drives nicely now, and after cruising around in the Y-reg Suzuki Ignis courtesy car for the last couple of days I am glad to get back in my hippo!!

cmmercer said:

Cheers for input guys. No DMF required as it was in good knick. The engine was actually replaced with a newer BMW engine just 15k ago which included 'transmission' - that's the extent of my info. It has only done 60k in total now. The clutch plate and slave cylinder have been replaced, as well as the four bolts on the gearbox that were missing!!

Drives nicely now, and after cruising around in the Y-reg Suzuki Ignis courtesy car for the last couple of days I am glad to get back in my hippo!!

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Kinda makes me wonder why the clutch went in the first place then if it was all so 'new'.