[MRyan]

Morning all,

I jumped in my car yesterday after it had been sat about 24 hours, it fired up fine etc with nothing wrong there. But I immediately noticed the clutch pedal was ridiculously light for half of its top travel, then the end of the travel is stiff and spongy. The gear change feels a bit notchy too!

The car had a new clutch and flywheel about 2 months ago and alls been fine until yesterday. Am I right to suspect the slave or master cylinder? And can I just visually check these?

Typical that it's happened on a bank holiday weekend!

 

[_The_Editor_]

Yea that sounds like a hydraulic leak for sure! Light pedal, all the action at the end, and a slightly draggy clutch because you can't get the full action. Next time you get in the car, try pumping the pedal a few times before changing gear.

I'd suspect the slave first - easiest check is to get the battery out, remove the tray liner, and have a good look underneath on the top of the gearbox and bell housing for an oily mess.

Easy enough fix, just a pain to get the parts on a bank hol weekend!

 

[alfacad]

check for end float in crank shaft, mine was a bit iffy before it went

 

[MRyan]

Where abouts is the end float? I'll have a proper look tomorrow by the looks of today's plans! I had a quick gander with a torch at the slave and it seemed to be dry at first glance, but to be fair that wasn't the best of looks!

 

[gtv160]

check for end float in crank shaft, mine was a bit iffy before it went

I would have thought that, whilst possible ok, is likely to be a worst case scenario for these sympton on this engine. I would be checking the usual, cheaper suspects first before worrying about endfloat. Hope you are not as unfortunate as alfacad as I would imagine end foat issues are expensive to resolve.

 

[gtv160]

Where abouts is the end float?

This is axial movement of the crankshaft ie in/out along its axis caused by wear -thrust washers on some engines (not sure about the Alfa 1.9). Suppose it could be checked by pulling crank pulley in/out -measure with a guage. Really a worst case situation for you with these symptons.

 

[MRyan]

Yeah after some research I'd hope that's not the case! It seems like the slave/master cylinder are fairly common and also cheap, so I'd hope it's either of them - I'll also check my brake fluid level to see if it's dropped. The alternative is something around the pedal assembly it seems, after some googling!

 

[ransoman]

Checking for end float on the crank is a ridiculous suggestion, is highly unlikely and only in the very worst cases and likely to cause undue worry to the original poster. Did you suggest this only to troll?

It is very obviously a hydraulic problem. The seals will have gone in either the master or slave and will have let in some air. stick your head under the dashboard and look at the top of the clutch pedal and identify the master cylinder. If you see any fluid dripping off it then replace it. The slave is under the battery, you should be able to see if it has leaked by looking at the front of the gearbox. If it looks original then I would replace it anyway.

If it is neither of these then the release bearing may have failed on the new clutch. This is very unlikely but can happen (I should know ) Check with whoever replaced the clutch if they also replaced the release bearing as it is not always included in the kit.

 

[Barnybuck]

I had the same a couple of weeks ago with my clutch pedal, didnt seem to be firm, i changed the clutch and brake fluid and its a lot better

 

[MRyan]

Quick update, drove the car lots today and the clutch was feeling completely normal again! The level hasnt moved and the slave cylinder looks dry. The only thing that changed before it went funny on me is I happened to remove the cap to check the level in the reservoir - I obviously checked that again and removed/replaced the cap when it went all light. Could I have not screwed the cap on properly or something?

At least its feeling normal at the moment!

 

[t3yls]

Quick update, drove the car lots today and the clutch was feeling completely normal again! The level hasnt moved and the slave cylinder looks dry. The only thing that changed before it went funny on me is I happened to remove the cap to check the level in the reservoir - I obviously checked that again and removed/replaced the cap when it went all light. Could I have not screwed the cap on properly or something?

At least its feeling normal at the moment!

yes it could be that Rodney, you plonker :biglaugh:

 

[MRyan]

Pahaha, well I hope that's it fixed at a cost of 0 pence then!