Series 3 clutch

here was me thinking it was all over now the s3 was mot'd and back on the road

clutch is being funny, every now and again - mainly when in 4th - I press the pedal, no resistance and it goes right to the floor, second press and it is normal. At first I was hoping it was just due to the couple of years of relative inactivity but it shows no signs of relenting after a week.

is it just air in the system?

There is loss of pressure ie a leak. Is the clutch reservoir full or below full. Also check for leaks in the pipes n nipples.

thanks, that makes sense, can' t see any obvious signs of a leak although the reservoir isn't full to the top, regrettably I can not remember where it was when I last checked it.

will top the reservoir right up and see if it drops

As well as the usual suspects of master and slave cylinder seals. Check that the clutch master cylinder pushrod has about a sixteenth of an inch free play.
How long since you changed the flexi pipe ?

this is the first problem I have had with the clutch so nothing has been changed since I bought the car around 2009, haven't done a huge mileage and I managed to swap the bulkhead without having to disconnect anything on the clutch or brake pedal set up.

had to swap all the brake cylinders after the 2.5 years rest on the drive so won't be surprised if I have to swap the clutch slave or something

well I am hoping it is just air or crappy old fluid - haven't ruled out a leak yet, slave cylinder looks pretty dry on the outside - tried a bleed, undid the nipple a long way but nothing came out.

I assume a clutch will gravity bleed like brakes?

used my tube with the one way valve in the end and pressed the pedal a couple of times and plenty of fluid came out. fluid was grey and manky so I am guessing hasn't been changed for a long time even before I got the car.

when I took the tube off fluid was still running out

problem seems to have gone away although pedal seems a little spongy and gets harder if changing gear a lot in succession, so will see how it goes and maybe bleed again tomorrow.

What I do is get an extra pair of hands or rather feet to depress the pedal and hold on the last pump and tighten the nipple! even though I use a tube with a non return valve! That way I know theres not even the slightest chance of air re entering the system! You say that fluid was still leaking out? Sounds like the nipple isn't tightening and sealing properly? Try giving it a very slight extra turn! Failing that ID be inclined to replace the slave cylinder! Regards. Chris

chris7 said:

What I do is get an extra pair of hands or rather feet to depress the pedal and hold on the last pump and tighten the nipple! even though I use a tube with a non return valve! That way I know theres not even the slightest chance of air re entering the system! You say that fluid was still leaking out? Sounds like the nipple isn't tightening and sealing properly? Try giving it a very slight extra turn! Failing that ID be inclined to replace the slave cylinder! Regards. Chris

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hi, I wasn't clear, I pulled the tube off before I tightened the nipple to see if anything was coming out under gravity which it hadn't been at the start.

might just order a slave and a flexi anyway, even the lucas slaves aren't expensive

my son should be around tomorrow am so I shall rope him in to help when i do the bleed

second pair of hands would also be useful to allow me to keep the reservoir topped up, the clutch one doesn't hold much c.f. the brake reservoir

.....and don't forget, bleed nipple to the top!

oxides said:

.....and don't forget, bleed nipple to the top!

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indeed, I remember seeing that in a couple of threads, people not being able to get a good pedal and someone asking if they had put it on the right way up ................................

fluid does seem to have dropped since this morning so I guess john s called it and the slave cylinder must be leaking on the end I can't see and the fluid is going into the housing thingy

Check the ground for oil stains as well.

John S said:

Check the ground for oil stains as well.

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my s3 isn't shy when it comes to oil stains

Yes your seals have gone on slave and its leaking into bellhousing. It will possibly have got on clutch and driveplate but it may be ok. I cant remember but be careful when pulling slave out that you dont lose anything into the bellhousing. I cant recall what was on the end of the rod on a series.

ronsealdeath said:

Yes your seals have gone on slave and its leaking into bellhousing. It will possibly have got on clutch and driveplate but it may be ok. I cant remember but be careful when pulling slave out that you dont lose anything into the bellhousing. I cant recall what was on the end of the rod on a series.

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thx, I shall take care, think I read somewhere that riding the clutch a bit will burn off any fluid that has got on it.

have ordered a new slave and a flexi from dingocroft as I plan to clamp the existing flexi to stop too much fluid leaking over me and running down my arm

well the old one is out, what a pullava

I am glad my bulkhead is now one of the later ones with the detachable bit that the gearbox tunnel flange rests on, otherwise access to the top bolt of the cylinder would be a major pita, especially getting the bolt back in I imagine.

interlink should be delivering the new bits from dingocroft by 1.30, rugby world cup traffic permitting, so hopefully it will go on easily

Getting there HonoluluJoe! But thats not how you spell PULLOVER lol

seems to be a fair bit of play in the pushrod, I assume that is normal?

result, seems to have gone ok and drove it round the block for a short test.

when I was prepping the car for its mot I removed a big jubilee clip from round the bottom of the gearstick, which I thought was there to hold the remnants of the old gaiter in place. put a new gaiter on, today on the test drive I found out the jubilee clip was actually keeping a pin in place which kept the gear lever in position as the clip fell out and I had enormous trouble changing gear with the stick going all over the place.

needless to say the jubilee clip is now back in residence

getting the two cylinder bolts back in was fiddly but once they bit the rest was plain sailing. Having a bolt on gearbox crossmember would make this job a lot easier I think.

Congratulations! I agree a bolt on gearbox crossmember would help but we would then be cursing the rusted seized on bolts that held it in place kind regards. Chris