Clutch issues

Hi All,
I'm hoping someone may be able to provide some insight on this one - Its an 88 defender 110 diesel 2.5na
After driving last night with no issues whatsoever, got in this morning and had little pressure on clutch pedal but enough to reverse out and drive away. Ran it around the block and lost last of the pressure so got it back on the drive by switching off putting into 2nd then getting it back - there must have been some degree of pressure there though as it wasnt as 'stally' when doing this (had a popped clutch hose not long ago and had done same thing then).
I then checked the fluid which was fine and also no leaks from either MC or SC or the unions of the hoses just for good measure. I then thought to try and get it off the drive and reverse in as its a sloped drive so thought engine upslope may help if it was air in system. Had it in what I thought was reverse switched on and heard an upleasant crunch after which I can no longer move the gear stick out of position. This has brought me to the point of writing this after resisting the call of the sledge hammer in the shed.
As some background within the last year I put in new TRW MC & SC, last Nov/Dec the clutch went so I had the garage put in a new Luc clutch, plus new heavy duty fork, bearing, clips etc. as we were moving house that same week. All was fine until a few weeks ago the flexi hose popped so I put a new one in and all was fine after that until today.
Hope someone has an idea or 2 to brighten up an otherwise sh*t day so far. Thanks in advance.
Paul.

Where was the biting point on the pedal? If its on a slope and in gear this might be why it wont come out of gear, the crunching sound, was that just a crunching gear as you had no clutch? If its on a slope, in gear and not budging at least you know the clutch is engaged, so it sounds like a hydraulic problem. Basically, no hydraulics, if the slave is at fault it will leak, if the master is at fault it will let past and not usually leak.

Just a thought, you say everything has been replaced, look at the master under the bonnet, pull the inspection cover off (4 screws) and make sure its all cushty in there, take a photo of what you find and load it up here if you are unsure.

Yes, maybe there's a bit of 'wind up' in the system that stops you moving the gear lever. When this happens you can sometimes get it to shift by putting the transfer box in neutral. Otherwise the symptoms sound a but like what you get when the seals go on the master and slave cylinders (even though they're fairly new), or when the fluid gets too low, or when it needs adjusting.

You've cheered me up already with no talk of anything that involves hoisting. I'll have a proper investigate tomorrow and let you know what I find. Cheers both for replying

Have had a look now and is definitely hydraulic as manage to bleed it enough to reverse out of the drive however it went again pretty much straight away. Got it back in with nose up this time and tried bleeding again which got rid of alot of air and much firmer clutch however after pumping the pedal for a bit its gone again. Trouble is I can't see any leaks at all. Under the inspection plate was all bone dry. I suspected unions possibly on master or slave but have wiped these down while clutch was firm then pumped till gone and seen no difference. Almost like air is coming in but not a big enough leak for fluid to come out which doesn't make sense to me. Any ideas from here much appreciated, reluctant to replace bits until I pinpoint the cause but think I'm at stage to just replace mc and sc and see if that fixes it. Thanks. Paul

88110 said:

Have had a look now and is definitely hydraulic as manage to bleed it enough to reverse out of the drive however it went again pretty much straight away. Got it back in with nose up this time and tried bleeding again which got rid of alot of air and much firmer clutch however after pumping the pedal for a bit its gone again. Trouble is I can't see any leaks at all. Under the inspection plate was all bone dry. I suspected unions possibly on master or slave but have wiped these down while clutch was firm then pumped till gone and seen no difference. Almost like air is coming in but not a big enough leak for fluid to come out which doesn't make sense to me. Any ideas from here much appreciated, reluctant to replace bits until I pinpoint the cause but think I'm at stage to just replace mc and sc and see if that fixes it. Thanks. Paul

Click to expand...

fit a new master cylinder and slave, they arent dear google
550732 and 591231

Cheers James. Was reluctant with this as the existing ones are newish but seems that's no guarantee these days. Any recommendations, ones there at the moment were trw, genuine too pricey for me and obviously avoiding blue box? Or was I just unlucky with TRW ones?

Maybe you've been unlucky. I'd agree with James - it sounds very like master or slave seals are leaking. The fluid is able to leak past the seals on the pistons without coming out completely. In the old days I used to mess about trying to find and fit seal kits but these days it's easier just to buy complete new units. I've fitted TRWs on my own and a friend's Land Rover and they've been working for 15 months and 3 years respectively.

Thanks for the reply brown. Thinking further the slave has been touched a couple of times when I did flexihose and also for fitting new clutch which was a garage job so anything possible there so perhaps something was battered too much along the line. Got new bits coming now anyways and am doing the rest of the pipes while I'm there so the whole system will be shiny. I'll hopefully post up news of a successful job after the weekend!