This seems to be an intermittent problem - sometimes I depress the clutch pedal, select a gear, let pedal up but.... no gear engagement.

Seems very odd but matters will eventually 'correct' if I take it out of gear, then jump up & down on the pedal several times.

I think (but am I right?) that clutch on 1.4 is cable operated - should I be able to see any movements down in engine bay, when I get someone else to press pedal down/up?

Anyone else had this problem? Any advice/thoughts please !

First check if it's cable operated if it is then it's bad news, if hydraulic check the fluid and slave cylinder first.

Thanks for single response - I was beginning to wonder if this was a dead forum !

Well, in light of no big help, guess I'll just have to go to a garage for advice (and charges!)

Jack said:

Thanks for single response - I was beginning to wonder if this was a dead forum !

Well, in light of no big help, guess I'll just have to go to a garage for advice (and charges!)

Click to expand...

You have a very unusual problem with car.
Probably why you only had one reply.
It is time to go to garage for eyes/hands on diagnosis.
Please come back to forum and let us know what fault is.

Normally clutch problems on forum are pedal down and can't get into gear. Rather than yours which, if I understand correctly, is you can engage gear but then when you let pedal up the car doesn't move.
Could be your clutch pressure plate fingers are very worn allowing the release bearing to nearly push through and past the ends of the fingers.

Jack

LHD cars have a cable clutch, RHD cars a hydraulic one.

This could be a problem with the pedal mechanism having distorted and becoming partially jammed; get down in the driver's side footwell and operate the clutch by hand, looking carefully at what is happening.

This has been reported on here a few times; the pedal mechanism is deliberately weak so as to offer some protection agaisnt breaking your foot in an accident.

Thanks for responses - it's interesting that my problem seems not to be a common one and I accept the point that this will have effected the number of comments!

I spoke to a garage earlier today; they were as bemused as me, not having come across the complaint before; they suggest taking it in for a check over but the problem is very intermittent so I'm not sure that would shed light.

I've had a look down in the pedal box area but functionality seems fine (clutch is working normally today!) though I noticed a drip of hydraulic fluid on the rubber boot that surrounds the push rod. I've wiped clean and will keep a watch, to see if fluid reappears (reservoirs are looking ok, no obvious drop in levels btw).

Does the push rod act on a master cylinder, does anyone happen to know? Suppose that's likely, in which case maybe drip of fluid points to seal failure, though why that would give intermittent probs is not clear to me!

Jack said:

Does the push rod act on a master cylinder, does anyone happen to know? Suppose that's likely, in which case maybe drip of fluid points to seal failure, though why that would give intermittent probs is not clear to me!

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Yes, that pushrod operates the clutch master cylinder directly. They are known to weep slightly; have you checked the fluid level in the clutch master cylinder?

Clutch fluid should be changed every 2 years, along with the brake fluid. Changing it now is the first thing I'd try in your situation.

Also read this thread.

If you do need to replace the clutch master cylinder, it's a straightforward job, but the part isn't cheap. This is one of the cheapest sources; if you donate to the forum, we'll give you a code to get a 10% discount.

Thanks for confirmation of push rod >master cylinder; the illustration in the link you gave is also quite handy, as I couldn't quickly spot which reservoir fed clutch/brakes, now I know!

I don't think there has been any appreciable drop in fluid level, per my initial check, but I'll now look again.

Well, after several uneventful outings, today the problem re-occurred, with the pedal 'feeling' different underfoot but action coming back after some frantic up/down pumping!

I'm kinda thinking that the clutch mechanism might be 'sticking' on the central spline - is that possible and is there any way to lubricate, short of taking the engine/box apart?

It's quite annoying right now - it comes & goes quite unpredicably, though hotter days may be a factor, as I've noticed it happens then.....

Jack said:

Well, after several uneventful outings, today the problem re-occurred, with the pedal 'feeling' different underfoot but action coming back after some frantic up/down pumping!

I'm kinda thinking that the clutch mechanism might be 'sticking' on the central spline - is that possible and is there any way to lubricate, short of taking the engine/box apart?.

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The clutch sticking on the central spline would cause difficulty in disengaging the clutch, ie when trying to get into first or reverse.
This is really unlikely to be anything to do with the clutch and pressure plate.
It takes quite a bit of force to move the pressure plate springs, let alone for them to seize or get stuck. A very remote possibility that one of the leaf springs of the pressure plate has broken and some how jams the mechanism occasionally... Not sure I can imagine this though.

Your most likely culprit is swollen seals in the clutch master cylinder that jam the clutch slave cylinder on. This would be my first point of call and changing the brake fluid in the clutch system will make no difference, i would replace both the clutch master and slave cylinders!

Good thoughts about master cylinder seals - I'd talked myself into the stuck-on-spline theory but MC is everybit (and more) plausible.

Think I'll check out costs to get it replaced, thanks!

Well, I finally bit the bullet and put the car into my friendly garage: they agreed hydraulics as most likely cause of my problem and set about replacing the whole master to slave cylinder run.

This apparently has to come Fiat, as no one does a pattern version, and the Fiat stockist said that they recognise this as a 'common issue' (!!!).

They sell the assembly pre-filled, so it is quite cheap to fit, tho it cost about £300 as final bill for parts/labour - does seem fixed though, so 'fingers crossed' !

(A final thanks for all responses!)

Jack said:

Well, I finally bit the bullet and put the car into my friendly garage: they agreed hydraulics as most likely cause of my problem and set about replacing the whole master to slave cylinder run.

This apparently has to come Fiat, as no one does a pattern version, and the Fiat stockist said that they recognise this as a 'common issue' (!!!).

They sell the assembly pre-filled, so it is quite cheap to fit, tho it cost about £300 as final bill for parts/labour - does seem fixed though, so 'fingers crossed' !

(A final thanks for all responses!)

Click to expand...

Slave cylinder is about £20, mine cost £17 on offer, the master can be got from Poland for about £50 from Ebay