Felling a bit of an idiot...
Discussion
Bought a 2002 Audi A4 cabriolet - 30k on the clock so I thought it would be a peach. The clutch was a bit spongy on the test drive but I was blinded
by the low milage and the fact that in every other way out was mint and top notch.
Paid 3k plus p/x my crappy old 3 series compact.
Took the new one to my long term local garage who said "clutch master cylinder" and I say "OK, sort it".
Two days later they say "we can't do it". They had it stripped down, hit a brick wall, apparently called Audi technical who said "we won't tell you how to do it"
so they put it all back together and now I'm back at square one.
Nice car, difficult to drive when the clutch pedal sticks to the floor, totally lost faith in my local garage and am now dreading
the cost of an Audi specialist or main dealer to get the repair done.
Now I feel like I've bought a money pit (and at my age I should know better)...
So all and any advice on how and where to get the clutch sorted MUCH appreciated.
I'm in Birmingham.
Best wishes
Monty
by the low milage and the fact that in every other way out was mint and top notch.
Paid 3k plus p/x my crappy old 3 series compact.
Took the new one to my long term local garage who said "clutch master cylinder" and I say "OK, sort it".
Two days later they say "we can't do it". They had it stripped down, hit a brick wall, apparently called Audi technical who said "we won't tell you how to do it"
so they put it all back together and now I'm back at square one.
Nice car, difficult to drive when the clutch pedal sticks to the floor, totally lost faith in my local garage and am now dreading
the cost of an Audi specialist or main dealer to get the repair done.
Now I feel like I've bought a money pit (and at my age I should know better)...
So all and any advice on how and where to get the clutch sorted MUCH appreciated.
I'm in Birmingham.
Best wishes
Monty
I also think a new master cylinder would be the easiest solution, however....
I once had a Passat and foolishly tried to bleed the clutch hydraulics by having someone press the clutch pedal while I opened the slave cylinder bleed valve - what I think happened then was that the piston/seal in the master cylinder wash pushed to the bottom of the bore and with no return spring inside there was nothing to to force the piston back. In the end I pressurised the clutch hydraulics from the slave cylinder end and left it a few hours, eventually the m/c piston returned far enough to draw more fluid in from the reservoir. I then used one of those pressurised brake/clutch bleeding systems to refill and bleed the clutch hydraulics.
All that effort was because the clutch slave cylinder had split, the symptoms were that the clutch pedal had stopped returning to it's usual position and only came half way back.
I hope the above may be of some help.
I once had a Passat and foolishly tried to bleed the clutch hydraulics by having someone press the clutch pedal while I opened the slave cylinder bleed valve - what I think happened then was that the piston/seal in the master cylinder wash pushed to the bottom of the bore and with no return spring inside there was nothing to to force the piston back. In the end I pressurised the clutch hydraulics from the slave cylinder end and left it a few hours, eventually the m/c piston returned far enough to draw more fluid in from the reservoir. I then used one of those pressurised brake/clutch bleeding systems to refill and bleed the clutch hydraulics.
All that effort was because the clutch slave cylinder had split, the symptoms were that the clutch pedal had stopped returning to it's usual position and only came half way back.
I hope the above may be of some help.
MiniMonty said:
Two days later they say "we can't do it". They had it stripped down, hit a brick wall, apparently called Audi technical who said "we won't tell you how to do it"
Audi will sell this information to any garage either on a subscription or per use basis.https://www.audi.co.uk/content/audi/footer/seconda...
Dr G said:
MiniMonty said:
Two days later they say "we can't do it". They had it stripped down, hit a brick wall, apparently called Audi technical who said "we won't tell you how to do it"
Audi will sell this information to any garage either on a subscription or per use basis.https://www.audi.co.uk/content/audi/footer/seconda...
(I can see the brake MC being more problematic, as you usually need a service tool to bleed the ABS etc.)
Might be worth giving these guys a call/e mail - Email:info@unit18.co.uk ( www.unit18.co.uk/) ,tel 01908 320 043 - bit of a trip (60 odd miles) for you, but factory trained guys at a lot less than AUDI-
Scuffers said:
what 'information' do you need to change the clutch MC? apart from the part number, I'm struggling to understand the problem?
