Broke down today .... clutch !

Well ....

Garage has just phoned.

Mechanic says that he just had a quick look under car. He says that one of the bolts that holds the slave unit to the gearbox is just turning and doing nothing. He says the bolt is ok but it's not gripping on the thread on the gearbox.

I asked him about the possibility of the problem with the release arm and that I didn't want to throw a lot of money at repair.

He said he would take a better look with it on ramps either later today or tomorrow. He said it may just be that he has to try and repair the thread on the gearbox. He says he will look further and see if rod has gone through release arm.

He said the car was in pretty good shape for a 17 year old and as it's just flown through it's MOT he would strongly sthink about getting it fixed whatever. LOL I suppose he is going to say that.

So that's all I know so far guys. I'll let you know what he says.

Any comments on the slave bolt/gearbox thread? Anyone seen that before? good news or bad news?

Cheers

Col

jamesmartin said:

loctite can be removed by applying a bit of heat

Click to expand...

A guy that sells loctite told me to just repair the keyway and don't mess about ... just get 660 all over the shaft and get the damper on. I said that 660 is used in areas where you don't ever need to get access as it is rated as strong.

He said that all loctite will release if heated to 200c.

I was worried that if I put that much heat on the c/s that it may do damage inside the engine or at least would damage oil seal behind the toothed pulley that won't come off. So if I can't get that toothed pulley off to replace that oil seal I'm knackered anyway.

I think I sussed why that pulley won't pull off. It has moved about 2mm anticlockwise so the key on that pulley is wedged into the key groove. So it won't pull outwards. I tried smacking it back around to line up and pull off but it will just not budge.

Col

If the slave has twisted under pressure, it could allow the rod to slip off the fork and jam between housing and cylinder, keeping the fork depressed.

I buggered up when fitting a new slave and the rod did not seat right, when I pushed the pedal it jumped off the fork, jammed, got bent and the piston popped out the slave. Luckily I got it all out, straightened it, rebuilt the slave and it's still working after four months.

Dave

P's. Glad to hear the spacer idea worked.

Hi Dave

Glad you sorted that.

Well the spacer idea looks as if it should work and I now have a new bolt tightened up ... time will tell.

Col

I've just rang them and spoke to the mechanic.

He says he has it on the ramps ...

He's taken the slave off and put a camera inside.

He says it's all good in there and the fork is absolutely fine.

He says the master cylinder all looks good so he is just going to repair the thread and fit a new slave.

I'm really happy with that obviously.

I know you guys will say replace the master as well ... but I'm happy for the garage to get it up and running and then I can do the master myself.

That should save me a few quid as well.

I'll let you know the final outcome in case it all goes tits up ... but it looks like a good result so far.

Thanks for help again guys.

Col

I just don't like garages ...

I phoned them at 5 and they said it was done and ready to collect.

So jumped on the bus and off to get the truck back.

They charged me ....

£140

I asked how that broke down.

They said ... recovery on Saturday .... £20 ( they towed me a mile ... but fair enough ).

They said the slave unit was £38.50 plus vat ( seems expensive to me? ).

So I said ... so you've charged me 80 quid to fit the slave unit?

They said ... well you've had that thread repaired on the gearbox so we could fit the slave.

So I asked how he'd repaired that? drill to next size, re tap thread and use a bigger bolt? Or heli coil?

No ... they said they just ran the tap up it and the bolt then gripped. How long must that have taken?

He then tells me that he would consider having the master changed as well. Well we knew that ( well you guys did ) ... so I'll be pestering you to talk me through doing that as I'll have a go at that myself.

Maybe I'm being harsh? Anyway ... coffed up my 140 notes. Seems steep to me for fitting a slave and running a tap up a thread ... but it did include recovery.

They handed me the keys and were just locking up and leaving.

Anyway ... I get in the car ...

Firstly ...

As I turn the key to the position just before starting ... it sounds as if someone is having a shave behind the dashboard? WTF is that? It didn't do that before? It sounds like an electric motor ... not a click like a relay ... just like an electric shaver ... whirring away constantly. It even carried on doing it when the car started and was running. The last time I heard a noise like that was when the ex wife discovered the Rampant Rabbit and my sex life was gone forever.

Now then ... this clutch pedal ...

It's not as high as it was before. Before it was level with the brake ( I'm sure ) and you got pressure from the start. Now it is far more to the floor ... and when you push on it the first inch is nothing and then you get pressure. Feels all a bit sloppy.

... but it drives ok. Goes in all the gears smooth enough with no crunching.

So why is the pedal like that? Have they bled it properly? Does the pressure build up with a bit of use? Is it because the master needs doing?

Ah well ... she's safely home and I can have a proper look in the light tomorrow.

Col

if clutch works alright leave master cylinder keep an eye on fluid level for a week till your confident,noise in dash could be relay buzzing mine does it when head light bulb fails through poor contact,it may need bleeding a little but if you prop pedal down a bit air will settle out over night or could be a shim needs removing if has one between slave and box

Cheers James

Col

Mine was the same, I'd try bleeding it with two people - one on the pedal and one under working the nipple. Fixed mine straight away.

Well that was after a new slave, new damper and new flex pipe

Cheers Dave

I'll have a look today.

Col

I spoke to garage again

He says he is 100% certain there is NO air in it as they use a power/pressure bleeder.

Col

Well ....

Today I went and got a new master and some new clutch fluid in order to fit and bleed today.

So the garage had said they are 100% certain there is NO air in there as they use a power bleeder.

Well I undid the 11mm nut that attaches the metal pipe to the front of the master and as the thread snaps undone ...

... there is a whoosh of air. So I quickly retightened nut and checked pedal.

Pedal was flat to the floor. So I pumped it and pressure started building up. After just a few pumps the pedal was up to the top ... back at it's normal position.

So I took it for a drive and pedal felt back to normal ... gears all selected fine and pedal keeps returning to normal, fully up, level with brake position.

So shall I just leave it?

Col

Told you so

It's a bugger to get a good bleed on the clutch.

Personally, I'd leave it, no point fixing it if it's not broke.

Dave

I've been driving it all day Dave and it's been fine.

The whirring has stopped as well. I'm sure that was something to do with the stereo. I hadn't switched the stereo since I'd had the slave done as I was too busy listening to the clutch. I switched on stereo and it was going mental. Switching itself on and off, searching for stations on it's own and the volume going up and down.

This car is possessed.

After a while it just stopped and behaved and at the same time the whirring stopped. So I'm thinking it's the stereo. Not worried about that as I have a decent stereo I can put in it ( unless it's wiring and not the actual stereo ).

Col