Northern Auto Tech - ECU and Blue & Me Repairs

Technical Clutch Problems

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Technical Clutch Problems

danharwood

danharwood

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Jan 10, 2010
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Hi

I've got an 07 100HP 23k on the clock. Last Weds I noticed that the clutch pedal was a bit sticky as I got to work and then again when I left work, but then appeared to be fine for the rest of the journey home.

On the Thurs set off for work no problems with the pedal. Then about halfway there the pedal became sticky again (as in it didn't want to return to the normal position after being depressed) and it became difficult to get into gear, when I finally got it into a gear (2nd) even with the clutch pedal fully depressed the car was trying to drive forwards as if the clutch was engaged, as I was in a queue of traffic I got it back into neutral but it then refused to go into any gear and the RAC towed it home where it has remained ever since.

I was just wondering if anyone else has had anything similar happen or has had any other clutch problems or from the description above might be able to narrow the problem down further than 'the clutch' as I'm planning to get in touch with Fiat about it, yes I know it's out of warranty now but 23k on the clock with full dealer s/history somethings not quite right there.

Cheers
Dan
 
If you pump the pedal several times in quick succession does the clutch free? Sounds like a problem with the cylinder at the pedal end - the cylinder that's supposed to transmit movement from the pedal to the slave cylinder at the clutch end - seal failure?, needs bleeding?, contaminated fluid?
 
Like Babbo said, sounds like the master cylinder is failing and it isn't transmitting enough pressure to the slave cylinder, or there's air in the system...

Regards to the Warranty, are you still within the dealerships 3 year warranty?

Regards
AeroMad
 
Hi Guys
Thanks for the responses, its nice to have some clarification on this

babbo_umbro have just been out to try pumping the clutch, unfortunately it didn't work but I did notice a couple of things:
-the clutch pedal is very very light, ie it needs hardly any pressure to be fully depressed and returns to the normal up position just as easily
-without depressing the pedal I tried to put it into the gears, it didn't allow me to go any further than a couple of mm into each slot, however when i tried to put it into gears 1&2 the car pulled itself forward ever so slowly. There was no change to this action with the clutch depressed and when I tried to put it into reverse (with & without depressing the clutch) it made the crunching/grinding noise as if the clutch plates weren;t pulled fully apart.

As to the warranty AeroMad the 3rd year dealer warranty expired at the end of march.

Hope this helps to clarify the situation.
Dan
 
danharwood said:
Hi

I've got an 07 100HP 23k on the clock. Last Weds I noticed that the clutch pedal was a bit sticky as I got to work and then again when I left work, but then appeared to be fine for the rest of the journey home.

On the Thurs set off for work no problems with the pedal. Then about halfway there the pedal became sticky again (as in it didn't want to return to the normal position after being depressed) and it became difficult to get into gear, when I finally got it into a gear (2nd) even with the clutch pedal fully depressed the car was trying to drive forwards as if the clutch was engaged, as I was in a queue of traffic I got it back into neutral but it then refused to go into any gear and the RAC towed it home where it has remained ever since.

I was just wondering if anyone else has had anything similar happen or has had any other clutch problems or from the description above might be able to narrow the problem down further than 'the clutch' as I'm planning to get in touch with Fiat about it, yes I know it's out of warranty now but 23k on the clock with full dealer s/history somethings not quite right there.

Cheers
Dan
Click to expand...


Hi Dan - did you find out what was causing your clutch problems because I am experiencing the same. Except in my case, the clutch stays stuck to the floor when I try to change gears. Looking forward to figuring out what the problem is because I don't have a Fiat agent nearby and with this problem, can't drive the 200 kms to get to the nearest one!
 
hsb said:
Hi Dan - did you find out what was causing your clutch problems because I am experiencing the same. Except in my case, the clutch stays stuck to the floor when I try to change gears. Looking forward to figuring out what the problem is because I don't have a Fiat agent nearby and with this problem, can't drive the 200 kms to get to the nearest one!
Click to expand...


Hi hsb,
In the end it turned out that it was the slave cylinder. A seal on it was faulty and so it had sprung a leak.
Hope that helps!
 
danharwood said:
Hi hsb,
In the end it turned out that it was the slave cylinder. A seal on it was faulty and so it had sprung a leak.
Hope that helps!
Click to expand...


