1st Gear Tough to engage & Reverse often grinds...

[stimshady]

is this is a sign of clutch going? or something worse?

1st is tougher to engage when colder and if i rev it slightly it will pop in easier.

I am engaging 5th before reverse but that doesn't seem to stop the grinding.

[Barry Ashcroft]

Mine did this the clutch was bleed and it sorted it out.

[stimshady]

what do you mean by bleed? - presumably this is something at the service (which is happening in 2 weeks)...

Edited by stimshady on Thursday 20th August 22:26

[Barry Ashcroft]

Yep I'd get them to do it.
It can be a diy job but it does involve removing the airbox.

[hairyaardvark]

For me, this was a sure sign that my clutch was on the way out. Sorry for the bad news. Exactly the same symptoms.

[KillerJim]

Exact same problems myself, needed a new clutch..

There is a small stopper behind the clutch pedal, you can try removing that and seeing if it gives you a few more miles!

J

[stimshady]

hmmm... looks like i might be needing a new clutch then - bummer.

[KillerJim]

stimshady said:

hmmm... looks like i might be needing a new clutch then - bummer.

How many miles did u get from it? (and what sort of driving..)

[stimshady]

I bought it with 15K on the clock last Sept, now done just over 5K more, current mileage just over 20K.

I don't drive it like a pansey, but i'm also not Michael Schumacher! I also try not to ride the clutch and make good gear changes.

However, it did have a rebuild at 10K according to logbook so wondering if the early owners ragged it.

I guess 20K-ish is about right for a clutch? (presumably, it's the original style from 2004 as i understand it's been redesigned slightly?).

[stimshady]

just been out and it didn't feel too bad today. i noticed that if i pump the clutch a couple of times, it goes into gear easier and doesn't crunch in reverse... the clutch peddle feels firm so maybe it's the slave?

[KillerJim]

stimshady said:

just been out and it didn't feel too bad today. i noticed that if i pump the clutch a couple of times, it goes into gear easier and doesn't crunch in reverse... the clutch peddle feels firm so maybe it's the slave?

If your looking for a few extra miles then you can put that car into reverse with the engine off or when you need to get 1st gear, drop into first as you are doing about 5mph (i.e. slowing down at traffic lights)

[supercrispy]

Is the lever arm on the rear of the pedal loose?
Mine went out of adjustment slightly and had these symptoms, a simple slight lenthening of the lever arm solved the problem, still ok 3 yrs later.

[stimshady]

hmmm..not sure... i will check - thanks.

[GreenV8S]

It sounds as if the clutch isn't releasing fully. This is probably a hydraulic problem and the fact it seems to improve with pumping confirms it. I understand the clutch slave on that model is concentric so not accessible without a lot of work, but you should have a remote bleed line for it. So a first step would be to check the clutch fluid level, second step flush and bleed the clutch.

[Aowhs102]

Mine did this a while ago, having to pump the pedal to get into/out of gear etc, I belive it was the slave. A 10k rebuild seems fairly early... was the cluch not changed then?


ETA- dont worry about reverse crunching, they all do that. Just keep the clutch down, pop it into 5th and then into reverse, it should work fine.

Edited by Aowhs102 on Thursday 27th August 14:30

[stimshady]

don't think the clutch got changed at the 10K rebuild, i think it was just the engine (and which parts of the engine i'm not sure of, probably just top end, fingers etc)...

[stimshady]

SOLUTION?: Was chatting to my mate over the weekend, he's more mechanically minded than me, and we started looking at the problem, anyway, he noticed a bit of play in the clutch pedal.

Rather than taking the stop off behind the clutch pedal, we tried to take the play out it by adjusting the nuts and bar attaching the clutch pedal to the bracket behind the plate. The play didnt disappear completely but what has happened is the pedal itself now sits a couple of mm further forward.

This has completely transformed the problem. First goes in easier than it ever has before (even before this problem started) and reverse is not grinding either. And you don't have to push the pedal to the floor either.

I checked the DOT4 fluid and that was fully topped up and both myself and my mate don't think the clutch is gone as it's got a good resistance still.

So maybe it just needed a bit of adjustment after-all? (will find out for sure when it's serviced on Saturday, but it feels totally different now so i may hold off replacing anything for now).

Any thoughts?

[d1dnt]

When you are selecting Reverse are you still selecting either 4th or 5th before hand?

[stimshady]

yes 5th before, always. (although it hardly needs it with this adjustment).

[d1dnt]

Mines going in for a service in the next 2 weeks i will ask him to make this adjustment. Thanks for that.