Can't select gears 4.5 cerbera
Discussion
Hi all. I was going to go for a spin today and after warming the engine up realised I couldn't select and gears.
The clutch still has pressure and I noticed yesterday that the gears were quite hard to engage. On Monday I fitted a short induction kit and chip so was resetting the adaptives so driving quite hard under various loads.
I am wondering if this is likely to be the clutch fingers or perhaps the slave seals. I've not had time to check the level yet.
I don't know the age of the clutch. It is quite heavy but not very hard to operate. The gears are a bit hard to select so maybe it's just needing a top up.
What is the general recommendation on clutch fluid? It will be going to a garage for repair but I have the AA parts and labour policy which may cover some of the costs I hope.
Great timing as Ive not managed to put many miles on the car since I bought it in October last year. It's now running perfectly and need clutch attention
The clutch still has pressure and I noticed yesterday that the gears were quite hard to engage. On Monday I fitted a short induction kit and chip so was resetting the adaptives so driving quite hard under various loads.
I am wondering if this is likely to be the clutch fingers or perhaps the slave seals. I've not had time to check the level yet.
I don't know the age of the clutch. It is quite heavy but not very hard to operate. The gears are a bit hard to select so maybe it's just needing a top up.
What is the general recommendation on clutch fluid? It will be going to a garage for repair but I have the AA parts and labour policy which may cover some of the costs I hope.
Great timing as Ive not managed to put many miles on the car since I bought it in October last year. It's now running perfectly and need clutch attention
A look at the clutch fluid level should determine if it's the slave cylinder. If it's low or has bits of rubber floating around in it, then slave is the likely culprit.
My guess would be fingers though, particularly if you can select easily enough when the engine's off.
If you're not sure when it was last done I'd say fingers are even more likely (mine needed doing at 25k and this seems to be at the upper end of the mileage range before they go).
My guess would be fingers though, particularly if you can select easily enough when the engine's off.
If you're not sure when it was last done I'd say fingers are even more likely (mine needed doing at 25k and this seems to be at the upper end of the mileage range before they go).
I would say it's a slow leak on your slave cylinder, if you find in a couple of days that you have no pressure in your pedal, it's your slave. Selecting gear when the engine is off means FA, I could select 5th in mine when there was no 5th to be selected after it shredded all the teeth.
Rawhide said:
The clutch still has pressure and I noticed yesterday that the gears were quite hard to engage.
Is the pressure as hard as it was when you could get gears? If not then probably slave leaking you should be able to bleed it, or could be master cylinder, check for fluid running down clutch pedal and onto carpet,light oily wet feeling to carpet under pedal.You will usually lose fluid faster through leaky slave and eventually it will leak out of bell housing under centre of car, if your garage floor is paintd the clutch fluid will act as paint stripper and crinkle it if its oil it won't.
Thanks guys. The pedal presure is the same as it was. The car had a 12k major service recently. Should the fluid have been changed then?
I did also boil the fluid once on a trackday but when cooled down the pressure returned so Im hoping it's a slow leak for now.
Can I use any off the shelf clutch fluid or is there high temp stuff?
I did also boil the fluid once on a trackday but when cooled down the pressure returned so Im hoping it's a slow leak for now.
Can I use any off the shelf clutch fluid or is there high temp stuff?
Hiya Rawhide (?!) 
My current problem started like yours. Good pressure but not able to engage.
I checked the Master reservoir and there were small pieces of rubber seal in the fluid although the level was good.
I fittesd a Master Cylinder seal kit and bled but no luck.
I then assumed it was the Slave and ordered an RP Slave.
When I removed the bellhousing to fit it I found that I had two broken fingers in the basket. I put some light pressure on each of the fingers to test their strength and broke a third one off
The generally held belief, as mentioned, is that Oil under the engine/bellhousing indicates Slave Seal failure, Oil in the footwell indicates Master Seal failure and no apparent Oil leak indicates broken fingers.
( but I think tht is too simplistic )
I really think it's a case of SIAS !
I really believe that these babies need regular use to remain reliable and have heard that a break such as yours had will raise the risk of seal damage during the re-start period.....
I bled with DOT 4 two years ago and have subsequently had this problem so I am re-bleeding with DOT 5.1 this time as it is more resistant to heat exposure.
I had a discussion with a researcher who works for Castrol and he said almost all providers are "up to scratch" as long as you use the appropriate grade for the purpose.
IMHO I would always re-bleed a clutch after it has "boiled". The oil will never return to optimum condition after it has passed that level of breakdown.
Best of ....
My current problem started like yours. Good pressure but not able to engage.
I checked the Master reservoir and there were small pieces of rubber seal in the fluid although the level was good.
I fittesd a Master Cylinder seal kit and bled but no luck.
I then assumed it was the Slave and ordered an RP Slave.
When I removed the bellhousing to fit it I found that I had two broken fingers in the basket. I put some light pressure on each of the fingers to test their strength and broke a third one off
The generally held belief, as mentioned, is that Oil under the engine/bellhousing indicates Slave Seal failure, Oil in the footwell indicates Master Seal failure and no apparent Oil leak indicates broken fingers.
( but I think tht is too simplistic )
I really think it's a case of SIAS !
I really believe that these babies need regular use to remain reliable and have heard that a break such as yours had will raise the risk of seal damage during the re-start period.....
I bled with DOT 4 two years ago and have subsequently had this problem so I am re-bleeding with DOT 5.1 this time as it is more resistant to heat exposure.
I had a discussion with a researcher who works for Castrol and he said almost all providers are "up to scratch" as long as you use the appropriate grade for the purpose.
IMHO I would always re-bleed a clutch after it has "boiled". The oil will never return to optimum condition after it has passed that level of breakdown.
Best of ....
Before you start taking it to bits bleed the clutch,if you cant bleed it the seals in your master cylinder have gone,fit a new master cylinder and bleed the clutch,i know this from experience,i have just had the same problem with mine.If you still have a problem then you need to be looking at the slave or clutch,both are a gearbox & bellhousing out job.
Jabbah said:
Similar problem to what I had and that turned out to be a leaky hose between master and slave cylinders.
I have a clutch bleed kit if you need to borrow one, depending on where abouts you are in London?
Dear Mr. Hutt,I have a clutch bleed kit if you need to borrow one, depending on where abouts you are in London?
How did you access that hose ?
Does it go directly from the exit of the Master to the hydraulic junction block at the back of the driver's footwell ?
Many thanks,
Paul
I managed to take a look at the clutch reservoir yesterday and it's full to the brim with clear looking fluid. There is no evidence of seals in there. The unit itself also looks very clean and I'm wondering if it's quite recently been changed.
I can engage all gears with the engine off but can't engage with the engine running so I'm guessing clutch fingers.
I have the AA parts and labour warranty so the car will be off to an indy shortly but I was wondering what bill I could be expecting? Would the clutch packs typically be changed as part of this job or just measured and perhaps refitted?
I can engage all gears with the engine off but can't engage with the engine running so I'm guessing clutch fingers.
I have the AA parts and labour warranty so the car will be off to an indy shortly but I was wondering what bill I could be expecting? Would the clutch packs typically be changed as part of this job or just measured and perhaps refitted?
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