What to remove, torque specs, what to replace, bleeding... Not every mechanic knows the exact procedure to replace every part on every car 
It may be possible to muddle through but this wastes time and money. A lot of the time it's a hell of a lot easier, quicker and cheaper to have a good idea of what you're doing beforehand.
Dr G said:
Scuffers said:
what 'information' do you need to change the clutch MC? apart from the part number, I'm struggling to understand the problem?
What to remove, torque specs, what to replace, bleeding... Not every mechanic knows the exact procedure to replace every part on every car It may be possible to muddle through but this wastes time and money. A lot of the time it's a hell of a lot easier, quicker and cheaper to have a good idea of what you're doing beforehand.
torque specs - look it up (std tables exist for common threads/sizes)
bleeding - err? really?
Like I said, if it was the brake MC I could almost see a point, but the clutch MC?
Well Monty, I'm afraid you have a problem, because it is, as they say, a bit of a job.
You have to disconnect the battery, remove the plenum chamber cover, disconnect the wiring to the ECU and remove it. Remove the relays present, then the ECU and relay mounting box, then the brake master cylinder from the servo unit to give access to the hydraulic piping. The under dash has to come off on the driver's side, then disconnect and remove the lower steering column, remove the clutch and brake pedal switches and finally the whole pedal assembly.
You can then remove the clutch master cylinder. Modern car design, eh?
Utter nonsense. Give me the old Quattros any day.
J
You have to disconnect the battery, remove the plenum chamber cover, disconnect the wiring to the ECU and remove it. Remove the relays present, then the ECU and relay mounting box, then the brake master cylinder from the servo unit to give access to the hydraulic piping. The under dash has to come off on the driver's side, then disconnect and remove the lower steering column, remove the clutch and brake pedal switches and finally the whole pedal assembly.
You can then remove the clutch master cylinder. Modern car design, eh?
Utter nonsense. Give me the old Quattros any day.
J
jith said:
Well Monty, I'm afraid you have a problem, because it is, as they say, a bit of a job.
You have to disconnect the battery, remove the plenum chamber cover, disconnect the wiring to the ECU and remove it. Remove the relays present, then the ECU and relay mounting box, then the brake master cylinder from the servo unit to give access to the hydraulic piping. The under dash has to come off on the driver's side, then disconnect and remove the lower steering column, remove the clutch and brake pedal switches and finally the whole pedal assembly.
You can then remove the clutch master cylinder. Modern car design, eh?
Utter nonsense. Give me the old Quattros any day.
J
Please tell me your kidding LOL!You have to disconnect the battery, remove the plenum chamber cover, disconnect the wiring to the ECU and remove it. Remove the relays present, then the ECU and relay mounting box, then the brake master cylinder from the servo unit to give access to the hydraulic piping. The under dash has to come off on the driver's side, then disconnect and remove the lower steering column, remove the clutch and brake pedal switches and finally the whole pedal assembly.
You can then remove the clutch master cylinder. Modern car design, eh?
Utter nonsense. Give me the old Quattros any day.
J
tr7v8 said:
jith said:
Well Monty, I'm afraid you have a problem, because it is, as they say, a bit of a job.
You have to disconnect the battery, remove the plenum chamber cover, disconnect the wiring to the ECU and remove it. Remove the relays present, then the ECU and relay mounting box, then the brake master cylinder from the servo unit to give access to the hydraulic piping. The under dash has to come off on the driver's side, then disconnect and remove the lower steering column, remove the clutch and brake pedal switches and finally the whole pedal assembly.
You can then remove the clutch master cylinder. Modern car design, eh?
Utter nonsense. Give me the old Quattros any day.
J
Please tell me your kidding LOL!You have to disconnect the battery, remove the plenum chamber cover, disconnect the wiring to the ECU and remove it. Remove the relays present, then the ECU and relay mounting box, then the brake master cylinder from the servo unit to give access to the hydraulic piping. The under dash has to come off on the driver's side, then disconnect and remove the lower steering column, remove the clutch and brake pedal switches and finally the whole pedal assembly.
You can then remove the clutch master cylinder. Modern car design, eh?
Utter nonsense. Give me the old Quattros any day.
J
J
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