Clutch failure symptoms?
Discussion
With all the clutch talk going on at the moment, could people clarify their symptoms of failure please.
Mine has been difficult to get into gear when cold ever since having the slave replaced a year and 8k miles ago (when clutch was checked and OK), but has been fine once warmed up. Recently the shifting has become more difficult, especially cold, but still feels notchy when warm. The full engagement point hasn't moved but there seems to be more pedal travel between fully engaged and not. The fluid level seems to have dropped a little bit, to just below min, but I can't see any leaks around the master cyl piston. The clutch has about 20k miles on it so I'm thinking it may be the fingers? Another in the queue potentially.
Cheers.
Mine has been difficult to get into gear when cold ever since having the slave replaced a year and 8k miles ago (when clutch was checked and OK), but has been fine once warmed up. Recently the shifting has become more difficult, especially cold, but still feels notchy when warm. The full engagement point hasn't moved but there seems to be more pedal travel between fully engaged and not. The fluid level seems to have dropped a little bit, to just below min, but I can't see any leaks around the master cyl piston. The clutch has about 20k miles on it so I'm thinking it may be the fingers? Another in the queue potentially.
Cheers.
It must be a epidemic, the same thing happened to my GTO the other week. Gear change was getting difficult, and required effort to get it in and out of gear. The fluid levels were low, so I bled it a topped it back up. Lasted a week (which included 2 x 100mile trips and other shorter journeys) with no problems, and then seemingly dumped all the fluid the other Friday night.....there reservoir was totally empty. 
Is there a master/slave cylinder set up on the Tuscan clutches? Have you checked the bleed nozzles on each?
If I find anything on mine, albeit a different car, I'll post it here.
Is there a master/slave cylinder set up on the Tuscan clutches? Have you checked the bleed nozzles on each?
If I find anything on mine, albeit a different car, I'll post it here.
When my clutch went it wasn't sudden. First I noticed I needed to apply a lot of effort to get the gearlever into gear, particularly on 1st and reverse. Then it just got progressively worse for a couple of weeks until it was impossible to engage reverse without graunching noises (even when doing it the TVR recommended way).
Turns out that 40% of the little metal paddles in the centre of the clutch had snapped off. Still waiting for either a new one or a reconditioned one from TVR Craft.
Turns out that 40% of the little metal paddles in the centre of the clutch had snapped off. Still waiting for either a new one or a reconditioned one from TVR Craft.
diver said:
When my clutch went it wasn't sudden. First I noticed I needed to apply a lot of effort to get the gearlever into gear, particularly on 1st and reverse. Then it just got progressively worse for a couple of weeks until it was impossible to engage reverse without graunching noises (even when doing it the TVR recommended way).
Turns out that 40% of the little metal paddles in the centre of the clutch had snapped off. Still waiting for either a new one or a reconditioned one from TVR Craft.
Same symptoms as I suffered though it all happened rather quickly.
Dealer seems to think as you have said..once stripped down the fingers will be found to be shot.Smells of mechanical failure to me not wear and tear
Seems like I may go down the TVR Craft route. I dreamt last night that AP were no longer manufacturing clutches for TVR
I wonder why.... must be a connection there somewhere
diver said:
When my clutch went it wasn't sudden. First I noticed I needed to apply a lot of effort to get the gearlever into gear, particularly on 1st and reverse. Then it just got progressively worse for a couple of weeks until it was impossible to engage reverse without graunching noises (even when doing it the TVR recommended way).
Turns out that 40% of the little metal paddles in the centre of the clutch had snapped off. Still waiting for either a new one or a reconditioned one from TVR Craft.
Thanks for that. How many miles did you get before it became undriveable?
basil brush said:
When my clutch went it wasn't sudden. First I noticed I needed to apply a lot of effort to get the gearlever into gear, particularly on 1st and reverse. Then it just got progressively worse for a couple of weeks until it was impossible to engage reverse without graunching noises (even when doing it the TVR recommended way).
Turns out that 40% of the little metal paddles in the centre of the clutch had snapped off. Still waiting for either a new one or a reconditioned one from TVR Craft.
Thanks for that. How many miles did you get before it became undriveable?
Exactly the same symptoms happened on mine until I was driving along and put the clutch down to change gear there was a loud bang and white smoke filled the cockpit. Luckily I was 100 metres from home so I limped as far as I could and pushed it back.
Basically the more little prongs that snap off it will get to a 'critical mass' where eventually the few that are left will not be enough to hold the clutch open, and when it gets stressed ot goes bang.
It happened to me at 24k which seems about the average life before failure of the AP Racing clutch. As you may be aware there are currently issues of supply of the clutches from TVR, whether the two factors are linked is yet to be seen!
Either NS has realised that a bill for a grand every 20,000 miles for a broken clutch is not acceptable and is doing something about it, or;
They have brushed the issue under the carpet, and the failure to supply the clutches for customers is a separate issue entirely, most likely caused by poor logistics.
Personally I would like to think it is the first scenario, but I am not so sure...
My clutch on my 2001 Tuscan went at 20000 miles (fingers broken) which I partly put down to the number of track days I had attended up until then. I know of a number of other cars where the clutch had also gone at this mileage. The symptoms are of a heavy pedal and / or difficulty getting into 1st, 2nd, 5th and reverse.
btw I thought the fingers could break because the self adjustment mechanism runs past the limit of the clutch design as it wears out and breaks the fingers versus the fingers breaking unilaterally because of a weak design.
Cheers,
Andy.
btw I thought the fingers could break because the self adjustment mechanism runs past the limit of the clutch design as it wears out and breaks the fingers versus the fingers breaking unilaterally because of a weak design.
Cheers,
Andy.
basil brush said:
When my clutch went it wasn't sudden. First I noticed I needed to apply a lot of effort to get the gearlever into gear, particularly on 1st and reverse. Then it just got progressively worse for a couple of weeks until it was impossible to engage reverse without graunching noises (even when doing it the TVR recommended way).
Turns out that 40% of the little metal paddles in the centre of the clutch had snapped off. Still waiting for either a new one or a reconditioned one from TVR Craft.
Thanks for that. How many miles did you get before it became undriveable?
Exactly the same symptoms happened on mine until I was driving along and put the clutch down to change gear there was a loud bang and white smoke filled the cockpit. Luckily I was 100 metres from home so I limped as far as I could and pushed it back.
Basically the more little prongs that snap off it will get to a 'critical mass' where eventually the few that are left will not be enough to hold the clutch open, and when it gets stressed ot goes bang.
It happened to me at 24k which seems about the average life before failure of the AP Racing clutch. As you may be aware there are currently issues of supply of the clutches from TVR, whether the two factors are linked is yet to be seen!
Either NS has realised that a bill for a grand every 20,000 miles for a broken clutch is not acceptable and is doing something about it, or;
They have brushed the issue under the carpet, and the failure to supply the clutches for customers is a separate issue entirely, most likely caused by poor logistics.
Personally I would like to think it is the first scenario, but I am not so sure...
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