No clutch

just pulled away and went to change to second, no clutch pedal pressure and couldnt get gear. So, clutch pedal not disengaging the clutch plate, guessing hydraulics, right? limped a few yards down the road in first and managed to turn without having to stop and got back on the drive. No fluid leaks, plenty of fluid in rezzy, tried pedal a few times to check travel and pressure, suddenly found I could engage gear but the vehicle wont move. So, clutch gone, right? But it was working fine with no judder and good bite and there was no slipping when I thought it was the hydraulics and was stuck in first. Is it possible for the hydraulics to fail then have the clutch burn out a few moments later? Seems a bit to coincidental so is there something I'm missing here. Advise please!!!

the pivot has probably pushed through clutch release arm, common fault on these. Replace it with a heavy duty one.

Not a quick job to do and opinions vary as to whether you do it engine out or gearbox out,
Personally I've done it twice both times gearbox out method.

Where are you?

Actually, just rereading your op, can you engage gear?

barmatt said:

the pivot has probably pushed through clutch release arm, common fault on these. Replace it with a heavy duty one.

Not a quick job to do and opinions vary as to whether you do it engine out or gearbox out,
Personally I've done it twice both times gearbox out method.

Where are you?

Actually, just rereading your op, can you engage gear?

Click to expand...

yup, can engage gear fine, just no clutch bite to move off. There was a little bite when the pressure first came back on the pedal so it definitely felt then like the clutch was just spinning, but I'm
puzzled by the fact that this was immediately preceded by non disengagement of the clutch as though there was no hydraulic pressure which is the complete opposite of clutch spin. The fact that first the clutch was biting fully but not disengaging, and now disengaging but spinning is whats throwing me.

think your only option is to pull the box anyways

fortunately I live next door to a small motor engineers workshop. He's gonna look at it tomorrow for me but I'm just wondering what to expect. Any danger thats its a gearbox issue and not connected to the clutch at? Last thing I need is a bill for a new box.

it does sound clutch related but you never know, you might aswell replace the release fork while you're in there, save you having to do it in the future.

good luck and let us know what you find.

i know its simple but if you got pressure on clutch but not drive. has it slipped out of high range? if peddle on floor defo pin through. did mine by just moving gearbox back took 4 hours. £14 for new HD fork. better than the £600 a garage wanted to change the whole thing. rip offs. good luck

John FHA said:

i know its simple but if you got pressure on clutch but not drive. has it slipped out of high range? if peddle on floor defo pin through. did mine by just moving gearbox back took 4 hours. £14 for new HD fork. better than the £600 a garage wanted to change the whole thing. rip offs. good luck

Click to expand...

there is some pressure on the pedal, but not as much as before. The pressure just went very suddenly and completely ( the pedal wasn't returning back up to its rest position) which is what made me think initially that the hydraulics had gone. I kept it in first to get back home, there was plenty of bite and no slippage at all. It was only after I pumped the pedal to see if there was an obvious leak that the pedal returned to its rest position with some (but not all) pressure but this time although I could now easily select any gear the clutch wouldn't bite enough to reverse up a small incline off the drive, it was just enough to hold it on the slope.After a couple of attempts it lost all bite and it started to roll forward in reverse gear with the clutch pedal fully up as if it were in neutral. I just dont see how if the rod has pushed through the clutch can be stuck dis-engaged, but I also don't see how the clutch could suddenly go from from being really strong to absolutely zero bite without any intermediate slippage that signifies its burning out.

thrust bearing will have collapsed.
first push was the bearing collapsing, you couldnt get a gear cos the pressure plate on the clutch wasnt pushed.
second push shoves the remains of thrust bearing into pressure plate, operating it, then wedging it so it wont return.

clutch out job, i prefer dropping gearbox, but i also have a ramp.

Defo fork. The pedal low was the pin on its way through. same happened on mine the pin must have caught half way through. the hydraulics took up the slack so I thought problem was gone. Then all of a sudden pedal hit the floor. not to bad to do if your handy. hardest part for me was the top two bell housing bolts. once I got them out it was plain sailing.

clutch might be ok Mine was new when i took gearbox out so didn't replace it. But if id have took it to a garage they would have and charged me. Prob even leave it and still charge. But if you think it's on the way out or you don't know when it was changed you may as well do the lot whilst box is out. good luck..

John FHA said:

Defo fork. The pedal low was the pin on its way through. same happened on mine the pin must have caught half way through. the hydraulics took up the slack so I thought problem was gone. Then all of a sudden pedal hit the floor. not to bad to do if your handy. hardest part for me was the top two bell housing bolts. once I got them out it was plain sailing.

Click to expand...

pedal would go solid as slave pushrod bottoms out on bell housing. untill it punches a hole thru it.

either way its a box out job.

nrgserv said:

thrust bearing will have collapsed.
first push was the bearing collapsing, you couldnt get a gear cos the pressure plate on the clutch wasnt pushed.
second push shoves the remains of thrust bearing into pressure plate, operating it, then wedging it so it wont return.

clutch out job, i prefer dropping gearbox, but i also have a ramp.

Click to expand...

Yup, that was it. Had to take it in to a garage as there's no way I was rolling around underneath it outside in this weather. £460 for a H/D clutch and fork. He showed me the old clutch, there was no friction surface left, just a few rivets hanging out of it and the clutch cover was wrecked. He reckons that the thrust bearing gave way so it wouldn't disengage and after I pumped the pedal a few times it stuck halfway engaged and trying to reverse it off a sloping drive just ripped the clutch to bits. All working fine now, but there's a noticeable difference in how much smoother the clutch and pedal operation is now and how it was before. Anyway, I thought the price wasn't too bad considering I had to get it recovered to the repairing garage as it wouldn't drive. Hopefully the new clutch should stand us in good stead for pulling the caravan. I guess I should be thankful that it happened at home and not miles away on holiday.
Thanks for all the help and info guys,
Paul

cheers for reportin' back and lettin' us know the outcome!

yea good price from a garage. happy motoring. :bounce: