Bravo Clutch issue 2007 1.4 active

Currently reading:
Bravo Clutch issue 2007 1.4 active

Andy mcguire

New member
Joined
Sep 30, 2019
Messages
20
Points
9
Hi guys new on hear so sorry if I ask a question that's been asked alot I recently bought a 2007 bravo active 1.4 with 90bhp I had a new clutch and thrust bearing fitted and now every so often I hear a noise coming from the box it dies down when I dip the clutch and comes back when I release the clutch which if I can remember was the reason I had it changed I'm having no issues changing gears just when car is idling heard the noise the day after clutch was fitted took it back but of course it didn't make the noise again it drives fine but seems sluggish in 6th gear would it be possible the bearing or clutch that was faulty or something else sinister going on car is stressing me out as I've had new cat ,timing belt and water pump clutch and thrust bearing drive belt and tensioner A/c rad and needs a new rad as the one on it has a small leak also I noticed today the clutch pedal clicked like a spring when I was pressing it down any ideas as I just want it to be reliable sorry for the essay but I'm not mechanically minded thanks in advance for any replies
 
Hi Andy and welcome to our forum. I think, from what you're describing, it's going to be very difficult for anyone to give you a diagnosis here on the forum unless this is exactly something they have experience of. However I thought I'd just send you a message of support to try to buck your spirits up! I'm going through a somewhat similar experience just now with my older boy's Punto 1.4 8 valve.

He went on holiday and left the car with me to look over whilst he was away (I'm a retired mechanic but my hay days were long ago) with particular emphasis on the clutch which only works when the pedal is nearly on the floor. I was about 75% sure it was a master cylinder problem so got stuck in doing a major service and general check over during which I found a few faults - like cooling (radiator) electric fan only working on high speed. All in all a good couple of days work (at my geriatric rate of working) Then, with everything else attended to I tried to change the clutch master cylinder only to find it's a job for a contortionist with at least 21 inch long fingers and double jointed elbows. Not realizing that the pedal box really needs to come out I gave up and handed the job over to our local Fiat independent who made a lovely, but not particularly cheap, job of it. I was gutted to find no change in the clutch action! I asked the garage's opinion (and several people on the forum offered opinions too) and the consensus seemed to be probably there was a problem with the clutch itself. So, ok, they took the box out for me (at 73 this sort of physically demanding activity is just slightly beyond me these days) The clutch was very worn. Only a few thousand miles left on the driven plate and deeply grooved on the ends of the diaphragm fingers. I got them to fit a new clutch (3 piece Valeo kit) and they power bled the hydraulics. It was deeply depressing to then find that, although the clutch action was much lighter - you would expect this with a new clutch having been fitted - the pedal action really hasn't changed. It's still very nearly on the floor before it "frees". Really the only things we haven't yet changed are the flexible hose - which I've today checked for swelling under pressure - and the slave cylinder. The garage are convinced it's the slave and one has been ordered which should be here for Thursday/Friday. So the car should be all fixed and ready for my boy to take it back at the weekend. He should be starting a new job soon and the car will be fundamental to his success as it has some "antisocial" shift hours.

So what started out as a "simple" service and sorting out of a few problems has ended up with "Dad" being considerably out of pocket and still not knowing if I'm maybe going to have to lend him my car (I hate lending my car to anyone) until the mystery of the clutch is resolved - At least the heavy work on the clutch is done and I'm sure the problem is now in the hydraulics so I can mess about with this myself without laying out any more cash! I'm slightly comforted by the fact that, although not totally "goosed", the clutch itself was well worn and not that much longer for this world so we would likely have been needing to do it in the next year which might have impacted on his job.

It occurs to me to ask where you live (not actual address of course)? It might be that one of the more knowledgeable Forum members is near you and could have a listen and offer you an opinion?

So there you are. In the words of the old saying "Life's a B***H (and then you die). - I've been cheered up immensely by my younger boy and his wife presenting us with a new grandson just 2 days ago. I spent yesterday afternoon comforting and cuddling him with the help of their wee daughter, whilst my Mrs and daughter-in-law were sorting out bedding and crib and - - -. Put everything into perspective really!

Kindest regards
Jock
 
Hi and welcome :)

The joys of older cars eh..

The clutch noise.. probably just the release bearing..
Unlikely to fail catastrophically.. but getting louder is a thing to watch out for.
This should really have been 'cured' as a conventional clutch swap would replace the bearing.

If its intermittent.. just live with it.

Gutless in 6th.. its a 1.4 ;)
Its a relatively big car for that motor..

But again.. its probably not worth throwing money at.

Do get the rad leak fixed though.. losing coolant gets expensive.. both for the topping up coolant..and the risk of engine damage.

Charlie
 
Last edited:
Hi guys thanks for the advice been back to the mechanic and it's been diagnosed as the slave cylinder or master cylinder the one on top of the gearbox itself I told you I wasn't mechanically minded lol so hopefully that will fix the problem as the pedal was starting to not return but I will update you then
 
Hi sorry took a while to get back to you all had the slave cylinder changed and clutch pedal is now doing what it should all gears working fine and no clicking
 
Yup, it seems to the first post, that clutch was not "releasing" fully which lead to difficult gear change. It's good hear that you have solved that problem :)
 
Back
Top