Clutch gone after 2weeks - fault?

[markuskj]

Good evening guys,

I have been hankering after a Esprit for years and finally bought a '96 V8 Esprit from a dealer in London a few weeks ago - he assured me that the car was sound ("genuinely immaculate throughout"). I followed all the checks but having never driven an Esprit before did not realise that the clutch was a little rough. Perhaps it was a mistake to think I could deduce a good one but the rest of the car is sound.

I took it into a local garage and they looked that the gears etc and said that the stiffness is caused by a very worn clutch not fully depressing, with additional wear to the flywheel. Frustratingly the warrantee company will not cover the parts because they describe the problem as wear and tear. My options are to see if the seller will cough up, or cover it myself which seems a real bugger after just shelling out for her 2 weeks ago.
What do you guys’ recon, and what sort of prices are a clutch and flywheel?

Many thanks!

Mark

[Dr.Hess]

I dunno here. You sure it is not Red Hose Syndrome? Exactly what kind of problems are you having? And I don't think I could diagnose a worn flywheel without taking it all apart and looking at it. Maybe your mechanic is psycic or has X-Ray vision or something.

If the clutch plate is worn, it will slip under load, which causes damage to the flywheel as the little rivits chew into it: Put car in 4th gear while rolling and nail it. Clutch slip (motor revs high but car doesn't go proportionally faster)==Bad. No slip==Not bad (plate not worn, anyway).

Clutch not releasing: Stop car. With motor running, clutch depressed (all the way to the floor), put in neutral, wait a few seconds, put in reverse. Lots of noise/grinding? Clutch not releasing. Check damn red hose, bleed clutch hydraulics, check clutch adjustment.

Dr.Hess

[az88turbo]

Mark,

Stiff clutch, not slipping right? Has the weather warmed up a bit since you bought the car? BEFORE you let the garage guys at it; does it still have the dreaded "red hose"? if so; I'll bet that's your problem (red hose syndrome). I read in a dealer report on one of my cars that "clutch very hard to push, needs master and slave cylinder rebuild" (this is a certified Lotus dealer), it was right, it was damn difficult to push, and engage the gears. I changed to a steel braided clutch line and it is like a new car.

Just a suggestion.

Mark - 88 Turbo

[az88turbo]

Dr. Hess,

Talk about "great minds think alike"; look at the post time on that last message, we must have pushed the button at the same time

Mark - 88 Turbo

[Dr.Hess]

Yeah, saw that.

Dr.Hess

[hns_sonic]

Mark mentions that his car is a '96 V8. I thought Lotus sorted out Red Hose Syndrome with the S4 and later models?

Martin
'95 S4s.

[95lotus]

hns_sonic said:

Mark mentions that his car is a '96 V8. I thought Lotus sorted out Red Hose Syndrome with the S4 and later models? Martin '95 S4s.

I don't think so...the PO of my S4S upgraded it to the SS braided line (which, incidentally, I just replaced)

Bill

[markuskj]

Thanks guys, although it might still have the red hose, the car has been open up and the innards checked. The problem is defined,I am interested to know where you think balme lies?

Thnaks for all your advie so far. Also, while we are on the subject, what do I need to do to fix the red hose issue?

[h2dca]

I would suggest the garage has an obligation to repair the fault, your statutory rights etc as the car purchase was less then 2 weeks old. There has to be a reasonable period of time after purchase where the dealer has responsibilities.

I would suggest you discuss with citizen advice/trading standards to understand your position. Contact the garage and discuss in a reasonable manner, don’t get led into legal action discussions at this point, keep it amicable.

If this fails then I would suggest legal action, the garage will undoubtedly ignore this and they will go to the wire so if you take this action you have to see it through to the end. Also if you purchased the car through the garage finance scheme speak to these people, it has been known for people to with hold payments etc

These links may help

www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/

www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/guides_to/consumerlaw/

[markuskj]

Thanks mate - this is really solid!

[superdave]

Hi Mark,

My advise is to get your warranty papers checked out by an expert. Over 90% of these 'so-called' warranties have illegal clauses or statements in them.
You need to speak to Adam Gumbiner on the yahoo group www.espritforum.co.uk I think.

Have all the other things checked out like the red hose, slave and master cylinder but I think at the end of the day, any work should be paid for by the warranty company of the dealer where you bought it from.

Is the dealer a recognised Lotus Dealer or one approved by Club Lotus? Maybe the Lotus Factory or the independant Club Lotus can help with any issues on dealers.

Cheers,



Dave Walters

[Skerd]

These are some of the smaller problems I have had that caused the clutch/gearbox to perform poorly: Too much air in the system, dirty and low transmission fluid, leaking slave/master cylinder, loose linkage. All four added together cost less than a new clutch. (I had that too).