Discussion
I am unable to select any gears on my Esprit Turbo SE 1990. Driving yesterday the gearshift went from being fine to getting very stiff and feeling as if there was something blocking the gearshift lever. Took centre console off everything fine. Had the red hose done 4 weeks ago, everything fine, fluid levels fine, ne leaks..checked cables and found the outer plastic melted near gearbox (have a leaking exhaust). stripped cable as much as possible, but still have problem. No gears can be selected. Any ideas?
Sounds like your clutch doesn't disengage. This can be caused by air entering into the clutch hose. It's extremely hard to drain. Perform the following checks:
1. Let someone press the clutch while you inspect the clutch-fork (arm coming out of the clutch housing) where the slave cylinder push-rod engages. This "point" should travel approx 1 cm at full travel. If it travels less you either have a)air in the system or b) the system expands (red-hose syndrom) or c) the clutch is broken or d) the slave cylinder "bottoms" out. In the d) case you should adjust the pushrod with the adjustment screw in the fork to optimise the travel (screw it towards the motor). Also note that if the adjustment screw is adjusted to much towards the motor there is a *risk* that the slave cylinder will "bottom" out the other way as the clutch disc wears, making the clutch NOT engage at some later point in time.
2. With the clutch pedal depressed and the motor running engage first 2:nd gear (if possible) and then reverese (without disengaging the clutch). If you get "gear noise" this means that the primary axis is driven i.e. the clutch is still engaged. The reason for selecting 2:nd first is that if the clutch is not engaged everything in the gearbox is taken to a stop. When directly afterwards engaging reverse everything should still be stopped. Reverse is unsyncronised and will immediatly reveal if anything has started to move inside the gearbox.
3. Air draining procedure for the clutch: You need to be 3(!) people to get optimum performance from the procedure. One pumping the clutch pedal, one pouring brake fluid into the master cylinder reservoir, and one by the slave cylinder. The person in the car should pump the clutch as fast as is permittable while the person standing by the slave cylinder should, whith the aid of a plastic tube connected to the bleeding plug, carry out the draining. He should hold a finger against the end of the tube and securely over a can where he can dispose the fluid without staining fluid on the car (brake fluid is extremly hazardous to car paint). Use at least ,5 litre of fluid. The reason for doing the procedure like this is to try and make the fluid move as fast as possible, bringing any air with it to the slave cylinder and out. If it is done to slow there is a big risk that bubbles will not be transported out of the higest point i.e. the 180 degree bend on the tubing above the master cylinder.
Absolutly NO air is crucial for correct operation of the clutch.
If the problem doesn't seem to be the above described you should perform the following check:
1. With the car standing still, the motor off, and the clutch depressed you should try and engage the different gears. This should pe possible without exception. It could be nessesary to use more force on the gearstick because of the design of syncro-geraboxes which require some movment to work optimally. If this isn't possible there could be a malfunction in your gearlinkage or the gear selector fork. The arm of the last comes out of the very rear of the gearbox and is attached to the *gear-translator* which is simply a mechanism to translate the movment of the gearstick to the movment of the gear selector fork. This is visible from under the rear of the car. If you are able to get your hand in there (you may have to remove the exhaust baffle for better access) you should be able to move the selector fork in-out and forward-backward (doing the last there should be sounds from within the gearbox as the gears engages. The selector arm can only be moved forward-backward in four positions on the in-out travel range (R-only forward, 1-2-backward-forward, 3-4-bacward-forward & 5-only backwards)
Best of luck
Best Regards /Lasse
>> Edited by Lasse on Monday 10th November 16:21
1. Let someone press the clutch while you inspect the clutch-fork (arm coming out of the clutch housing) where the slave cylinder push-rod engages. This "point" should travel approx 1 cm at full travel. If it travels less you either have a)air in the system or b) the system expands (red-hose syndrom) or c) the clutch is broken or d) the slave cylinder "bottoms" out. In the d) case you should adjust the pushrod with the adjustment screw in the fork to optimise the travel (screw it towards the motor). Also note that if the adjustment screw is adjusted to much towards the motor there is a *risk* that the slave cylinder will "bottom" out the other way as the clutch disc wears, making the clutch NOT engage at some later point in time.
2. With the clutch pedal depressed and the motor running engage first 2:nd gear (if possible) and then reverese (without disengaging the clutch). If you get "gear noise" this means that the primary axis is driven i.e. the clutch is still engaged. The reason for selecting 2:nd first is that if the clutch is not engaged everything in the gearbox is taken to a stop. When directly afterwards engaging reverse everything should still be stopped. Reverse is unsyncronised and will immediatly reveal if anything has started to move inside the gearbox.
