Hi,


The clutch pedal, on our 1.1 panda, Feels stiff, (is this Normal'?)


at first ithought, it was a cable clutch, it certainly feel's like it is,


Anyhow, ihad alook and its, Hydraulic,




Car as been on a Trader's fourcourt along while,Sat Idle..




Any ideas.? or do you rekon, it will free up in its own time, after some use.,


other than the stiff pedal...the clutch is fine, no slipping and there seems to be plenty of life left in it..

Fresh fluid works wonders sometimes

gr J

Fresh fluid is a good suggestion, but ... of itself it will not make the clutch feel less stiff, only more positive.
Clutch fluid, like brake fluid, is hygroscopic - it absorbs moisture. Over time this can give a 'spongy' feel to the pedal.

As far as the stiffness goes, I would suspect some mechanical cause, such as a dry pedal joint (easily lubricated). Does the pedal return easily when you lift your foot? If it returns freely, then that suggests stiffness in the clutch release mechanism itself. Use the clutch as much as possible for a few days, and see if it eases off.

Recently fixed mine. Master and slave cylinders are plastic and as they wear, they get stiff. Mine held the pedal down in a busy situation. Foot under it and lifted brought it back, but held a couple of times more before I got home.

New master cylinder looks expensive, but this one fits:http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-F...0024181182&clk_rvr_id=837612891970&rmvSB=true

See post #11 of this thread for more detail, and the thread it links to. https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/241747-clutch-problems.html

Best to do both master and slave cylinders. Mine is now nice and easy again.

They also get heavy when the friction plate wears as you're having to push against the pressure plate's springs more.

That's an interesting comment about pressure plate springs.
I always thought that, as the friction plate gets thinner with wear, the springs expanded to take up the 'slack', which suggests that their tension would lessen, not increase.
Be happy to get corrected on this one.

Sweetsixteen said:

I always thought that, as the friction plate gets thinner with wear, the springs expanded to take up the 'slack', which suggests that their tension would lessen, not increase.

Click to expand...

That's true of the old coil sprung pressure plates, as they wore the springs extended and they ended up slipping far sooner due to the decrease in clamping force on the wearing friction plate.

Diaphragm clutch pressure plates tend to increase the load when the friction plate becomes worn (and thinner).
The advanages are slipping is reduced as wear takes place, also when new (or in good condition) less force is required to release the friction plate than coil sprung pressure plates.

That's why clutches tend to last a bit longer than they did in the olde days, but they can then suddenly stiffen up rather than become all floppy.

Thanks all,


Clutch pedal returns ..freely,
it just feels like the pedal is under some strong tension,(strong spring)


theres no problem selecting gears etc,


weve been driving a fairly new car for a while..so the clutch on that was realy light.


iwill drive it for a while and see how it goes,


weve got another panda in the family so iwill compare it to that next time sister n law comes round,