Clutch pedal nearly to the floor

My clutch pedal on my TD5 has always been the same since Ive had it, but its starting to give issues now so I want to get it sorted. The car was standing for a while after the previous owner wrecked the engine and when I got it, the bite was about an inch or 2 from the floor and the rest of the movement is just free. I can push the pedal down 3/4 of the way without it doing anything. Now I just got used to this and I actually found it easier than normal, not having to push the pedal so far etc. but lately Its been giving issues with gear changes, crunchy 3rd and not getting into 2nd when cold. it also gives a problem when changing from high to low ratio.
What i want to do is to try and bleed it as I think its air in it, but im too afraid to do it cos its my only everyday car and id be stuck without it. can anyone suggest what the problem may be and how to solve it?

Can't see what harm it would do to bleed it - because from what you say it sounds like thats just what it needs . Even just loosen the bleed screw and let the fluid flow out under gravity for a bit - just keep the reservoir topped up .

ohh ok then, I wont do it in the week just incase, ill be brave and have a go next weekend I think!
Thanks!

Right ive tried to bleed it today and its got worse! can barely select gears now. any advice please!!!!

When you bled it, did you get any air out?

air just kept coming, no matter how many times i bled it there was always air coming out.

Was there any noticable leakage of fluid around the slave cylinder, before you started to bleed it?

just posted this might help http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/td5-clutch-problem-help-102361.html and anothe thing is pump the peddle(6-8 times) hold it down then get some one to open the nipple close it then pump it.........you get the idea

No I cant see a leak at all, thats why im so confused lol!

Unfortunately, without getting all of the air out of the system its never going to work. I had the same problem with the clutch pedal a week or so ago, so I just bled the system and its working properly now.
If there is no visible sign of any leakage, how was the fluid level in the reservoir - had you lost any fluid?

Make sure level in master cylinder is well above the pipe leading to the clutch cylinder .
When I had the engine out of my Td5 last year I found it hard to bleed it also - martins advice is good , thats what I did eventually to get a pedal .
Can't remember if its possible to have bleed nipple in the wrong position - it should be above the fluid inlet pipe . IF they get swapped bleeding can be almost impossible .
And one other way I found worked in the past - top up cylinder well , open bleed screw and let gravity take over for a while , just let the fluid flow out ( it will be slow ) .

jimbo-td5 said:

No I cant see a leak at all, thats why im so confused lol!

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never said any thing about a leak the pipe dont leak it just sucks air in

martinhollings said:

never said any thing about a leak the pipe dont leak it just sucks air in

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sorry mate that reply was to the one above your post.

Fleggy the level was fine, the reservoir was about 3/4 from what I can remember. Ill have to have another go taking into considering all your advice and report back!

Have you checked the slave cylinder? These are often the cause of the problem. They are not expensive so a renewal may be the best course of action.

I've tryed myself all other methods of bleeding and just this one worked properly http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/td5-clutch-problem-help-102361.html#post1040793 ............believe me I also purchased the master and slave cylinders to be sure but after a good but not easy bleeding I still have them packaged.

It has a little secret it's a two men job, one must stare to the tube to see when all the air bubbles are out of it, just after that you let the pedal to return...to "suck" back just clean fluid and it'll force out the air from the slave cylinder. As I said you have do be pacient .......it took me 20 mins but a friend did it for more than an hour untill he got rid of all the bubbles.........one more thing, don't loosen to much the bleeding screw cause it could aspire air beneath it and then you're f*****d. Good luck