Discussion
I appreciate that there have been links already on this subject but being a thick tw#t I need a few pointers. I have a problem selecting reverse 1st & 2nd gears (3,4&5 are, sorry were until tonight, fine). Reverse really grinds or if I slam it in hard and fast(oh er missus) the whole car shakes but it doesn't grind. Tonight I couldn't select any gear (unless i turn off the ignition and select 1st gear and then turn the engine back on). If the clutch needs bleeding, how does a bleedin idiot do it??!!!Also where would I find the clutch reservoir/fluid to see if it needs topping up. P.S I am waiting for a copy of the bible so hopefully i won't be posting (as many) daft questions!! Cheers
Certainly sounds like the clutch mechanism isn't working as it should. If it has been a problem for a while and has just got worse it may be the cylinder seals have gone so you may have to remove and dismantle the cylinders and replace the seals to fix this permananently.
Clutch reservoir is on the bulkhead in front of the driver. It's a small alloy reservoir integral to the master cylinder. The master cylinder is directly connected to the clutch pedal.
Bleeding is straightforward if tricky. You need to raise the car up and crawl underneath the gearbox. On the drivers side of the gearbox bellhousing you should see a small cylinder with a metal pipe running up to the master cylinder and above that is the bleed nipple.
Check that the actuating arm of the slave cylinder is still connected to the clutch release arm just in casse that is the problem.
To bleed the clutch.
Connect a tube to the clutch slave cylinder and loosen off the nipple. Top up the cylinder and get someone to press the clutch pedal to the floor. Tighten up the nipple and then release the clutch. Top up the master cylinder and repeat until no more bubbles appear from the tube. You can do this on your own with a brake bleed kit that has a non-return valve in the tube, you can get them from a car spares shop.
Now I say loosen and tighten the nipple but that is the tricky part. As the nipple is above the pipe and the space beside the gearbox is very small it is very awkward to get to and takes much spanner weilding to do, you will end up swearing an awful lot.
If no fluid comes out when the pedal is pressed either you've not relesed the nipple enough or the seals are completely shot and they will need replacing.
If you look on my profile I've posted about this before as I had problems when I first got mine.
The other thing to be aware of is if you have to dismantle the clutch cylinders is the pipe that runs to the slave cylinder. I had to butcher mine to get it out and finding a replacement locally was impossible. In the end the only place I found that could supply it was automec ([url]www.automec.co.uk/[/url]). The union sizes and pipes on mine seemed to be very unusual.
Good luck.
Colin
Clutch reservoir is on the bulkhead in front of the driver. It's a small alloy reservoir integral to the master cylinder. The master cylinder is directly connected to the clutch pedal.
Bleeding is straightforward if tricky. You need to raise the car up and crawl underneath the gearbox. On the drivers side of the gearbox bellhousing you should see a small cylinder with a metal pipe running up to the master cylinder and above that is the bleed nipple.
Check that the actuating arm of the slave cylinder is still connected to the clutch release arm just in casse that is the problem.
To bleed the clutch.
Connect a tube to the clutch slave cylinder and loosen off the nipple. Top up the cylinder and get someone to press the clutch pedal to the floor. Tighten up the nipple and then release the clutch. Top up the master cylinder and repeat until no more bubbles appear from the tube. You can do this on your own with a brake bleed kit that has a non-return valve in the tube, you can get them from a car spares shop.
Now I say loosen and tighten the nipple but that is the tricky part. As the nipple is above the pipe and the space beside the gearbox is very small it is very awkward to get to and takes much spanner weilding to do, you will end up swearing an awful lot.
If no fluid comes out when the pedal is pressed either you've not relesed the nipple enough or the seals are completely shot and they will need replacing.
If you look on my profile I've posted about this before as I had problems when I first got mine.
The other thing to be aware of is if you have to dismantle the clutch cylinders is the pipe that runs to the slave cylinder. I had to butcher mine to get it out and finding a replacement locally was impossible. In the end the only place I found that could supply it was automec ([url]www.automec.co.uk/[/url]). The union sizes and pipes on mine seemed to be very unusual.
Good luck.
Colin
Yep, I agree it sounds like the clutch hydraulics. I had to replace the seals in the master cylinder, got them no probs from the loacl motor factors using the lucas part number in the S parts list. Less than £10 as I recall.
Bleeding is "fun" and definately needs 2 people.
You can check if the master cylinder is leaking, as there will be signs of fluid inside the car where the cylinder mounts. Needs a torch and some wriggling to see this though.
Bleeding is "fun" and definately needs 2 people.
You can check if the master cylinder is leaking, as there will be signs of fluid inside the car where the cylinder mounts. Needs a torch and some wriggling to see this though.
Thanks for the info everyone...I decided that i'm just not man enough for the job...called the AA out this morning so i can get it to Castle TVR and they seem pretty sure it was the slave cylinder (also there was no oil in the reservoir)....if it is the slave cylinder is it expensive, or rather would the labour be expensive???
chippy wedge said:
Thanks for the info everyone...I decided that i'm just not man enough for the job...called the AA out this morning so i can get it to Castle TVR and they seem pretty sure it was the slave cylinder (also there was no oil in the reservoir)....if it is the slave cylinder is it expensive, or rather would the labour be expensive???
not that expensive a new slave is about £35 to buy and max 2 hours labour (IMHO)
it consists of removing 2 bolts and bleeding the system
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