mk1 gear change issues
Discussion
Hi there!
I have recently purchased a mk1 1.8 mx5 and have been absolutely delighted with it until the other day. I drove a long distance, and on the return journey I was cruising on the motorway when traffic ahead forced me to change down my gears. Now I was able to take the car out of 5th but couldn't put it into any other gear. I stopped on the hard shoulder to cool down and managed to set off again and get home noticing the clutch pedal was lighter and the biting point very low.
I read up quickly about it and checked the master clutch cylinder reservoir, which was empty of any fluid. I filled up the reservoir with dot 3 fluid which allowed the operation of the clutch through all the gears except 2nd. I currently have to go from 1st to 3rd because I get gear crunching if I try putting it in 2nd. The only way I can get it into 2nd is matching the revs. I regularly check the fluid levels which have not dropped since.
Could it be that there has been a leek in the clutch cylinder, and that it is likely to need replacing or bleeding to remove any air, or does it sound like something more ominous?
Any help would be much appreciated
I have recently purchased a mk1 1.8 mx5 and have been absolutely delighted with it until the other day. I drove a long distance, and on the return journey I was cruising on the motorway when traffic ahead forced me to change down my gears. Now I was able to take the car out of 5th but couldn't put it into any other gear. I stopped on the hard shoulder to cool down and managed to set off again and get home noticing the clutch pedal was lighter and the biting point very low.
I read up quickly about it and checked the master clutch cylinder reservoir, which was empty of any fluid. I filled up the reservoir with dot 3 fluid which allowed the operation of the clutch through all the gears except 2nd. I currently have to go from 1st to 3rd because I get gear crunching if I try putting it in 2nd. The only way I can get it into 2nd is matching the revs. I regularly check the fluid levels which have not dropped since.
Could it be that there has been a leek in the clutch cylinder, and that it is likely to need replacing or bleeding to remove any air, or does it sound like something more ominous?
Any help would be much appreciated
When I had this problem I ordered a slave cylinder and it turned out to be the master that nbeeded replacing. Luckily I'd ordered one just to be safe. Slave is easy to replace, just jack up the RHS and you can get to it. Master is a bit of a sod because one stud comes out in the footwell next to the pedal, but the other is in the engine compartment and is a three or four handed job! In fact my mechanic gave me a hefty discount on the job because I helped him with this part of it.
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