Hi again Dan - I've just been looking up more info on the internet and yes, slave or master cylinder can be one problem, but also a few others can be causing the clutch to stick. It looks like I have no choice but to figure out how to get the car to a mechanic for a proper identification of the problem. Thanks for replying - much appreciated! By the way, this is a very useful website for trying to figure out what is causing car hassles: .... oh well, the administrator won't allow me to post the URL, but it is at www . ehow . com and one of the ones I got info from was www . ehow . com / how 6741808 bad-clutch-master-cylinder . html ................ sorry had to space it out so it doesn't appear in URL format!
 
Our 1.2 had same problem the other week and had to be towed in to the garage. Turned out to be a worn friction plate not that the missus ever rides the clutch or anything even though it had only done 18000 miles. £440 later all well again though now the front passenger door won't open from outside.
 
Wee Smurf said:
The joys of plastic parts in the locking mechanism.
Click to expand...

<gets on soapbox>

Made worse by folks who spray WD40 into the mechanism (n). WD40 is aggressive to some plastics and most rubbers. It will literally dissolve latex gloves off your hand.

Use a silicone spray instead (y).

<gets off soapbox>
 
Last edited:
Hydraulics are most likely cause.

Slave cylinders are quite cheap from Carparts4less:http://www.carparts4less.co.uk/cp4l...2ed134f26f33955815af180acd0e5354d56f3d&000072
LUK is good make and comes with the curly feed pipe.

Master cylinder is horrendously expensive, except here:http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-F...5225453-/221255619661?clk_rvr_id=750024181182
See this thread for background:https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/353640-100hp-clutch-master-cylinder-slight-confusion.html
Had problem of stiffening pedal, then on one occasion in stop/start traffic pedal stuck down. Fitted both cylinders, all now working well and much lighter action.
 
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jrkitching said:
<gets on soapbox>

Made worse by folks who spray WD40 into the mechanism (n). WD40 is aggressive to some plastics and most rubbers. It will literally dissolve latex gloves off your hand.

Use a silicone spray instead (y).

<gets off soapbox>
Click to expand...

Your soapbox will be worn out soon!

I only know about the plastic bits because mine came with one broken handle at the back. It's been fine since it was replaced almost 10 years ago. :)
 
SurreyAlan said:
Our 1.2 had same problem the other week and had to be towed in to the garage. Turned out to be a worn friction plate not that the missus ever rides the clutch or anything even though it had only done 18000 miles. £440 later all well again though now the front passenger door won't open from outside.
Click to expand...


Goodness, that sounds expensive! I've been told (without the mechanic exploring all possible causes) that I need a new clutch kit. The purchase of this and labour is going to be about £125, which seems 'reasonable'. However, what really is unacceptable are the problems appearing with low mileage, such as your car as well. I also don't ride the clutch either, so clearly Fiat have some defects to work on. Weird that your door won't open now though - fix one problem and then have to deal with another just isn't cricket! Thanks for writing to me Alan - much appreciated!
 
Before condemning failures at low mileage, consider how, if at all that mileage will affect the failure.
A car that spends a lot of time on the motorway will achieve a high mileage with little wear to the clutch as it will spend most of those miles in top gear.
A car that does a small mileage, around town, regular shopping trips, etc., will give a lot of work to the clutch master and slave cylinders, and the clutch release bearing and cover. The amount of wear to the centreplate will depend mostly on technique, rather than number of times engaged.
Low mileages are more likely to give this sort of failure.
 
portland_bill said:
Before condemning failures at low mileage, consider how, if at all that mileage will affect the failure.
A car that spends a lot of time on the motorway will achieve a high mileage with little wear to the clutch as it will spend most of those miles in top gear.
A car that does a small mileage, around town, regular shopping trips, etc., will give a lot of work to the clutch master and slave cylinders, and the clutch release bearing and cover. The amount of wear to the centreplate will depend mostly on technique, rather than number of times engaged.
Low mileages are more likely to give this sort of failure.
Click to expand...

Point taken because I do tend to make short trips and very rare long ones!
 
I thought it was pricey too but the cheapest quote I got was 410. It's a bit under 4 hours book time and in Surrey that's around 70 an hour, add parts and vat and it quickly mounts up.
 
It is not corrosion of the cylinders as they are both plastic. Its just wear to them causing the pistons to stick.

Time to fit is short, cost is reasonable if you get the master from the link above, and can be done before taking the gearbox out.
 
SurreyAlan said:
I thought it was pricey too but the cheapest quote I got was 410. It's a bit under 4 hours book time and in Surrey that's around 70 an hour, add parts and vat and it quickly mounts up.
Click to expand...


Goodness, 70/per hour IS very expensive. I've been quoted R480 to do the entire job, excluding the clutch kit (equates to about 28 pounds). And the work is being done by a proper motor mechanical business in town - not a backstreet hacker!
 
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