Clutch question

CastawayRobinson · Nov 23, 2021

Evening Peeps, quick question for you. I was just sitting in traffic in my TD5 and went to change gear and struggled to get it out of gear. Now the clutch pedal almost reaches the floor before it works. It was fine until now. I had the gearbox rebuilt last gear and they said the clutch did not need changing (about 10k ago). If I pump the pedal, it feels normal for a second or two and then goes back to almost touching the floor before it works. Is this the clutch gone (and so suddenly), it could be be something else? Any ideas if something else? Need to get to work tomorrow and reluctant to drive it as it is! Cheers.

Turboman · Nov 23, 2021

CastawayRobinson said:
Evening Peeps, quick question for you. I was just sitting in traffic in my TD5 and went to change gear and struggled to get it out of gear. Now the clutch pedal almost reaches the floor before it works. It was fine until now. I had the gearbox rebuilt last gear and they said the clutch did not need changing (about 10k ago). If I pump the pedal, it feels normal for a second or two and then goes back to almost touching the floor before it works. Is this the clutch gone (and so suddenly), it could be be something else? Any ideas if something else? Need to get to work tomorrow and reluctant to drive it as it is! Cheers.

Something hydraulic, best guess would be master cylinder.

Have you looked at the level and condition of the clutch fluid? And do you know how long ago the fluid was changed?

JimS · Nov 23, 2021

Master or slave cylinder probably, probably been leaking for a while and its got so low its taken a gulp of air down the line

CastawayRobinson · Nov 23, 2021

JimS said:
Master or slave cylinder probably, probably been leaking for a while and its got so low its taken a gulp of air down the line

Thanks… taken the top off the cyclinder and can’t see any fluid in there! Guess I will be popping to the garage tomorrow! Something to watch out for in the future…bet they will want to change the cyclinders! Expensive hobby this

miktdish · Nov 23, 2021

CastawayRobinson said:
Thanks… taken the top off the cyclinder and can’t see any fluid in there! Guess I will be popping to the garage tomorrow! Something to watch out for in the future…bet they will want to change the cyclinders! Expensive hobby this

Do it yourself - it's not hard. The slave cylinder (one bolted to the housing) is only £15

Turboman · Nov 24, 2021

CastawayRobinson said:
Thanks… taken the top off the cyclinder and can’t see any fluid in there! Guess I will be popping to the garage tomorrow! Something to watch out for in the future…bet they will want to change the cyclinders! Expensive hobby this

You need to check your clutch and brake fluid regularly. I think there may be a light for the brake fluid on those. But they can fail.

doriz · Nov 24, 2021

This is such a simple fix - look underneath behind the bell housing to see if there is oil seeping from the rubber cover too.
Watch this

CastawayRobinson · Nov 24, 2021

Hi everyone. Thanks for the replies. Topped up and bled for now. Slave cylinder is weeping. New one to be fitted. There does not seem to be a warning light for clutch fluid. Interestingly, obviously the level has dropped enough to suck air in (as pointed out by you knowledgeable bods) but I did not notice any change in the clutch before it suddenly went ping! Maybe there were signs and I just did not notice them!

doriz · Nov 24, 2021

CastawayRobinson said:
Hi everyone. Thanks for the replies. Topped up and bled for now. Slave cylinder is weeping. New one to be fitted. There does not seem to be a warning light for clutch fluid. Interestingly, obviously the level has dropped enough to suck air in (as pointed out by you knowledgeable bods) but I did not notice any change in the clutch before it suddenly went ping! Maybe there were signs and I just did not notice them!

Unless you regularly check the level the drip is often unnoticeable until you get the dreaded pedal of doom at the lights or roundabout. The cold weather can often contract seals which exacerbate the issue. Cheap part and cheap fix

tottot · Nov 24, 2021

As JimS says it just took a gulp of air in when the level got low

lightning · Nov 24, 2021

Same thing happened to mine. No warning, suddenly had two inches of play in the pedal, checked level and it was low, slave cylinder was leaking into the bellhousing and you couldn't see it from the outside.

To my shame l hadn't checked the clutch fluid level for ages

Turboman · Nov 24, 2021

lightning said:
Same thing happened to mine. No warning, suddenly had two inches of play in the pedal, checked level and it was low, slave cylinder was leaking into the bellhousing and you couldn't see it from the outside.

To my shame l hadn't checked the clutch fluid level for ages

No basic checks of your vehicle either?

mick the builder · Nov 24, 2021

Not sure on yours, but if you DIY, be careful not to pull the rod from the clip on the arm. Awkward to get back in but not impossible.

chrisstdt · Nov 24, 2021

I've found them a complete t#at to bleed too

I've taken to backwards bleeding from the bottom with a syringe and piece if pipe

lightning · Nov 24, 2021

Turboman said:
No basic checks of your vehicle either?

Everything else checked regularly, this 110 is otherwise a testament to regular maintenance and looking after.

Nothing you've ever forgotten to check on yours?

CastawayRobinson · Nov 24, 2021

And there was me thinking that the garage would check all the fluid levels when they serviced the Landy for me! Another thing to add to my list...

JimS · Nov 24, 2021

CastawayRobinson said:
And there was me thinking that the garage would check all the fluid levels when they serviced the Landy for me! Another thing to add to my list...

They may well have done, its under a lot of pressure so once a seal starts weeping it won't take too many gear changes to run the reservoir down

flat · Nov 24, 2021

CastawayRobinson said:
And there was me thinking that the garage would check all the fluid levels when they serviced the Landy for me! Another thing to add to my list...

they probably did, and it was probably fine then. You need to check the levels more than just at the annual service tbh, I do mine before any long journey and approx every fortnight to 4 weeks

CastawayRobinson · Nov 24, 2021

Certainly will be from now on!

Turboman · Nov 24, 2021

lightning said:
Everything else checked regularly, this 110 is otherwise a testament to regular maintenance and looking after.

Nothing you've ever forgotten to check on yours?

Not really. When you have expensive kit, you check it every day. Worth it on machines that would cost 10s or 100s of thousands to replace.
I am not so religious about it on my car, check all levels and tyres weekly, and before long journeys.
On the Series I check all the levels under the bonnet every time I go out, and top up the steering box, which leaks a bit.

Clutch question

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