clutch 'n' gears

Hello, hope someone can give me some advice about my defender 90 dti (L). A couple of months ago the gear stick got very sticky and after some advice i put some clutch fluid in the egg cup thingy... and all was well. I used it on Friday with no problems then Saturday morning i discovered that the clutch pedal had very little movement on it and i could hardly get any gears at all, i refilled the thingy and things are better but the clutch pedal still dosen't travel as far. As you will have guessed by now i am no mechanic, so my question is what if anything can be done 'to get me by' and could this be a 'big' problem thats going to cost heaps.

thanks

old woman said:

Hello, hope someone can give me some advice about my defender 90 dti (L). A couple of months ago the gear stick got very sticky and after some advice i put some clutch fluid in the egg cup thingy... and all was well. I used it on Friday with no problems then Saturday morning i discovered that the clutch pedal had very little movement on it and i could hardly get any gears at all, i refilled the thingy and things are better but the clutch pedal still dosen't travel as far. As you will have guessed by now i am no mechanic, so my question is what if anything can be done 'to get me by' and could this be a 'big' problem thats going to cost heaps.

thanks

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Hello old girl, I understand how you feel. I chased a clutch problem for a few weeks and even had a 'Specialist' look at it. He fitted a new clutch plate! The problem was a 'snatching' clutch, but the true cause, which I found myself, was simple and I think will cure yours.
First, the clutch pedal pushes a piston in the 'Master', which is where you put the fluid, driving the fluid down a pipe to a little thing called a 'Slave', which pushes the clutch. Rubber rings around the pistons in both master and slave stop all that fluid from leaking out but they do tend to age and refuse to do the job properly. The fluid gets past them and escapes so you must then top it up. But air gets into the system and that does not let the Master drive the Slave properly, so gives a short and weak 'pedal' as you describe.
It is possible to change the rubber seals, fill with fresh fluid and 'bleed' the air out of the system but, to be honest, for the cost of new 'Master' and 'Slave' you are better off having them changed as, if any water has got inside them, which it probably has, then they will be so corroded that any new seals will be damaged within a few miles. The 'Slave' is most likely corroded as it sits so low down that off-roaders driving through deep water regularly flood it.
My own snatching clutch (common fault on Defenders for a number of reasons) was due to the piston seal in the 'Slave' catching on the corroded inside of the cylinder and releasing in jerks.
Hope this saves you some money. Good luck.

as you stated you refilled your thingy(clutch master cylinder)
this points towards a leak in the system,usually slave cylinder(follow the pipe from your thingy you,ll find it down by the gearbox),cheap and easy to fix,wouldnt even bother to change the rubbers you,ll only end up doing it again in a couple of weeks

page 136 of this pdf should show you the basics
http://www.landrover.ee/est/files/manuals/cars/defender/Defender1996.pdf

Thanks both. This is probably a dumb question, if i keep topping up the clutch master cylinder can i drive fairly safely? I doubt i have the right tools to do the thing myself (even if i could get the 'bits') and i won't find a mech who will do it 'till after the holiday. i live up a green lane and no transport means all sorts of trouble...

old woman said:

Thanks both. This is probably a dumb question, if i keep topping up the clutch master cylinder can i drive fairly safely? I doubt i have the right tools to do the thing myself (even if i could get the 'bits') and i won't find a mech who will do it 'till after the holiday. i live up a green lane and no transport means all sorts of trouble...

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YES, and make sure the pedal comes ALL the way back up when you take your stiletto off it.

Pop your toe UNDER the pedal every so often and try to lift the pedal up towards you. If it lifts AT ALL, it needs a tad of oil around the shaft and maybe a new pedal return spring.

More or less all LandRover do what yours is doing.

CharlesY

PS I am amazingly handsome, helpful, witty, loads of Landies and tools, but don't let HybridGirl find out I said that or she'll accuse me of four-timing her ....

old woman said:

Thanks both. This is probably a dumb question, if i keep topping up the clutch master cylinder can i drive fairly safely? I doubt i have the right tools to do the thing myself (even if i could get the 'bits') and i won't find a mech who will do it 'till after the holiday. i live up a green lane and no transport means all sorts of trouble...

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Hello again.
Topping up may keep you going for a bit but with air in the system the clutch will not work properly and gears may be sticky or crunch.
At some stage the leak will overcome your ability to keep topping up and fail completely. That will leave you with no easy way to engage any gear, start or stop. Also, it could fail in a dangerous location and leave you stranded.
On the plus side, it is such an easy job and parts so available that any garage can do it in about an hour.
I know of a couple of good contacts in South and West Wales.
Are you anywhere near?

Thanks all VERY much. I've found a local guy who confirmed what you all said so i'm going to limp to his house on wednesday. Looks like i'm going to have a few extra days holiday. Am also thinking i should go on a land rover mech course if i want to ofset the cost of diesel with doing my own maintanence.
Thanks again