Clutch slave lunched itself...50 miles from home

[Ben Hughes]

Ok, so I was driving along after dropping a friend off at Luton airport, go to get some petrol, approach a roundabout, put the clutch down...*SNAP*. Pedal drops to the floor.

I manage to nurse the car to a Shell garage, check to see if the master still has fluid, and it does. That will be a nice expensive slave cylinder fix then. I managed to get the car recovered to Watford where I live and work at the moment, except I was due to come home to Reigate this evening (as well as taking a lady-friend to Gatwick airport...the "erm, you'll have to get the train" conversation was interesting to say the least!). I had to leave the car parked up at work, and now have the enjoyable task of getting it back to Reigate so I can get it fixed by my old boss, who will sort it at mates rates.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I haven't got any breakdown cover, my mum isn't in the slightest bit inclined to come and stay with the car so that the AA will recover it under her policy, and pretty much all of my clothes and possessions are still in the boot!

What are my options? I can get UK Recovery with Britannia Rescue for £65 - presumably that's the cheapest way?

Thanks in advance!

Ben

[thinfourth2]

Learn to drive without a clutch

Got from glasgow to aberdeen without a clutch

[chevy-stu]

Vehicle recovery from £65 Watford to Riegate sound a bargain...

I've paid about that for about 5 miles. !

[samvia]

What's the return journey like, motorways or does it involve lots of stop-start? If it's the former I'd wait til the roads are quiet and drive it, start off cranking it in first and work your way up the box from there. Had a very similar problem in my old 200SX and had to drive 40-odd miles home with no clutch, thankfully late at night and the vast majority on motorway/DC.

[Motorrad]

Buy some clutch fluid, bleed it, top it up and drive home.

[davepoth]

Cheap recovery that. It's still perfectly driveable with no clutch. Mine went in the middle of a town, you just brake in gear until the car stalls to stop, and then start with the car in gear and the accelerator flat to the floor. Up and down the box is quite amusing until you get the hang of it, but it certainly helps perfect your heel-and-toe technique.

[Ben Hughes]

As much as I'd love to mission it back without a clutch (I've been teaching myself to do entire journeys only using it to start off), it's my mum's Fiesta that I've been borrowing while my Focus is in for a new steering rack (get that back tomorrow) and the £700 excess I've got for being a temporary named driver is too much to handle! I did manage to manoeuver the car around an industrial estate today though, but it's a total bh driving on slush without a clutch, I can tell you!

[Shelsleyf2]

What's wrong with driving it home? I snapped a clutch cable on the Paris peripheric, parked in a layby till the rush hour abated, drove back to calais, onto the ferry, off the ferry and into the local Renault dealers. I can honestly say that with a little application and thought absolutely no problem.

Just a bit of a challenge.

[davepoth]

Ben Hughes said:

As much as I'd love to mission it back without a clutch (I've been teaching myself to do entire journeys only using it to start off), it's my mum's Fiesta that I've been borrowing while my Focus is in for a new steering rack (get that back tomorrow) and the £700 excess I've got for being a temporary named driver is too much to handle! I did manage to manoeuver the car around an industrial estate today though, but it's a total bh driving on slush without a clutch, I can tell you!

Fair dos, ice and no clutch must be a bit rubbish. I'd go for the recovery option.

[Mr GrimNasty]

You'd have to be insane to drive without a clutch in ice/snow anyway.

[Ben Hughes]

Just mentioned to the mother I could probably get her car back without a clutch. She did a mental.

I'm going to get it recovered.

[Eggman]

Ben Hughes said:

*SNAP*. Pedal drops to the floor.

Doesn't sound particularly live a slave cylinder failing to me, particularly as the fluid hasn't leaked. Has the padal come back up? Some master cylinders contain seals that occasionally invert themselves, so it may be worth pulling the pedal up with your toe then seeing if things have improved any. I'd also have a look to see if something mechanical has failed, clevis pins and pivots being the prime suspects.

If all else fails, do as suggested above - wait for the roads to quieten down and drive it. It's not too difficult once you get the hang of matching the revs precisely enough.

ETA: Just seen it's a Fiesta - that'll probably have a cable, won't it?. Shouldn't be too hard to change that at the side of the road if there's a late night motor factor or a branch of Halfords nearby...

Edited by Eggman on Monday 20th December 18:29

[minky monkey]

Usually recovery firms like the RAC/GF/AA etc won't cover recovery of a vehicle unless it's a local tow e.g. 10 miles, for 48hrs from start of membership. It's to stop people from waiting until they breakdown before they join up.

[Ben Hughes]

Eggman said:

Ben Hughes said:

*SNAP*. Pedal drops to the floor.

