Spongy Clutch Pt 2

Got round to bleeding the clutch this morning, the only problem was trying
to get the bleed nipple on the slave cylinder!. Took it for a test drive,
it was as it should be, nice and firm and no difficulty in selecting the
gears. Had lunch and about 2 hours later decided to go out for a longer
test drive.

The free play in the peddle had come back, although not as much as before.
Gear selection is still fine. No obvious leaks. If I'm losing fluid where
is it going and how is the air getting in?. The only thing i could find was
a possible crack in the plastic top to the master cylinder, would this cause
air to find it's way into the system??.

Dom J

In message <[email protected]>, Dom J
<[email protected]> writes
> The only thing i could find was
>a possible crack in the plastic top to the master cylinder, would this cause
>air to find it's way into the system??.
>
>Dom J
>
>
>

Air will be getting in through the seals in the master cylinder or the
seals in the slave cylinder.

Look for fluid running down the pedal or dripping of the bell housing

--
Marc

Mine seems to lose fluid somewhere, I just wait till it gets spongy and top
it up, the leak is not so bad as to warrant messing about finding it (yet),
and as for bleeding, I don't bother, it sorts itself out eventually.

--
Larry
Series 3 rust and holes




"Dom J" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Got round to bleeding the clutch this morning, the only problem was trying
> to get the bleed nipple on the slave cylinder!. Took it for a test drive,
> it was as it should be, nice and firm and no difficulty in selecting the
> gears. Had lunch and about 2 hours later decided to go out for a longer
> test drive.
>
> The free play in the peddle had come back, although not as much as before.
> Gear selection is still fine. No obvious leaks. If I'm losing fluid
where
> is it going and how is the air getting in?. The only thing i could find
was
> a possible crack in the plastic top to the master cylinder, would this
cause
> air to find it's way into the system??.
>
> Dom J
>
>
>

Dom J wrote:

> Got round to bleeding the clutch this morning, the only problem was trying
> to get the bleed nipple on the slave cylinder!. Took it for a test drive,
> it was as it should be, nice and firm and no difficulty in selecting the
> gears. Had lunch and about 2 hours later decided to go out for a longer
> test drive.
>
> The free play in the peddle had come back, although not as much as before.
> Gear selection is still fine. No obvious leaks. If I'm losing fluid
> where
> is it going and how is the air getting in?. The only thing i could find
> was a possible crack in the plastic top to the master cylinder, would this
> cause air to find it's way into the system??.
>
> Dom J
Best guess is probably the master cylinder. This can either let air in
without losing fluid, or, more likely, lose a lot of fluid before it
becomes obvious - check it is not soaking into your carpets or under mats,
as it is a good paint remover.

The slave cylinder can also lose fluid without being very apparent,
particularly if there is a lot of clutch dust in the bell housing to absorb
it.
JD

In message <[email protected]>
JD <[email protected]> wrote:

> Dom J wrote:
>
> > Got round to bleeding the clutch this morning, the only problem was trying
> > to get the bleed nipple on the slave cylinder!. Took it for a test drive,
> > it was as it should be, nice and firm and no difficulty in selecting the
> > gears. Had lunch and about 2 hours later decided to go out for a longer
> > test drive.
> >
> > The free play in the peddle had come back, although not as much as before.
> > Gear selection is still fine. No obvious leaks. If I'm losing fluid
> > where
> > is it going and how is the air getting in?. The only thing i could find
> > was a possible crack in the plastic top to the master cylinder, would this
> > cause air to find it's way into the system??.
> >
> > Dom J
> Best guess is probably the master cylinder. This can either let air in
> without losing fluid, or, more likely, lose a lot of fluid before it
> becomes obvious - check it is not soaking into your carpets or under mats,
> as it is a good paint remover.
>
> The slave cylinder can also lose fluid without being very apparent,
> particularly if there is a lot of clutch dust in the bell housing to absorb
> it.
> JD

Have you set the end-float correctly on the master cylinder?
Not getting this right can cause all sorts of interesting problems!
However, if you are loosing fluid and you are not getting a
wet foot then you probably have a a small leak in the
slave cylinder, and I mean small, just enough for some air
to get sucked past the seals.

Richard
--
www.beamends-lrspares.co.uk [email protected]
Running a business in a Microsoft free environment - it can be done
Powered by Risc-OS - you won't get a virus from us!!
Helping keep Land Rovers on and off the road to annoy the Lib Dems

Cheers for all your replys chaps!.

Will check the footwell area for leaks tomorrow, as I ran out light tonight
plus feel like crap due to whatever bug is going round!!.

As long as it don't get any worse, I'll just keep topping it up and bleeding
it from time to time.

Dom

"Dom J" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Cheers for all your replys chaps!.
>
> Will check the footwell area for leaks tomorrow, as I ran out light
tonight
> plus feel like crap due to whatever bug is going round!!.
>
> As long as it don't get any worse, I'll just keep topping it up and
bleeding
> it from time to time.

The master cyliner cover needs to let air in, otherwise you will not let
fluid top up the system.

I made the mistake of letting my brother buy the clutch fluid and not
checking he got the right stuff.
We were using LHM mineral hydraulic fluid instead of DOT 3/4. The stuff
converts cylinder seals from a nice elastic rubber to a brittle swollen lump
in a very short time.
The effects of LHM can take hours or days to show up. Fluid will either weep
past a seal and never appear, or flow past it and make a puddle in the foot
well.

I'm sure you are not as silly as us, and use only the correct fluids. But
your problem sounds very similar to ours. We bought a bottle of the correct
fluid and replaced the seals after many months of messing around.

--
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DavidM djm81NOSPAMatcam.ac.uk