New cluth 3 weeks ago now difficult to engage gears

Had a new clutch fitted to my TD4 about 3 weeks ago by my local garage, all was fine, but now after a 3 weeks, difficult to engage gears, especially first gear. There also seems to be a little play on the pedal.

Any suggestions before I go back raging to the garage.

Thanks,

Jon.

slave cylinder probably needs changing

john_1987 said:

slave cylinder probably needs changing

Click to expand...

Thanks John,

Is that separate from the clutch itself? Any idea on costs? Could I blame the garage for this?

I had the clutch changed as it had virtually completely gone, revs went up on hills, with little movement forwards.

Thanks

I have not changed one on a freelander yet but im fairly sure the slave cylinder just bolts on externally and isnt to hard to change as for blaming the garage i dont think you can if it is this fault unless they have fitted it wrong and its started to leak but from past experience on other vehicles this is the problem because once you disturb them they seem to have packed up a few weeks later. Price wise i havent got a clue try ebay wouldnt of thought it would be more than £40 but i could be wrong. Good luck

don't know much about the TD4's in general but the master / slave units are seperate from the clutch. you would probably need to ask to get it changed so don't go raging just yet.

yes forgot prices? mentioned in earlier threads, i paid £120 for mine which included both cylinders and the sealed pipe. although they are cheaper i believe if you shop around

DIY? most deffo if its the same as the petrol, 1 hour job. if you do, do it best change the mounting bracket for the slave cylinder aswell.

good luck


matts

On my 2001 TD4 the slave cylinder is inside the gearbox housing.

I had a new one fitted last week, but I am still waiting for the bill.

The labour will probable be similar to having a new clutch.

Dave.

I went back to the garage today who fitted the new clutch, explained the problem of play on the clutch pedal, and difficulty to engage gears, especially first.

They asked if I had driven the vehicle much since they had fitted the new clutch. I told them no, only about 70 miles, which is true as I work abroad. They said that that was the problem, a new clutch needs to be 'worn' in, and the gear changing will become easier with time.

Does this make any sense to anyone? I did not mention anything about thinking it was the slave cylinder. Anybody got any further comments? Should I drive more to see if the gear changing improves. the thing is, gear changing was ok immediately after the new clutch was fitted.

Cheers,

Jon.

Darth Viking said:

On my 2001 TD4 the slave cylinder is inside the gearbox housing.

I had a new one fitted last week, but I am still waiting for the bill.

The labour will probable be similar to having a new clutch.

Dave.

Click to expand...

Dave, did you get your bill for changing the slave cylinder? Were your symptoms the same as mine, i.e. difficult to engage gears, in particular first, and a little play on the clutch pedal?

Thanks,

Jon.

I havn't changed a clutch on a freelander but have on dozens of other cars and never had to or heard of having to wear one in before. Ring up a main dealer and see if they confirm what you are being told. it might be something to do with the hydraulics adjusting themselves. does anyone know if Freelanders need to do this ???

jonier said:

Dave, did you get your bill for changing the slave cylinder? Were your symptoms the same as mine, i.e. difficult to engage gears, in particular first, and a little play on the clutch pedal?

Thanks,

Jon.

Click to expand...

Hi Jon,

I'm still waiting for the bill. If it doesn't arrive by Saturday, I'll pop into the garage and sort it.

On mine the clutch pedal went to the floor and stayed there, but the clutch didn't disengage, a fairly good sign that the hydraulic fluid wasn't in the system any more. I replaced the master cylinder at Christmas, and checked the joint in the clutch line and couldn't find any sign of the missing hydraulic fluid.

Dave.

Darth Viking said:

Hi Jon,

I'm still waiting for the bill. If it doesn't arrive by Saturday, I'll pop into the garage and sort it.

On mine the clutch pedal went to the floor and stayed there, but the clutch didn't disengage, a fairly good sign that the hydraulic fluid wasn't in the system any more. I replaced the master cylinder at Christmas, and checked the joint in the clutch line and couldn't find any sign of the missing hydraulic fluid.

Dave.

Click to expand...

Thanks Dave,

What were the symptoms to make you change the master cylinder first, as opposed to the slave cylinder? This is something I don't understand?

I may go to somewhere like Mr. clutch today and get a second opinion & quotation.

Thanks again,

Jon.

jonier said:

Thanks Dave,

What were the symptoms to make you change the master cylinder first, as opposed to the slave cylinder? This is something I don't understand?

