Hi,hopefully someone may be able to help me please.
Fiat 500 multijet diesel 2008 65000miles
Clutch started slipping badly at 2000 Rpm (when turbo kicks in) in any gear. Clutch pedal bite has always been right at top of travel.
Had garage fit new luk full clutch kit. They commented that on stripdown that old clutch looked good, little wear and no oil present in gearbox bellhousing. Arm was free and not seized.
On test drive new clutch still slipping. Grrrrrr
Have since fitted new genuine fiat slave cylinder, the updated one with the round damper instead of the curly pipe and bless the system. common upgrade apparently. On testdrive all was good for first 8 miles then slipping again!!
Only thing not changed now is the master cylinder.
Would this make clutch slip if faulty? Surely it would work the other way around? Ie, difficult to engage gears.

Car is undrivable now as don't want to burn new clutch kut.
Any thoughts anyone please?

Thank you scott.

Bent clutch arm fork?

Damaged splines on gearbox input shaft?

Rsv75 said:

Any thoughts anyone please?

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Take it back to the garage who replaced the clutch.

Either they failed to spot a seriously worn or damaged part (as per John's suggestion), they didn't do the job properly, or the parts they supplied were incorrect or defective. Whatever, it should rightly be their problem (unless you supplied the parts, in which case you might have a claim against whoever supplied them, but likely the parts factor and the garage will just blame each other).

I hear where you are coming from but unfortunately I took the car in and asked them to change the clutch as it was slipping. I didn’t ask them to diagnose the problem first. Wrongly I just assumed it just needed the clutch replacing.
I’m not sure how the clutch arm could just become bent?

Rsv75 said:

I hear where you are coming from but unfortunately I took the car in and asked them to change the clutch as it was slipping. I didn’t ask them to diagnose the problem first. Wrongly I just assumed it just needed the clutch replacing.
I’m not sure how the clutch arm could just become bent?

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I still think the garage is your first port of call.

I'm wondering about the condition of the flywheel face; they can sometimes distort if they seriously overheat due to a slipping clutch. Any decent garage should check this and verify that the runout is within limits when replacing a clutch.

Clutch hydraulics are a known weak point on RHD Fiats but, as you say, this generally causes the clutch to drag rather than slip.

Whatever, I'd say this is going to have to be stripped down again, and unless you're going to replace the clutch again, it'll need to be towed to wherever it's repaired.

Condolences - this is a headache I'm sure you could well do without.

Thanks very much for your replies.
I will get the master cylinder changed just to eliminate it as it’s an easy job. If still no joy then yes the gearbox will have to come off again. What an absolute pain.

Rsv75 said:

Thanks very much for your replies.
I will get the master cylinder changed just to eliminate it as it’s an easy job. If still no joy then yes the gearbox will have to come off again. What an absolute pain.

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It's certainly an easy job but from memory the parts aren't that cheap.

I'm trying to think of a failure mode whereby the MC would hold hydraulic pressure when the pedal was released, since that's the only thing I can think of that changing a MC would fix.

Just a thought check the clutch pedal to check it properly returns to its correct resting position?

Thanks guys, will brave the snow and have a look this morning.
There are a couple of genuine fiat 500 master cylinders with pipe work on eBay for the petrol models. The only difference I can see from the diesel model is the rubber tube to the fluid pot is a different length because the pot fastens to the passenger side of the bulkhead instead of the drivers side. Cylinder could have a different bore etc though I suppose.Will have to phone fiat for a price for the diesel version. ?
I had read somewhere about master cylinders going faulty not allowing fluid to return and pressure to build up but I may be just clutching at straws here.

Rsv75 said:

Will have to phone fiat for a price for the diesel version. ��

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That shop4parts link I posted earlier is probably the best deal you're going to find on an OEM part. If you make a donation to this forum we'll give you a code to get a further 10% off that price.

Ok, so I have fitted a brand new clutch master cylinder/slave cylinder including all the pipe work. Blead the system and checked pedal is in its fully returned home position which it is. Road tested the car and was fine again for the first 5 mile but now back to slipping anything over quarter throttle.
Everything on the outside of the box is new so problem must lie within the box.
Car is back with the garage and they are stripping it to see if they can find the problem. They are thinking a faulty new clutch assembly that they fitted but we shall see. Another new clutch is with them ready to try again. When they have it stripped I will go and have a look for myself and clock the flywheel etc.

Thanks for keeping us up to date on this.

I'm sorry to hear that replacing all the hydraulics hasn't solved the problem. At least you now have a 'known good' clutch operating system which should last you the remainder of the life of the car.

Fingers crossed that the garage find the cause soon, and that it doesn't end up costing you any more money.

Be interesting what they say, my concern is that they said the original clutch looked in good condition ie not worn ?

.... so they might have just re-fitted it...?


Or am I being too cynical?


Ralf S.

Ok. So I have been to garage today to inspect the car now that it is stripped back down.
The splines are good. The Arm is unworn, doesn’t appear bent or damaged. Flywheel looks unworn and I have checked it with a dti and only has a 0.05mm runout on it. Maybe a little glazed so I will skim it tonight at work to be sure but don’t think it’s a problem.
The clutch Was definitely fitted correctly with the plate being marked up “gearbox side”.
The new clutch kit that was fitted still looks brand new but will be changed again for another brand new luk 620311500 unit exchanged under warranty.
Can anyone confirm this is the correct one for the 1.3 multijet? I can’t help but think it’s maybe for the 1.2 petrol and isn’t up to the job or are they not the same? I could have been supplied the wrong unit.
Should I just fit a genuine fiat one to be sure?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

All I can say is the clutch for a 1.2 is different but the same physical size

Rsv75 said:

The new clutch kit that was fitted still looks brand new but will be changed again for another brand new luk 620311500 unit exchanged under warranty.
Can anyone confirm this is the correct one for the 1.3 multijet? I can’t help but think it’s maybe for the 1.2 petrol and isn’t up to the job or are they not the same?
Should I just fit a genuine fiat one to be sure?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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That part number that you give shows suitable for a 500 1.2, 1.4 or a 1.3D with 75BHP
BUT Fiat show two different part numbers for a 1.2 clutch and a 1.3D Clutch
The clutch for the 1.2 and the 1.4 is the same, but Fiat give a different part number for the 1.3D clutch!!
Shop4Parts is showing an uprated clutch for a 95 BHP 1.3D

Thanks for your suggestions/comments everyone. Much appreciated. Hopefully together we will get this sorted!!
Looks like all model clutches will fit then?
Might be worth going with the clutch from parts4less. The updated one for the 95bhp model. I presume it will be a straight fit on the earlier 75bhp model as I think the 95bhp multijet is the physically same engine/gearbox and only a few tweaks to the mapping etc?

Rsv75 said:

Looks like all model clutches will fit then?
Might be worth going with the clutch from parts4less.

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No Fiat don't think so! Thats the point.
Sure Shop4Parts will you supply Fiat or OEM for a lot less than a dealer