3. Air draining procedure for the clutch: You need to be 3(!) people to get optimum performance from the procedure. One pumping the clutch pedal, one pouring brake fluid into the master cylinder reservoir, and one by the slave cylinder. The person in the car should pump the clutch as fast as is permittable while the person standing by the slave cylinder should, whith the aid of a plastic tube connected to the bleeding plug, carry out the draining. He should hold a finger against the end of the tube and securely over a can where he can dispose the fluid without staining fluid on the car (brake fluid is extremly hazardous to car paint). Use at least ,5 litre of fluid. The reason for doing the procedure like this is to try and make the fluid move as fast as possible, bringing any air with it to the slave cylinder and out. If it is done to slow there is a big risk that bubbles will not be transported out of the higest point i.e. the 180 degree bend on the tubing above the master cylinder.
Absolutly NO air is crucial for correct operation of the clutch.
If the problem doesn't seem to be the above described you should perform the following check:
1. With the car standing still, the motor off, and the clutch depressed you should try and engage the different gears. This should pe possible without exception. It could be nessesary to use more force on the gearstick because of the design of syncro-geraboxes which require some movment to work optimally. If this isn't possible there could be a malfunction in your gearlinkage or the gear selector fork. The arm of the last comes out of the very rear of the gearbox and is attached to the *gear-translator* which is simply a mechanism to translate the movment of the gearstick to the movment of the gear selector fork. This is visible from under the rear of the car. If you are able to get your hand in there (you may have to remove the exhaust baffle for better access) you should be able to move the selector fork in-out and forward-backward (doing the last there should be sounds from within the gearbox as the gears engages. The selector arm can only be moved forward-backward in four positions on the in-out travel range (R-only forward, 1-2-backward-forward, 3-4-bacward-forward & 5-only backwards)
Best of luck
Best Regards /Lasse
>> Edited by Lasse on Monday 10th November 16:21
The translator is the device that changes the actions shifter cables to select the gears. If you are binding somewhere and the cables are disconnected you should be able to select the gears bypassing the shifter devices. You might have flat spots on your bushings or the cables stretch out of adjustment. I would say this is not the case if you can select gears with the engine off. You can also bleed the clutch with only 2 people if you know what you are doing as the fluid levels do not drop all that fast during bleeding. I usually pump the pedal several times and hold it half way down as the 2nd person hits the bleeder. Call out when the pedal is near the bottom and tell the other person to close the bleeder. Just keep an eye on the master and keep it filled.
Calvin
Calvin
The idea of using three people is that you don't need to take a brake to fill up the reservoir. You may only depress the pedal 3-4 times before the reservoir is empty. During the "short brake" air bubbles may travel back to the 180 degree bend if they haven't passed the lowest point on the clutch-line. Keeping a constant flow during *many* pedal-depression cycles increases the probability of successfully getting all the air out.
Best regards /Lasse
Best regards /Lasse
I,m just about to embark on the same procedure on my 86 turbo .I also suddenly couldnt get gears .I can without the engine running or by moving the gearbox arm by hand ,so it looks like the clutch pipe.
Is it possible to bleed the clutch with an easybleed type kit ,thereby doing it on your own ??
Is it possible to bleed the clutch with an easybleed type kit ,thereby doing it on your own ??
Hi again!
Yes, I tried to do it with vacuum, however the air leakage around the threads on the drain-plug is significant so I didn't get it to work satisfactory. But I agree that had it worked it sounds ingenious, doesn't it... :-) All mechanics (and others) I know who are familiar with this clutch thinks this operation is a real pain.
Best Regards /Lasse
P.S. I done this operation on S3, SE and S4
>> Edited by Lasse on Monday 10th November 16:29
Yes, I tried to do it with vacuum, however the air leakage around the threads on the drain-plug is significant so I didn't get it to work satisfactory. But I agree that had it worked it sounds ingenious, doesn't it... :-) All mechanics (and others) I know who are familiar with this clutch thinks this operation is a real pain.
Best Regards /Lasse
P.S. I done this operation on S3, SE and S4
>> Edited by Lasse on Monday 10th November 16:29
You can use a easy bleed by yourself a lot of the club members use it. I have not had to use more than a pint bottle of LMA, with a some left over after bleeding the clutch. That is with the system dry. I usually rebleed the system after several days use when mirco bubbles can form into larger bubbles after a period of time. Rapid pumping will not get all micro bubbles out of the system. Use only Castrol LMA as some fluids can soften the type of rubber that Girling uses for the master and slave seals. If 3 people works for you thats fine, no harm in extra hands. In either case close the bleeder before the pedal hits the bottom or a suck back will occur if the pedal is released upwards before the bleeder is closed. Usually the bleeder is not as clean it should be and a suck back is to be avoided.
Calvin
Calvin
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