Clutch woes

[m0ssy]

I think the clutch has gone

If I give a run down of the sequence of events perhaps it can be suggested what to do next but to be honest I have a feeling its gone....

Driving tonight I noticed the EFI Warning came on a few times and at one point stayed on for a while. Then all went quiet and was running fine.

Rounded a corner slowly, came to a crawl so used the clutch and second gear. Car shuddered to a halt? I stick it in neutral start the engine, put my foot on the clutch to find nothing there, no pressure, nowt.

Manage to push it into a side road but no pressure under the clutch pedal.

Walked back, even though I have roadside assistance don't see the point calling them as if I am not mistaken you can only call them once for each fault/incident so best off using them to transport the vehicle to a garage fom home, I'm pretty lucky its conked out about 1/2 mile away fom home so will collect it when the traffic has died down tonight.

Can anyone give me instructions as what to do tomorrow to ensure the clutch has gone beyond repair/ refill fluid etc?

Thanks

Edited by m0ssy on Friday 19th November 19:05

[PetrolHeadPete]

Sounds like the master or slave cylinder has gone
Would expect fluid to be evident on bottom of bell housing if it's the slave
Most likely the slave imo in which case it's gearbox out job

[dvs_dave]

Very very unusual for the master cylinder to go. As said, if there's oil leaking from the bell housing it's the slave cylinder. If not, its the diaphram spring fingers. Both jobs are gearbox out.

Engine conking out is unrelated to clutch failure and most likely just stalled because you couldn't get it out of gear.

Word of advice and from experience, don't mess around with replacing the slave seals etc....it never lasts. Just get the lot replaced as it'll be cheaper and MUCH less hassle in the long run.

[m0ssy]

Whats the best combination clutch kit? or clutch slave cylinder if purchased seperately?

[Basil Brush]

Have you had any warning, ie becoming more difficult getting into first/reverse? My master failed a couple of months ago but the result was the pedal being stuck down half way.

It does sound as though the fingers on the clutch may have broken. I've had both that and the slave seals going before and the slave leaked and got gradually worse for a few weeks before giving up completely.

[m0ssy]

Had a look this morning and still no clutch pressure and clutch fluid bottle looks empty (when I say looks, its certainly not filled to the brim)

Gueesing slaves gone.

No warning, clutch was working well right up until it happened, in fact never had any trouble with it. What a rubbish design

[dvs_dave]

Genenrally regarded best fix is a Raceproved slave cylinder with the uprated AP Racing clutch pack. TVR Power usually have offers on for clutch replacements.

Had this combo now for 30k miles and all good. :touches wood:

[m0ssy]

dvs_dave said:

Genenrally regarded best fix is a Raceproved slave cylinder with the uprated AP Racing clutch pack. TVR Power usually have offers on for clutch replacements.

Had this combo now for 30k miles and all good. :touches wood:

Touches wood it was only at work yesterday I made a comment that my clutch is as strong as ever

Just had a lookat it with a Alex from PH, definately fluid on the floor from the slave, and looks like a very small amount of fluid behind the pedals on the master, they couldn't both go could they??

[Basil Brush]

I'm really surprised you didn't get any warning. I've had a slave, 2 full clutches and a master go in mine and each time I knew it was coming up from developing symptoms.

[JamesSim]

My slave was replaced about 2 years ago, I only done the slave as the pennies were really tight at the time, otherwise I would have had the clutch done at the same time.
It was only the seal though, and had been leaking for about 6-9 months prior to getting replaced, after one long drive I dumped most of the fluid, once cooled down I re-filled and bled it then drove to the garage to get it replaced.

Hopefully the pain isn't too much,

Kind regards,

James.

[RIP james]

TVR Power always get the best deal there.I get all my bits there for my tuscan.I know a cheap mechanic i essex.

[LancsRocket]

Coming to this thread late, so hopefully you are sorted now.

However, just to confirm your symptoms sound similar to mine when the master cylinder went a few week back.

I ended up, after taking advice from a couple of places, going for the upgraded AP Racing kit, Raceproved slave cylinder and new master cylinder all fitted by the excellent team at Str8Six.

Hope you get it sorted soon - can't believe the difference now! Made me realise how heavy the clutch had got.

Cheers