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Technical Clutch pedal diagnosis

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Technical Clutch pedal diagnosis

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UncleJambo83

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setting out for a drive yesterday the clutch pedal went all the way to the floor and didn't come back up. Luckily I hadn't got too far from the house and I was able to get it into first, with the ignition off, restart it and carefully drive it home... snails pace.

Anyhow, hoping to diagnose the fault and determine whether it's a DIY job or not. Currently, with the clutch fully depressed, it doesn't disengage the clutch from the gears. I've read elsewhere that it could be a fluid leak and have fresh, clear oil on my drive consistent with this. However, I also read that the clutch and brake system share the same fluid reservoir.. but mine currently appears to be at the max level.

1.2 sporting

Cheers in advance
 
UncleJambo83 said:
setting out for a drive yesterday the clutch pedal went all the way to the floor and didn't come back up. Luckily I hadn't got too far from the house and I was able to get it into first, with the ignition off, restart it and carefully drive it home... snails pace.

Anyhow, hoping to diagnose the fault and determine whether it's a DIY job or not. Currently, with the clutch fully depressed, it doesn't disengage the clutch from the gears. I've read elsewhere that it could be a fluid leak and have fresh, clear oil on my drive consistent with this. However, I also read that the clutch and brake system share the same fluid reservoir.. but mine currently appears to be at the max level.

1.2 sporting

Cheers in advance
Click to expand...

Hi, :)
the clutch fluid will be in a small circular pot, marked DOT4
normally high on the bulkhead or inner wing,
20161117_100324.jpg

20161117_100337.jpg

NOT obvious in pics of our old 2001 sporting.. :(

I suspect if you look under the battery / on top of the gear box it'll be WET with fluid;)

Charlie - Oxford
 
Last edited:
Cheers for the reply. Yeah, the top of the gearbox does have fluid on it. However, assuming we're talking about the same pot (top left, whitish, just transparent enough for me to see the level of the fluid) this is actually exactly on the max marker. Seems like it'd have dropped in level considerably?

Anyhow, any ideas on what's next? If it helps with diagnosis, I never noticed any change in the clutch feel or function until it happened. I feel like that moist patch on the drive had been there a while, in some level, suggesting that it lost fluid gradually over time. I'll open it up tomorrow to take a real good look but any suggestions are welcome.

Cheers



Cheers
 
UncleJambo83 said:
Cheers for the reply. Yeah, the top of the gearbox does have fluid on it. However, assuming we're talking about the same pot (top left, whitish, just transparent enough for me to see the level of the fluid) this is actually exactly on the max marker. Seems like it'd have dropped in level considerably?

Anyhow, any ideas on what's next? If it helps with diagnosis, I never noticed any change in the clutch feel or function until it happened. I feel like that moist patch on the drive had been there a while, in some level, suggesting that it lost fluid gradually over time. I'll open it up tomorrow to take a real good look but any suggestions are welcome.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Hi,

the hydraulic "slave" cylinder sits on top of gearbox, and pushes the clutch arm,
these often just FAIL , no great warning.. ( but on fitting a new one...you may well notice a lighter , smoother action)

put a bit of kitchen roll/ towel on top of g-box,
then pump the clutch pedal a few times,
has it soaked the towel..??
 
The pedal behaves very strangely if the brake fluid cannot freely move in and out of the master cylinder behind [or in front] of the piston that pushes the fluid towards the slave. The pedal cannot go up or down without fluid moving with the master cylinder piston via some small holes in the master cylinder that connect to the main brake clutch fluid reservoir.

In normal use a 'weak' spring in the master should fully raise the pedal.

The weak spring in the master is needed to make sure the master piston returns past the fluid filling hole for the piston so any fluid that leaks at the slave is replenished.
 
Can u pull the clutch pedal up?
Is there any weird new noises as u drove it?

Also to note
Punto brake fluid tanks are bitches to read
Often fluid gets stuck in the filter making it look full when infact it really isnt!

Im pretty sure there is a spring on the pedal to pulk clutch back up anyway

As uve driven cars with shed loafs of air in clutch pedals and they still come up

I suspect eithe pressure plate has punched or the slave has popped
But without seeing the vehicle its often hard ti diagnose

Luckily the clutch slave cylinders are a plenty in scrappies and easy to change!
Bleedng via gravity should also do 90% of the work too!


Ziggu
 
Ok, slave cylinder had definitely gone. The arm was snapped and had worn its way through the boot, hence the fluid on my drive. So, ordered a replacement, fitted it but don't seem to be able to bleed it. The hydraulic fluid reservoir is definitely full but pumping the clutch does nothing to draw fluid into the system, as I assume it should. I should mention that the clutch no longer drops to the floor, it that helps at all.

Do I need to do something else to draw the oil into the system or have I got something else in the chain broken.
 
Right, they were fine the last I had checked but I also just checked the brakes and the pedal is rock solid. Can barely push it down at all.
 
UncleJambo83 said:
Right, they were fine the last I had checked but I also just checked the brakes and the pedal is rock solid. Can barely push it down at all.
Click to expand...
Brakes use vacuum assistance - so when the vacuum is depleated the brake pedal goes rock solid!

The clutch iirc needs the pipe pulling back to allow fluid to bleed out
Since master and slave is much lower than tank, id start by gravity bleeding
Once fluid is down to slave, id bleed slave properly

Ziggy
 
Ziggy122 said:
Brakes use vacuum assistance - so when the vacuum is depleated the brake pedal goes rock solid!

The clutch iirc needs the pipe pulling back to allow fluid to bleed out
Since master and slave is much lower than tank, id start by gravity bleeding
Once fluid is down to slave, id bleed slave properly

Ziggy
Click to expand...

Thanks Ziggy, does the high level in the fluid reservoir not suggest that the fluid isn't getting into the system for some reason though? Bleeding the slave properly would consist of pumping the clutch to build pressure then opening the bleed nipple?
 
Ziggy122 said:
Brakes use vacuum assistance - so when the vacuum is depleated the brake pedal goes rock solid!
Ziggy
Click to expand...

If you dont use the car for a while the pedal does not go rock solid.

Something is wrong

Since the clutch slave and the brake master are only connected at the fluid reservoir by a pipe I am supposing something has passed along the clutch fluid pipe and gone into the brake master cylinder?
 
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