[Stuck in Georgia] Clutch feel different - noise when down max

Hi guys,

I hope you can help. I have a 300TDI 1996 110 defender. I had a new clutch fitted about 6 months ago, and a new gearbox fitted 1 month ago.

About couple of days ago i noticed a change on the clutch pedal feel. The clutch release used to be early on the pedal, not it feels like it just about disengage when pushed all the way down. Also, when pressed down now, there is a noise that does not sound too healthy. When I drive on the main road and change gears, the noise is not there. Once I enter city and keep my foot down on the clutch, the noise comes quickly. Finally, unsurprizing there is a slight smell if I open the bonnet, i guess it smells of something grinding on something, matching the sound.

Please any advice will be very much appreaciated. I will take it to a clutch place tomorrow. Could this be a master or slave cylinder going? I believe the slave was changed with the new clutch to support the heavy duty clutch kit

Thank you in advance!!!

sounds like clutch release bearing to me.

I have just checked the clutch reservoir, it seems filled

release bearing wouldnt be effected by that.

pull out the slave cylinder and have a look at the clutch fork, might be on its way out aswell?

others will be along with more info im sure...

I am curious about the noise/grind. Could you give a possible explanation that could include the smell of something grinding ?

I need to make a call whether I can drive back 4 hours to Tbilisi in Georgia as this is the only Land Rover place in Georgia. The next location is Ankara in Turkey which is 1000km forward (we are on the Georgia/Turkey border).

It could be that your release fork is partly failed on the pivot point . You should be able to drive if you can avoid using the clutch , as it sounds like you have problem when pressing clutch , its not slave or master cylinder. Do you know how to drive without using clutch once you have got moving? Go shortest distance

Thank you for the help so far!

Just for the benefit of other people, I am not really in a position to take things apart right now. I am trying to work out what my next move should be. I am trying to work out what is actually happening in my clutch and how much I can push it in this condition. I can get the Landy towed back, but if I can drive that would be cheaper. If I am destroying something in the process, I would love to know exactly what is happening.

Thanks you very much for the help and advice.

flotter said:

Thank you for the help so far!

Just for the benefit of other people, I am not really in a position to take things apart right now. I am trying to work out what my next move should be. I am trying to work out what is actually happening in my clutch and how much I can push it in this condition. I can get the Landy towed back, but if I can drive that would be cheaper. If I am destroying something in the process, I would love to know exactly what is happening.

Click to expand...

Towing would be better, especially if you have solid bar. You can put transfer box in neutral . It sounds as if clutch pivot has pushed thru fork, not unheard of. Without being there it is impossible to tell how bad and what damage likelyhood is ! It is possible that fork or release bearing is problem , if you can minimise clutch use then less chance of damage .
I cannot judge what your risk benefit factor is as thats for you personally.

One question that remains in my mind is why there is a slight smell and noise.

Can anyone give me a rough idea what is going on? I am trying to understand what is getting damaged further.

flotter said:

One question that remains in my mind is why there is a slight smell and noise.

Can anyone give me a rough idea what is going on? I am trying to understand what is getting damaged further.

Click to expand...

It is possible that clutch release or fork is in contact with outer casing of clutch pressure plate when being pressed so its metal on metal which will heat up and c ause the smell .
are you near Batumi ? Its not really required that you go to a landrover garage, any garage shouldbe able to sort it , and gets parts from tblisi . Just make sure you can watch what goes on , if you have any mech knowledge .

+1 on the release bearing being the fault, worth getting the clutch fork changed for a heavy duty one whilst your at it.

flotter said:

One question that remains in my mind is why there is a slight smell and noise.

Can anyone give me a rough idea what is going on? I am trying to understand what is getting damaged further.

Click to expand...

Ok, the most likely culprit is the clutch release bearing.

How it works:

you press the clutch pedal, it pushes the actuator in the master cylinder, which essentially pushes fluid into the slave cylinder which is essentially a piston, this piston pushes one side of the clutch fork (which works like a see-saw) when it pushes the clutch fork in, it releases the clutch, but because this is spinning at high revs, the fork pushes a bearing rather than the pressure plate itself. this bearing is the release bearing, if it is failing, it will quite likely only be obvious when pressure is put on it to do its job (when you press the clutch). It will smell a bit as it will get hot and burn off any of the plastic/grease it has enclosed in the bearing.

The other posibility is its the fork, so back to the seesaw analogy, the center of the seesaw is where the pivot is, and it can wear through causing similar symptoms.

If its the bearing and you drive on it, it will get worse, and eventually fail, and that could result in a mangled mess in the bellhousing (remember parts in there spin at the RPM of the engine). If you drive on it without using the clutch, it may still fail, it may not, all depends on how far you are going and how bad it is.

if its the fork, it will eventually wear through and the pedal will go solid, at which point you will need to pull the gearbox out to replace, shouldnt cause any more issues when it goes.

The way i see it, if its not too bad and you are not driving far, chance it, if you are lucky and make it to your destination, all you will need to change is the bearing.

hope this helps...

http://www.lrparts.net/media/catalo...2f742ffe127f42dca9de82fb58b1/d/e/def5005d.jpg

1: pressure plate

2: clutch disc

3: release bearing

5: clutch fork

7+9: slave cylinder

10: master cylinder

Hi,

Just to close of this thread, here are some photos from the clutch. The release bearing was completely busted, and it looks like it was grinding against the clutch diaphram spring.

Thank you very much to everyone for the quick detailed help!! Much appreciated. Got is fixed at GT motors in Tbilisi in Georgia. Absolutely amazingly helpful people. They happen to have a defender clutch in stock (we replaced my heavy duty clutch, and the whole job was £450 which was not too bad considering they did it all within 5 hours of me stopping at the front door.