:bang:
Has anyone had this problem with their Cinq or Sei before? I am having trouble shifting gear. The cable was replaced a little while ago when it snapped and for a while I had perfect shifting. Now it has an intermittent fault where the clutch just will not disengage fully and it's just about impossible to change gear. Revving it up a bit sometimes help, sometimes not, and often at traffic lights I have to stop the engine, put it in gear and restart it. Other times the clutch releases perfectly and the gears change really smoothly. Anybody got any ideas?
Thanks

Welcome

Adjust the clutch as your starting point.

It could be that the clutch will need replaced, breaking of clutch cable usually indiacates that the clutch is on its last legs.

Cheers

SPD

a new cable will need to be adjusted after a while as it will "settle" and stretch. worth trying that.

the clutch peddle is usually about 10mm higher then the brake peddle.

Try adjustment. But my best guess is that the thrust bearing has worn through the fingers on the pressure plate, in which case, new clutch time.

sure is adjustment ? As the OP said the problem is "intermittent ", a cable without the correct adjustment would just cruches its gear all the time (i though)

Ming

Hi Ming

Suggest you are correct, it is new clutch time, keep driving clutch will fail catastrophically, tow home, lucky to get the warnings.

Book in garage, or buy complete clutch replace kit, weekend in engine compartment.

Noel

Cant really add to what has been said, barring next time you make a thread put a relevent thread title, you may have got more replies than what you have so far

AppleSei said:

Cant really add to what has been said, barring next time you make a thread put a relevent thread title, you may have got more replies than what you have so far

Click to expand...

Aye, and I have never regarded a clutch issue as 'styling'

Cheers

SPD

rallycinq said:

Aye, and I have never regarded a clutch issue as 'styling'

Cheers

SPD

Click to expand...

i paint mine pink.

Ming

ycming said:

i paint mine pink.

Ming

Click to expand...

What about yer 'clutch'?

Cheers

SPD

rallycinq said:

What about yer 'clutch'?

Cheers

SPD

Click to expand...

that's kinda brownish colour, smell nice too

Ming

Thanks guys,
When I changed the cable it did actually stretch in a little bit so I adjusted it carefully so as just to get it right so it wouldn't slip. The clutch pedal on mine sits about 10-15 mm lower than the brake pedal. This ain't right? SWhat gets me is that it's intermittent. One shift really smooth, like a clicking a ballpoint pen, the next like I am trying to shift a tractor. Gonna check all the linkage make sure nothing's hanging up anywhere. S'shame, it's spoiling what's a really fun car to drive.

Fingers,
Someone I know did mention the throw out bearing. Can you explain how this could do it? I know what it does I am just trying to exhaust all possibilities before I spend a weekend in the engine compartment.

The release bearing is in a plastic housing. Riding the clutch causes excess heat and the bearing stops turning in its housing. The metal bearing then wears away the fingers on the cover plate requiring lots of clutch cable adjustment which then throws the cable at the wrong angle increasing the chances of it snapping.

Cheers

SPD

On these cars the thrust bearing pushes against the finger/springs of the pressure plate. Eventually they can wear through. Usually the cable will fail before this.

I'm thinking, sometimes it pushes, sometimes it pushes through, hence the intermittent.

Of course, if this is happening, catastrophic failure can only be round the corner.

Thanks Fingers, your diagnosis describes what the car is actually doing. When the cable went, it actually snapped the linkage piece under the dash board which did in fact look as if it had been pulled at a acute angle.
Is it difficult to change? Haven't got a Haynes Book of Lies for this car yet.

Clutch is fairly easy to change, just make sure the new release bearing attaches to the fork correctly, and stays there when you refit the box.

Cheers

SPD

Book of lies is pretty good on this -- depending on the tools you have (and try and get an extra pair of hands) it can be done in anything from 6 hours to a weekend.

I must be quick .... it took me a week to get all the bits for my clutch job together, but i did all the work in just over 4 hours, just over 3 hours of that was getting the gearbox off and the clutch out, got it all put back together and the clutch adjusted in an hour, not bad for my first ever clutch change i thought

so its definitley an achieveable job on a dry afternoon, and all should be finished well in time for tea

Thanks everybody for your help. Did the clutch change, took me all week working in the street when I felt like, downing tools to run to the motor factors, avoiding rain, etc. Fingers on pressure plate badly worn. Drove car and lovely smooth shifts returned. Course car finished journey on Green Flag truck but that's another story. Slipped cam belt (dodgy tensioner, I think)