Has fixing my rev light cost me my clutch?

Hi, I've recently fixed my reverse light on my Landy 1988, 90 due to thinking it was needed for the MOT and as a result think I've caused myself a whole lot of trouble! (seems that I didn't even bloody need it for the test either). I took the threaded bolt out the back of gearbox with 2 wires on and gave it a good clean up on terminals etc then fitted a lock nut on the thread (old one was missing?) and screwed it back in the gearbox but obviously not at the right depth as straight after had trouble getting gears and all sorts of grating, anyway played around with the depth and eventually it seemed okish, 99% anyway. Driving around for 3-4 days and gradually getting awkward to get in gear again especially when I first start her up to get going then the low gears and reverse are getting very bad. Now it's got to the point I have to basically have it in gear before I start her up then once I can get moving it gets a fair bit better as I go along as long as I'm regularly using the cluth, also pumping the clutch before changing gear helps too. When parked up and left for a while the clutch pedal in on the floor with no pressure at all until I pump the hell out of it. I checked the clutch fluid level and I could see fluid down the tube but right at the bottom so I topped it up to the top of the tube just under the lid/up to the lip, is this right? Also pedal not flat to the floor now either but still a right sod to get going to start with although bit better when |do. I've read loads of previous posts with loads of different answers and thought it was probably best to post my own thread specific to my problem. Any advise/ideas about where to start very gratefully received. Mark. Ps sorry abit long winded.

The reverse light switch has nowt to do with the clutch. Screwing it in too far would only result in the light being on all the time and possibly preventing you selecting reverse because the selector arm will not move far enough because it is being blocked by the switch.

I'd say it was pure coincidence that you're having clutch problems. The clutch sits in the bell housing which is in front of the gearbox and surrounds the flywheel on the back of the engine. Has the clutch fluid level gone down since you topped it up? First thing to do is see if you have clutch fluid dripping out of the bell housing drain hole. If so your clutch slave cylinder is leaking. An easy and cheap fix but can be a bugger to bleed through.

If the fluid level is constant and there is no sign of fluid in the bell housing and no obvious leaks from the pipework then it will be your master cylinder seals that have gone allowing the fluid to bypass the piston. Pumping the pedal builds pressure quicker than the knackered seals can release it. Sometimes the seals break up and jam the pedal preventing full travel. Once again its not a terribly expensive job to fix. If you're confident then get a seal kit or just change out the complete master cylinder and rebuild the old one in slow time as a spare.

Thanks for that reply Shifty, seems to tell me prettymuch what I need to know. Just a couple of things I'm not 100% on, first is that if it's the slave cylinder will the fluid go down if vehicles just standing or only when using it and thus using the clutch, second is when you say fluid on bellhousing drain plug would I need to undo plug to see if any comes out or do you mean running down the outside and therefore dripping off the drain plug as the lowest point? Bit neive of me I know but if I know this I can probably narrow it down to which one tonight. Also if it turns out to be the master cylinder are the new seals items I can get from a car auto shop, for example o rings, washers etc because if I have to go through someone like Paddocks I may as well buy the whole new Cylinder. Thanks again and look forward to any replys. Mark

If the slave seals are knackered enough the fluid may go down under gravity alone over night for instance.
If you have the drain plug (otherwise known as a wading plug) fitted then you will have to take it out to look. It should not be fitted permanently anyhow as its only supposed to be for wading.
Master/slave cylinder seals can be a bit fiddly to replace if you've not done them before and dont always cure the problem if the bores are scored. Safest way is to replace the complete assemblies.

Ok, thanks again. Much, much better now topped up with fluid when I went out this morning. Gonna go and check fluid level again then give it another run. If still just a small problem only I will probably just try replacing the fluid with new and bleeding the system and see if that totally sorts it , although probably not, got to be worth a go first! Thanks again and will post what the problem was when fully resolved. Mark