Technical Interior front light and clutch sticking to floor!

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Technical Interior front light and clutch sticking to floor!

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May 17, 2009
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My nice stilo has been behaving for a few months but stuck in traffic yesterday and the clutch stuck to the floor ! It happened a couple of times but didn't feel right before it happened. After 3 times of using my hand to lift it back up it has been ok again. No fluid loss as far as I can tell happened once before about 6 months ago but nothing since then , any ideas?

I also have the internal front light not working when open doors back one works and reading lights ok anyone know fuse number and if likely to be bulb?

My glovebox hinge has also snapped but that is for another day !:confused:

Any help appreciated as always :)
 
If your clutch pedal is going right to the floor and staying there then look for a hydraulic fluid problem leak at the slave cylinder

You don't say what engine you have so it could be an internal or external slave cylinder. External cylinder makes it easy to spot a fluid leak
 
Hi.
I had the clutch problem, see if the stop is still in place on the carpet below the pedal; mine went missing which left a hole in the carpet which the underside of the pedal would catch in sometimes.
I glued a piece of plastic over the hole and problem solved.
The bulb in the light has to be the easiest thing to start with.
 
Hi

Thanks for your replies, it is a 1.6 Dynamic - I should know now to put the engine size on there, I have been on here often enough :D

I have just driven 100 miles and it hasn't done it since so not sure if it is when it gets hot, would it be an external slave cylinder?

In terms of interior light, do you just pull out the cluster?

Thanks for your help, superb once again!
 
That'll be an external slave cylinder. That's good as they're the easiest to spot a leak and by far the cheapest and easiest to replace

As it's sticking at the fully down position then it might be a physical jam but as it's only sticking now and again and only when your engine is hot then it's far more likely to be something like slave cylinder sticking or master cylinder seal leak allowing fluid by. I'd try bleeding the clutch at the slave cylinder first (Look in the Stilo Guides) just in case there's any air or old contaminated in there as the system needs good hydraulics to return the pedal as that's all there is to bring it back up again.

Try and make it happen when stationary with a hot engine and using your clutch. When the pedal sticks down leave it there and go check the slave cylinder and see if the piston rod is extended or retracted. If it's retracted then the problem is at the master cylinder/ pedal end. If it's still extended then the problem is at the slave cylinder

front in light 1.JPG
Front interior light
 
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Hi

Will check that out when get a chance.

Also, can it fail the MOT for potential clutch issue?

Have said to garage to check it over when it goes in but shouldn't cause a failure in current state as may have been stuck pedal !

Cheers
 
If your clutch pedal is going right to the floor and staying there then look for a hydraulic fluid problem leak at the slave cylinder

You don't say what engine you have so it could be an internal or external slave cylinder. External cylinder makes it easy to spot a fluid leak

Hello,
I am from the Netherlands and currently in Spain.
Have a Fiat Stillo 1,9 JTD from 2003
My clutch peddle is also on the floor. :mad:
Fiat manuals are at home. :bang:
Can you help me with two questions?
1st. Do I have a slave cylinder,
2e. Where is it located.
Thanks in advance. (y)
 
Thanks for the help again. :)
I have not been able to fix it myself, bleeding did not solve the problem. :eek:
So I have been to the dealer and they replaced the thrust bearing and friction plate.
I hope i translated this correct into English.
"Oh, and all the fluid sir." "Thanks that is very good." ;)
I have seen the bearing and when i turned it round it sounded like there where sand in it. (n)
The friction plate was almost gone so they replaced it now the gear was open.
Is this not a little early after only 186.000 Km? :devil:
Again thanks, this is a great forum (y)
 
Glad it's all fixed, I expect it feels much nicer. Not much you can do when an internal slave cylinder leaks but to replace the whole lot as you've done.
I would think 186.000km to be a good life for a clutch, it depends a lot on how how you use it
 
" it depends a lot on how how you use it "
I press it with my left feed when I switch gear. :eek:
Sorry, but I am very happy it is fixed , it feels very good now. Nice smooth grip.
I think i drive very relaxed.
Thanks again.
 
I have a 1.6 and my clutch is also sometimes stuck to the floor.
I checked the carpet and it's not in the way.
When I'm not in traffic everything's fine but when I have to stop a lot it's a nightmare. Also when I have to use the clutch often on one trip it starts to squeak like if it's rusted or something (sprayed with lube but does not help for long)
I checked the level of the brake/clutch fluid and it's full and when I press the clutch the level doesn't drop or rise.

So far I checked the forum and found 3 options:
1) master cilinder needs replacing
2) slave cilinder needs replacing
3) faulty springsystem on the master cilinder

Who can help me which option is the most likely cause ?
 
With a friend I replaced the master and slave cilinders (master was broken). Job was not easy because of rust several tubes were stuck and nearly broke off. When you want to on the safe side I recommend purchasing a new tube that connects master and slave cilinder. Could not bleed clutch because of to much pressure, so we used a bottle and tube on slave cilinder. Clutch feels smooth now hope everything stays okay.
 
Greetings!

I did have this problem until a few days ago.
The brake fluid was 2 years old or less but the car was parked most of that time.

When I made a cold start the clutch would stick down to floor and I would have to pull it up with my foot.
Usually it would behave like this for the first 3 minutes and then it would work well the rest of the day.

No brake fluid leak and the level was always the same.

Saw the 'Eric the car guy' video on how to change the brake fluid and bleed the system, and I changed it.
Problem fixed.
Now the clutch never sticks down or comes up slowly.
This made me realize how important is to change the brake fluid when the clutch system is hydraulic.

My regards

ps. My Fiat is a Stilo MW 1.9 JTD 2003.
 
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