1990 TVR S2 2.9 Clutch

[S-two]

Hi all,

So, the sun is out and after a month of no driving, I start her up this morning, that familiar sweet sound and smile on my face is soon changed when I depress the clutch and.... nothing, foot hits the floor with no resistance at all and unable to put in to gear. The pedal does return up and down as normal though, just not able to select gear. There havent been any signs of any play in the clutch, but I've not been out in it much this summer sadly

So a drive to work in the Polo, not quite the plan.

Ive had a search online and it looks like the master / slave cylinder is a fairly common issue. I havent inspected fully but will do tonight - there has been a little red/pink coloured fluid under the car over the last few weeks, could this be linked?

Any thoughts, or hints? Are there any mobile mechanics here that would be willing to replace whatever needs to be? I'm located down on the South coast, near Southampton.

Cheers in advance!!

Rob

[phillpot]

Slave cylinder sounds like a pretty safe bet, Is the master cylinder empty?

[S-two]

Cheers for the response - I've got no idea!!!

I'll take off the clutch fluid cap and see if theres fluid in it - maybe its just dropped as not been used for a bit (optimism!)? Its in my garage so access under the car is minimal, not that I'm massively mechanically minded (silly I know owning a TVR)

[glenrobbo]

Hi Rob,
Fluid on the ground underneath the car?
Sounds to me like the slave cylinder is leaking.
Open the bonnet and undo the clutch master cylinder reservoir cap and check the fluid level.
It should be near the top.
If it is not, try topping it up with some Dot 4 brake fluid and then pump the clutch pedal up and down a few times to see if normal operation is restored. You might just get lucky.
Sometimes after a period of no use, the seal can become distorted and leak a little.
However, if air has entered the system, no amount of pedal pumping will.restore normal operation. it is most likely that the slave cylinder will need replacing and the system bleeding properly.

If the master cyl. seals fail, there is usually a leak of fluid inside the car at the bulkhead where the pushrod from the pedal enters the cylinder, resulting in fluid running down onto or behind the carpet. If you peel back the rubber dust seal there and fluid is present, it's buggered

I don't know any mobile mechanics in the south, but Richard of Southways Automotive in Hamble is a very well respected guy in the TVR S world. Give him a call

[S-two]

Hi glenrobbo

Cheers for that, much appreciated , I'll have a look tonight and give it a go, failing that will call Southways Automotive.

Yes there have been a few drips under the car, roughly in the middle of the car, should have rung alarm bells....

The cylinder part itself doesn't look mega expensive, but I have no idea how to replace such things so best left to the experts

I'll report back tomorrow....

Edited by S-two on Monday 22 October 12:08

[Steve_D]

All good advise so far.
If you top up and get a functioning clutch again you will only have resolved part of the problem ie getting it to a garage. The underlying problem is still there and will need to be resolved.

Steve
Southways

[S-two]

Cheers Steve

Yes understood - there has been the pinkish fluid leak from underneath the car so sounds like a cylinder leak - if I'm able to get the car mobile and drive to you (I'm assuming you are Southways Automotive), is this something you guys can sort, along with a full service? I'll be in touch tomorrow...

Kind Regards

Rob

[glenrobbo]

Apologies OP, Southways are in Fareham, not Hamble.

Just a little bit further from you.

[S-two]

[S-two]

See photo above.... I'm hoping I got the correct filler cap!! This was empty, appears to be a small amount of black substance at the base of it, but was empty.

I'll get some dot 4 fluid and top up later and see if the clutch works long enough to get it to a garage. Otherwise itll be a trailer job I suppose.

Southways Auto.... I'll give you a call!

Cheers

Rob

[mentall]

That's the one!

Get them to change the master AND slave cylinders at the same time (all Land-Rover parts, and cheap as chips), and replace the rigid pipe between them with a purpose-made braided flexible pipe.

Good luck!

[phillpot]

S-two said:

not that I'm massively mechanically minded

S-two said:

I'm hoping I got the correct filler cap!!

You weren't joking, were you


Somehow I suspect topping it up will do nothing other than create another puddle on the floor? Or may be I'm just a pessimist.

[S-two]

Ha nope!!!

I'll give it a go, and leave for a few days. Then potentially top up again and drive to garage. Failing that, it's a car trailer delivery....

Cheers

[phillpot]

Got AA recovery or similar?

[S-two]

I didn't renew this year foolishly....

But yes good shout be sensible to rejoin and wait a week or so.....

[S-two]

Bit of an update.....

I've been very lucky and after topping up the fluid, the pressure came back to the clutch and operation is back as normal Ive left it a full day and there aren't any additonal leaks under the car but expect this will increase with use....

I will be booking in for the repair though as I expect the seals are gone somewhere, will get a full service done at the same time.

Cheers for everyones input!

[glenrobbo]

Good to hear you were a bit lucky, Rob.

Did you have a look behind the rubber dust cover on the master cylinder ( where the pushrod goes through from the clutch pedal ) to check for fluid leakage?


I've been thinking ( yes, I know I shouldnt really! ) but I suspect that the pinkish/red fluid under the car could be a gearbox oil leak. It's not the end of the World as long as it's not a severe leak, but you need to keep an eye on it.
Ask your garage ( Southways? ) to investigate and top up if necessary when they do the service.

[S-two]

Ah cheers for that! Will get them to sort too. It'll only be used to get the car to the garage so hopefully will be fine...