I may go to somewhere like Mr. clutch today and get a second opinion & quotation.

Thanks again,

Jon.

Click to expand...

These were two separate problems.

With the master cylinder, the clutch needed pumping to get it to work and it was only coming up a few cm. After reading the various posts around here, I took a bit of a flyer and changed the master cylinder which cured the problem. Then 6 weeks later, I pushed the clutch in and it didn't come back up.

Dave

Darth Viking said:

These were two separate problems.

With the master cylinder, the clutch needed pumping to get it to work and it was only coming up a few cm. After reading the various posts around here, I took a bit of a flyer and changed the master cylinder which cured the problem. Then 6 weeks later, I pushed the clutch in and it didn't come back up.

Dave

Click to expand...

Thank Dave,

FYI, I went back again today to the garage that fitted my new cluth, after struggling further to get into first gear this morning.

They said this problem is common with new hydraulic clutches, and I should pull the pedal up and pump it a bit until it goes into gear and it should resolve itself in a short time.

To be honest I tried this whenever it seemed to be sticking, and seems 80% better now. I drove it quite a lot today and maybe they are right, it does need 'wearing in'.Time will tell.

Anyway, please can you let me know how much you were charged for the master cylinder and slave, for future reference. Thanks.

Jon.

mercedes sprinter vans have the same problem with the pedal coming up just pump the clutch pedal with ur hand really fast for about five minuites sometimes it cures it

it is suggested in the haynes manual to change both master and slave cylinder at the same time.

the petrol model you don't have a choice as it is a sealed all in one unit.

matts

jonier said:

Thank Dave,

FYI, I went back again today to the garage that fitted my new cluth, after struggling further to get into first gear this morning.

They said this problem is common with new hydraulic clutches, and I should pull the pedal up and pump it a bit until it goes into gear and it should resolve itself in a short time.

To be honest I tried this whenever it seemed to be sticking, and seems 80% better now. I drove it quite a lot today and maybe they are right, it does need 'wearing in'.Time will tell.

Anyway, please can you let me know how much you were charged for the master cylinder and slave, for future reference. Thanks.

Jon.

Click to expand...

Take a look at;

Land Rover Parts Shop

Mine is the cheaper one. I paid about £120 from a main dealer.

(I don't have anything to do with Land-rover-parts-shop.com and I have never bought anything from them. They just have a convenient site for this thread.)

In future if I have the clutch changed, I'll get the slave cylinder and the master cylinder changed at the same time. Like wise if the slave cylinder needs doing again, I'll get the clutch changed.

Basically both clutch and slave cylinder have high labour costs and relatively low parts costs.

Dave

Darth Viking said:

Take a look at;

Land Rover Parts Shop

Mine is the cheaper one. I paid about £120 from a main dealer.

(I don't have anything to do with Land-rover-parts-shop.com and I have never bought anything from them. They just have a convenient site for this thread.)

In future if I have the clutch changed, I'll get the slave cylinder and the master cylinder changed at the same time. Like wise if the slave cylinder needs doing again, I'll get the clutch changed.

Basically both clutch and slave cylinder have high labour costs and relatively low parts costs.

Dave

Click to expand...

Thanks again Dave,

I see the Master cylinder is the one that fits on the bulkhead at the back of the engine, think maybe I could DIY that one if need be.

I believe the slave cylinder is more difficult, fom what I can gather from the posts.

Cheers,

Jon.

jonier said:

Thanks again Dave,

I see the Master cylinder is the one that fits on the bulkhead at the back of the engine, think maybe I could DIY that one if need be.

I believe the slave cylinder is more difficult, fom what I can gather from the posts.

Cheers,

Jon.

Click to expand...

Update,

Drove 190 miles down motorway from Newcastle to Ellesmere Port today, came off sliproad to first roundabout. Could not get into any gear, had to put on the hazard warning lights and pump the clutch, until eventually I could get into first. How embarassing, I felt such a real ....!!

Well, if this is 'wearing in', I very much doubt it!!, Everyone tell me, is the problem the master cylinder or slave cylinder? Shall I try and DIY changing the master cylinder first??and see what happens?

Thanks,

Jon.

deffo sounds like a hydraulic problem there, no sign of oil leaks at the master cylinder or connecting pipe? if not then can you see the slave unit?