Does anyone know how to adjust the hydraulic clutch on my fiat doblo jtd 1.9. The gear box is very knochey when i change gear, especially when i go into reverse. I think it is because the clutch does not disengage fully when i depress the pedal, is there any way i can adjust it?

many thanks

john

There's no way to adjust the hydraulic clutch. You could try bleeding it.

Dave.

I have a 1.9 JTD which had exactly the same symptoms. It turned out to be the pressure plate on the clutch. The splines had snapped one by one and eventually the release bearing actually went through the pressure plate. Hopefully this will not be the case for you.

You could try checking the hydraulic unit which is mounted on the gear box. Take 2 bolts out, take the cap off the brake fluid bottle as this supplies the clutch and the brakes. Press the end of the hydraulic unit in by hand it should move freely. The fluid level should rise in the bottle, when you let go it simply springs back out smoothly and the fluid level drops again.

You can get air out of the system by pulling out the metal circlip, careful not to loose it, it can fly off the end of the pipe. Pull the pipe back away from the hydraulic unit and fluid will come out of the nipple, don't forget to take the little rubber cap off the end, this reveals the end of the nipple. Keep the fluid topped up in the brake reservoir otherwise if it drops too low you will just pull more air back in.

The only other place I have heard of that can give problems is on the back of the clutch pedal itself. You may want to check this out. Why not get somebody to press the clutch pedal down and make sure that the fork on the clutch is operating correctly. If it is not working right it hardly moves at all, whereas when it is working OK it swings at least 1 inch on it's axis. I hope that this is of some help to you.

Regards - Geoff

thanks for your response. i hope the clutch mechanism is ok on mine as it has only done 31k miles. i will try what you suggest.

many thanks

@johnhallam8....... It's better to keep the problem within the thread rather than send a visitor message. That way the answers may be of use to other members.


I'm not familiar with the Doblo clutch slave cylinder setup, but if it's similar to other Fiats there will be a circlip holding the hose to the cylinder. You need to remove the circlip and withdraw the hose about 10mm only. Fluid should then come out of the nipple by gravity alone. Don't pump the pedal or the hose is liable to be ejected from the cylinder. When finished, push the hose back in and refit the circlip.

Put a length of pipe and a container on the nipple to collect the waste fluid and be sure to keep the resevoir topped up with new fluid.

Dave.

hi, i've tried what you have suggested by bleeding the slave cylinder. fluid came out the nipple for a while then stopped. i put everything back but the gearbox is still knochey especially in reserve. i'm thinkin the clutch is worn although it has only done 31k, unless there could be some more trapped air in slave cylinder, as only gravity is trying to push the air out the system. what do you think?
many thanks
john

When I bled my Stilo clutch cylinder the fluid came out very slowly but it shouldn't stop if you keep the resevoir topped up and the lid loose. To speed it up I did slightly pressurise the resevoir with a modified cap and a bicycle pump.

You could try getting an assistant to slowly press the clutch pedal whilst you hold the pipe at the slave cylinder so it doesn't come out.

Dave.

thanks for a your help, since i have bled it, it has been slightly better, i will try bleeding it again when the weather warms up.

john