Clutch problem :(

Hi all, over the past few days I have noticed the clutch has been a bit iffy. I had a new one put in only a couple of thousand miles ago so I don't think it anything mechanical. However, if you push the peddle, the clutch goes about 2 inches or so with only the spring as resistance you have to push it quite far in to actually engage the clutch. This makes changing gear and controlling the Landy at low speeds rather awkward. My guess is that its something to do with the fluid or fluid system but hey clutches aren't my specialty. I will have a good look in the daylight tomorrow but until then, does anyone have any ideas as to what this may be? Thankies.

Check fluid level. If it's gone down, find where it's gone to. Remove wading plug, if it comes out there its slave cylinder. If not, either pipes or master.

Mines the same i just keep topping mine up untill i get a chance to change all the master slave and slave and hose !

pain in the ass when you get a bit of air in it tho. i keep topping mine up and flicking the peddle to try get the air out.

cant wait to have a solid clutch for once !

RobertOHare said:

Mines the same i just keep topping mine up untill i get a chance to change all the master slave and slave and hose !

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Snap,
I top mine up every 2 weeks. The slave on mine leaks very slightly. I leave my wading plugs out and only put them in when I know I going somewhere nasty

yeahh i stop it dropping into my footwell by wrapping loads of strong tissue around the clutch peddal arm and securing it with some cable ties.

RobertOHare said:

yeahh i stop it dropping into my footwell by wrapping loads of strong tissue around the clutch peddal arm and securing it with some cable ties.

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that was mine, till it got to topping up every couple of days, master cyl took me an hour with a tea break in the middle.
dunno how long the slave would take, didn mine when iu did the clutch and it was easy to get at

Yeah looks to me like one of the cylinders is fooked. It was pretty low on the fluid, topped it up and no real difference. Seems to be deteriorating more to be honest! Will be getting master and slave changed soon. Is the slave cylinder a big job or not - in terms of the average Joe, not a complete mechanical wiz

If you are getting this problem without losing clutch fluid, then it is most likely that the seals in the master cylinder have gone, or the cylinder has somehow become scored. If you are losing clutch fluid, then it is likely you either have a leaking hydraulic pipe, or the seals have gone in the slave cylinder. Changing the cylinders is easy, the average, reasonably competant home mechanic should easily be able to swap either the master or slave cylinder in under an hour.

Is there a guide anywhere other than Haynes because their version looked like a pile o' crap

No guide needed, they just bolt on and off. If you look at them, it is fairly obvious how they go together.

Think I will join in on this one..... My master cylinder was leaking down the pedal too. So i made the stupid decision to replace it, after attacking one of the bolts securing the cylinder to the pedal box for about an hour, i got it off and replaced it with the new one as you do..... turns out the new one leaks even more then the old one because its a cheep **** part. And just to top it off i cant bleed the system properly (partly because i dont fully know what I am doing and partly because i dont have the right bits for it ) so now i have no landy

I must be a muppit martin

I made sure not to buy **** part ones managed to get a lucas one and a allmakes one, cant remember which was which thought. You'd be amazed how difficult it was to get ones that weren't ****part. None of the fookin sellers ever tell you the brand of the product!!!

Ok, so part of my problem is the part.... that bit is easy to sort out. The other part is bleeding the system.... seems straight forward and I did start doing it with me ma on the pedal, just had the nipple open and firing out fluid then closing and lifting the pedal. Is it wise to have it with a tube and jam jar method? or is that mainly to keep things clean.

This is poo, dam thing

a2dds said:

Think I will join in on this one..... My master cylinder was leaking down the pedal too. So i made the stupid decision to replace it, after attacking one of the bolts securing the cylinder to the pedal box for about an hour, i got it off and replaced it with the new one as you do..... turns out the new one leaks even more then the old one because its a cheep **** part. And just to top it off i cant bleed the system properly (partly because i dont fully know what I am doing and partly because i dont have the right bits for it ) so now i have no landy

Click to expand...

Bleeding is tricky unless you have someone to help. The way I do it is to open the bleed nipple on the slave cyinder & attach a length of rubber pipe to it leading into a bottle. Have someone slowly fill the reservoir until the fluid starts coming out of the rubber pipe. Close the nipple and fill the reservoir to the max line. Replace the reservoir cap and pump the clutch pedal until it starts to feel firm, then top up the reservoir as neccessary. Open the bleed nipple again and have your assistant slowly pump the clutch pedal until fluid is coming out of the rubber pipe with out any air. Now the important bit, when the fluid is coming out air free, get your assistant to do 1 more slow pump, as they are pressing the pedal, close the bleed nipple, do not allow the pedal to reach the end of it's stroke before closing the nipple. Then top up the reservoir again.

yea ok, need a hose and bottle, got the bottle but not the hose haha. I have someone who said they will help so I can give it a go. For now gonna have to use the ****part one nd get it working with that until I can sort out a nice replacement.

Cheers though

The hose is not strictly neccessary. I just prefer using that to getting hydraulic fluid all over me and everything else around me. The important thing is to close the bleed nipple in the middle of the last pedal stroke, not at the end of it.

Parts arrived today, should be having a bash at it tomorrow, any other tips for changing either of the cylinders?

if you really cant find another pair of hands, you can get "one man bleed" kits, basically a hose with a 1 way valve in it.

as for a how to, buster has one on here.
pretty simple though tbh, 2 bolts for the slave (and the hydaulic union)
master, 6 bolts in the footwell, the hydrailic union, and the whole pedal box lifts out.

Yeah just saw his thread doesn't look too bad, the slave cylinder looks like it will do my head in as according to buster is easiest when take off downpipe, but me got a disco engine so would have to move loads of other stuff out the way. I will see how it goes I might be able to do it from under, iv'e got thin finger