Technical Clutch Slipping?

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Technical Clutch Slipping?

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Aug 11, 2006
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Ok wierd problem. I have a 96 Fiat Brava ELX 1.6.
If im driving in 2nd,3rd,4th or 5th gear and put my foot down the car will pull a very small amount and revs will fly high like im in neutral. I can rev the car just like if i had the clutch pedal down. If i take my foot off the accelerator the revs will drop and will go back to the normal revs for that speed with a small jerk (very small). :confused:

Is this a problem with the clutch or something else? :confused:

(I tried to explain it best i could) :yum:
 
reaper1988 said:
Ok wierd problem. I have a 96 Fiat Brava ELX 1.6.
If im driving in 2nd,3rd,4th or 5th gear and put my foot down the car will pull a very small amount and revs will fly high like im in neutral. I can rev the car just like if i had the clutch pedal down. If i take my foot off the accelerator the revs will drop and will go back to the normal revs for that speed with a small jerk (very small). :confused:

Is this a problem with the clutch or something else? :confused:

(I tried to explain it best i could) :yum:


Sounds very much like a knackered friction plate to me :(
New clutch is needed.

What mileage is the car
 
Oh sorry forgot to say...it dosent happen all the time. Sometimes the problems there when i start my car in the morning but then will get better. Then it may come back and go again :confused: Also i tryed to wheelspin a when i try that the wheels dont spin the engine make a deep sound and it will accelarate normaly then the clutch will smell. So i didnt try again.
 
Often clutches will slip when cold and then they will grip better when hot. My best guess is still with a worn clutch friction plate. If it is it will get steadily worse:(

Others on here more familiar with Fiats might offer some other suggestions.

The reason I believe your car did not wheel spin is because drive was probably being lost through the clutch slipping.
This can happen on cars with ok clutches, the wheels might have too much grip on a particular surface and trying to force them to spin, loads the clutch and driveshafts. The weakest link usually being the clutch. If it is not tip top then it will loose friction before the wheels do. The grip from the wheels is probably why your engine bogged down and forced the clutch to slip instead. The burning smell is the clutch friction plate, it burns because it is trying to grip the flywheel but is not grippy enough to do so and so the flywheel spins faster than the clutch friction plate.

here is a good link to a description of how a clutch works.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htm
 
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Don't forget oil contamination from either the rear main seal or even the gearbox (rare, but it happened to me). Will give exactly the same symptoms as a worn clutch. Did it go suddenly or was it gradual? Gearbox off job either way.

As above, don't screw your flywheel by cooking it.
 
its obvioulsy clutch slip, but as rusty123 says, how quickly the problem occured will tell you a lot about what the problem is. if this problem gradually got worse over several months then it is certainly clutch wear, at 76k this isnt unusual on a car that has had a learner driver or boy racer behind the wheel (or has been used is a lot of heavy traffic, had a lot of clutch play, etc.). if the problem has occured relatively quickly (from no problem to this in a matter of days), it is far more likely to be oil contamination. either way you will need to take the gearbox off and replace the clutch, but its also very important to fix any leak while the box is off, otherwise the new clutch wont last very long at all and you will be wasting your time. its instantly obvious if there has been an oil leak onto the clutch once you remove the box. finding the cause of the leak can be tricky because the oil gets flung everywhere.
 
The problem was there slightly for about a month then got progressivly worse. I was on the motorway the other day and in 5th it kept slipping so took it careful. Now its doing it nearly all the time. Its still drivable but i guess i need a new clutch.

Quoted £250 from Mr Clutch. :cry: So Broke!
 
yeah defo sounds like the clutch has gone just dont go doinglike me and go out into the sticks when its doing things like squeaking when you change gear or chugging when you go downhill i got stuck with no phone reception and took nigh on 2 hrs for recovery to come. have you had it serviced? i got mine at around 56K miles which is probably over recommended for a 1.4 but it was still going so i wasnt really worried until the clutch went. if not you need to the timing belt would probably need doin as well i had mine done when the clutch went and it runs like a sweetie there is a massive difference to notice when you have it done and th nice ppl sorted my gear box for me for nowt too. i love my car :p
 
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Timing belt was done a few thousand miles ago as it snapped and its had all the valves replaced (previous owner) all i need to do to it now is a oil change....and now a new clutch!
 
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