I’ve posted this in an earlier thread ‘Multipla mechanic’ in rthe ply to previous help offered to me but realise it is a little lost.
So

Due to garage trip after garage trip and then a breakdown whilst on holidays, finally I have given up on the Multipla.
It is now in East Devon, waiting to be scrapped. I’m wondering whether anyone wants it for spares/repair.
It’s had (since June 2918) new wishbone, brake cylinders, handbrake cables, drop links, coil spring.... EGR valve last month. Then last week the clutch pedal went to floor with no resistance and stayed there.
RAC diagnosed slave cylinder failure. Garage replaced but still can’t get into gears. It’s been suggested that it needs a new clutch. (It has had a new clutch in it’s life before I met it.)

So, it’s an 04 reg blue Multipla with twin electric sunroof. MOT til December. About 96000 miles on the clock. Slight oil leak. If anyone can make use of it, let me know before I give permission to scrap.

Hiya mucka, sorry to hear your woe's. What do you want for the ole girl?
I might be interested as mine is about due for some TLC.
All the best, George
p/s where are you based - did you leave the ole girl where it broke down?

Hi there. The car is with a garage in East Devon. Drivable if you can get a gear and stay there. I’ve four kids and not up to it!

It'd be a shame to scrap for the sake of a clutch. But though it's not especially difficult it's a long job and lifting the gearbox back into place on your tod is not pleasant. Sounds like this is a low mileage, roundnose, ELX. One of the last mk1s to be made. If you were closer I'd buy it just to confuse the neighbours.

Got any pics?

Like you say shedenvy, it sounds like a late model 115 JTD ELX roundnose. Best-of-breed, IMHO and not many miles on the clock either. Would be a shame to see it go to the knackers. The oil leak may well be gearbox oil, from the input shaft seal.

It is leaking both gearbox oil and a bit of engine ail. I think it’s from the sump plug in the case of the engine oil.
It’s just cost a huge amount of money to keep on the road with all the jobs I’ve had to do and it’s quite tatty...
I do have pics but not sure as to how to upload them ...

I’m reluctant to let it go ...

Does anyone have an idea of what it should cost to do the clutch?
I worried that I was quoted a high holiday maker’s price!

For clutch - I paid nearly £400 - £120 parts, £210 labour 5 hours all + vat recently as I could not do it myself at the time.

It is a hydraulic clutch and they can be a pig to bleed. Could well be that the garage have not done it properly as they are not familiar.
Search on here about clutch bleeding. There is a bleed nipple on bulk head that can trap air - behind battery and stuff. Get garage to follow the pipe.

About 90 thou they do seem to need a lot of TLC but I had one at 170 thousand after going through some pain, sounds like you have done most of the stuff.

Multieeeka said:

Does anyone have an idea of what it should cost to do the clutch?
I worried that I was quoted a high holiday maker’s price!

Click to expand...

You do have to be careful who you let loose on the Ugly Bug, a lot of spannersworth don't like em, biggest problem I've found is most 'fitters' don't have the necessary know how to deal with em and it's not always possible with a plug in to put your finger on the problem. A lot of diagnosis is down to feeling and intuition.
If you decide to fix it, I wish you good luck, if you decide to flog it, gizza shout.
Cheers
George

If the pedal has gone to the floor and doesn't come back up, it may well be that the return spring inside the clutch master cylinder has snapped. That's not an uncommon occurence.

If you go to a Fiat dealer or a 'normal' garage, they would quote you to replace the entire master cylinder, which is a pig of a job. Some clever soul in the Owners Club realised that it's possible to strip the innards (including the above-mentioned spring) out of a new cylinder and fit them to the original outer, all from the driver's footwell. It's not a comfortable job, but a lot simpler than a complete cylinder replacement.

The other possibility is that the clutch release bearing has collapsed, but that wouldn't lead to the clutch pedal dropping to the floor. The release bearing can be 'roughly' checked by forcing the clutch release arm (that the slave cylinder pushrod normally pushes against) with a small lever bar so as to disengage the clutch, then trying to select gears, without the engine running. Then if there's a noise like a rattling bag of spanners coming from the clutch bellhousing at tick over when light pressure is put on the release arm, it's a sign that the bearing is past it.

George - was it you that had a small batch of return springs made, for the clutch cylinder?

Yeah, I had 6 spare ones, I may have one left in the chaos I call a shed, I'll have a butchers and let you know. ...


Now, where did I put that spring?
George

You are all so knowledgeable and helpful but I am just a mum to four kids who needs to get out n about! My car is in Devon, I live in Shropshire .... !
[I shan’t go into my experiences of bleeding nipples etc.... it’s not the fiat world!]
ARRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Okay, so as far as I know, the garage has replaced the slave cylinder and, whilst the pedal now operates normally, it is nigh on impossible to get into gear. Does this suggest the clutch gone, or gear box knackered, springs collapsed, lack of bleeding.... ??

If the clutch pedal now moves normally (do you have to push it down as hard as prior to the slave cylinder repair?) then it sounds as though the clutch has failed. As outlined in post #8 , that's not a cheap job, relative to the value of the car. It's been enough to send many Multiplas to the scrappy. It saddens me to say it, but in your position I'd be inclined to get rid of it, especially if you already have a replacement.

I don’t have replacement. It’s nigh on impossible to go car shopping with kids off school and no car! Yawn.

Multieeeka: PM sent.

Answer to your blog:

The problem with your position is: you're in Salop and ya shed's in Devon - and you ain't very spannerish.
Any help by ANY good Samaritan is going to cost you (no-one can afford a freebie to Devon and then repair and return - the fuel cost alone would hurt ya wallet) and maybe you ain't Branson's daughter, so you got to weigh up the possibilities...

I don't know what you can afford to do and I don't know how attached you are to the motor, so I can't advise -

Why don't you let us know what you want to do?
George