Doesn't sound particularly live a slave cylinder failing to me, particularly as the fluid hasn't leaked. Has the padal come back up? Some master cylinders contain seals that occasionally invert themselves, so it may be worth pulling the pedal up with your toe then seeing if things have improved any. I'd also have a look to see if something mechanical has failed, clevis pins and pivots being the prime suspects.

Ah yes, should clarify - there was a cracking sound, the pedal lost all its resistance and now springs back up to sit about 1ft off the floor. Absolutely no resistance at all. As much as I'd love to have a nose around under the car, it's bloody freezing out there, and I'm now back in Reigate...

[Motorrad]

Ben Hughes said:

As much as I'd love to mission it back without a clutch (I've been teaching myself to do entire journeys only using it to start off), it's my mum's Fiesta that I've been borrowing while my Focus is in for a new steering rack (get that back tomorrow) and the £700 excess I've got for being a temporary named driver is too much to handle! I did manage to manoeuver the car around an industrial estate today though, but it's a total bh driving on slush without a clutch, I can tell you!

There is no need to drive without a clutch as I outlined above.

Use google, find location of slave cylinder bleed nipple, bleed and top up, then drive home. Minimise gearchanges but otherwise drive normally and it shouldn't be a problem for a short distance like that.

Alternately do what most people do in modern day Britain; pay up and rely on someone else. I'm old school and like to do things for myself whenever possible.

edit to add: if you join a recovery company they will make you wait a few days as someone else said and will probably just come out and do what I outlined above anyway. There is no need whatsoever to tow a vehicle if the slave cylinder just needs bleeding/topping up as a 'get you home'.

Edited by Motorrad on Monday 20th December 18:37

[maniac0796]

Eggman said:

Ben Hughes said:

*SNAP*. Pedal drops to the floor.

Doesn't sound particularly live a slave cylinder failing to me, particularly as the fluid hasn't leaked. Has the padal come back up? Some master cylinders contain seals that occasionally invert themselves, so it may be worth pulling the pedal up with your toe then seeing if things have improved any. I'd also have a look to see if something mechanical has failed, clevis pins and pivots being the prime suspects.

If all else fails, do as suggested above - wait for the roads to quieten down and drive it. It's not too difficult once you get the hang of matching the revs precisely enough.

ETA: Just seen it's a Fiesta - that'll probably have a cable, won't it?. Shouldn't be too hard to change that at the side of the road if there's a late night motor factor or a branch of Halfords nearby...

Edited by Eggman on Monday 20th December 18:29

If it's a fiesta, then chances are it has a concentric slave cylinder. These can be a real PITA to bleed. Also, being located in the bell housing and also acting as the release bearing, they're not cheap to change.

[Ben Hughes]

maniac0796 said:

If it's a fiesta, then chances are it has a concentric slave cylinder.

[Eggman]

You'll most likely find it's possible to do everything from on top of the car. The worst bit is likely to be fiddling the cable through the bulkhead and attaching the end to the pedal, then it should be a matter of whizzing an adjuster round and driving off. I once had a cable snap (conveniently enough) right outside a motor factors and 20 minutes later I was on my way again. Have a quick Google for your model of Fiesta to see what kind of job it is - one or other forum is bound to have covered it.

ETA: Gah! Fiestas used to be simple little cars! What are they thinking about putting clutch slaves inside the bellhousing?

Edited by Eggman on Monday 20th December 18:44

[eldar]

Motorrad said:

Ben Hughes said:

As much as I'd love to mission it back without a clutch (I've been teaching myself to do entire journeys only using it to start off), it's my mum's Fiesta that I've been borrowing while my Focus is in for a new steering rack (get that back tomorrow) and the £700 excess I've got for being a temporary named driver is too much to handle! I did manage to manoeuver the car around an industrial estate today though, but it's a total bh driving on slush without a clutch, I can tell you!

There is no need to drive without a clutch as I outlined above.

Use google, find location of slave cylinder bleed nipple, bleed and top up, then drive home. Minimise gearchanges but otherwise drive normally and it shouldn't be a problem for a short distance like that.

Alternately do what most people do in modern day Britain; pay up and rely on someone else. I'm old school and like to do things for myself whenever possible.

edit to add: if you join a recovery company they will make you wait a few days as someone else said and will probably just come out and do what I outlined above anyway. There is no need whatsoever to tow a vehicle if the slave cylinder just needs bleeding/topping up as a 'get you home'.

Edited by Motorrad on Monday 20th December 18:37

Doesn't sound like it needs bleeding, more complete release failure. Not sure I'd fancy grovelling around with no tools at -3c or whatever. Drive home, its easy enough.

[davepoth]

In my case the clutch hose got a pinhole in it which was enough to stop everything from working. Luckily that car had a sensible hydraulic arrangement where you could push air back to the master just by the return of the operating pin.