Clutch questions
Clutch questions
Author
Discussion

gazzab

Original Poster:

21,633 posts

311 months

Saturday 10th December 2005
quotequote all
drove into London yesterday. Took a while and had to q a lot. Finally got to Soho. Put the car in the Soho Car Park (Poland St ?) , Noticed that it started to get a bit smelly ie clutch burning smell. Strange as I wasnt riding the clutch and had treated it carefully etc in the traffic jams (ie into neutral and foot off the clutch when stopped)... As I parked in a space the bite point moved to within a couple of inches or so of the floor. This morning the car felt fine. Traffic wasnt too bad but then the clutch started to judder in first from time to time. After about an hour and a half of london and country driving the judder became a perm feature. All gr changes (eg to 2nd gr)are fine.
Does this sound like fingers or just worn out lining or fly wheel?

Just had the slave cyl sorted a couple of weeks ago so the AA are going to love me if I get it low loaded and claim on the warranty again!

purpleheadedcerb

1,143 posts

251 months

Saturday 10th December 2005
quotequote all
Have you lost any fluid from the resevoir?

kevin63

4,661 posts

282 months

Sunday 11th December 2005
quotequote all
Try bleeding the clutch as you may have a bit of air in the system, i use 5.1 fluid in mine as it is supposed to be able to cope with the heat better.

Extra 300 Driver

5,282 posts

275 months

Sunday 11th December 2005
quotequote all
The clutch line does run close to the exhaust, always best to use at least 5.1. Try bleeding it, see if there are and black bits of seal in the fluid, also see if the car has left any on the floor.

It could be this, but I am sorry to sy it sounds like you may have lost a finger or two, resulting in uneven application and deapplication of the clutch. I would have thought that if your slave was new then they would have checked for wear on the clutch.

If it is the fingers then you could get it done under warranty as is a material failure.

grass widow

2,201 posts

252 months

Sunday 11th December 2005
quotequote all
Sounds like a warped burnt clutch. Had this problem in a Audi a few years ago when i was cought on ice on a up hill bend. Everytime i changed gear after that i got the judder as it went into gear. If you can stand the judder for a while its ok to drive until you can get a new clutch. Fingers crossed its not the above but something far simpler.

mike_e

595 posts

292 months

Sunday 11th December 2005
quotequote all
Sounds exactly like broken fingers to me. Biggest single indicator is the sudden change in the biting point, exactly same symptoms as mine when it expired. Vibration is due to the uneven loading on the friction linings.

Busted fingers are covered by a warranty but the friction plates will almost certainly incur a betterage charge if you get a whole new clutch assembly (assuming you can source one).

gazzab

Original Poster:

21,633 posts

311 months

Sunday 11th December 2005
quotequote all
My warranty covers wear n tear (I think!).
But it only covers if I Cant drive the car.

gazzab

Original Poster:

21,633 posts

311 months

Friday 16th December 2005
quotequote all
Strange - took car out tonight for first time since weekend. The clutch felt fine for 10 miles. Then a bit of traffic and the judder slowly came back. Only noticeable in first gr pull aways.
So assume it is the friction plate worn thin rather than fingers or fluid.

gazzab

Original Poster:

21,633 posts

311 months

Thursday 22nd December 2005
quotequote all
Drove the cerb to work today (40 miles with lightish traffic).
The clutch judder has almost gone now. Weird. I guess these means it isnt a problem with fingers and that it is the friction plate and that using the clutch is flattening it out ? (or is my complete lack of mechanical know how corrupting my analysis!). Strange. I wonder whether the cold air is helping!

grass widow

2,201 posts

252 months

Thursday 22nd December 2005
quotequote all
Not sure about the cold weather but if the clutch plate was slightly warped by heat it will eventually smooth out to a certain livable standard. (c3ber)

JedSteel

58 posts

311 months

Thursday 22nd December 2005
quotequote all

You may only have overheated the friction material at some point, causing it to glaze. Give it some further normal (whatever that it) use and it may sort it itself.