2003 Punto 1.3 MultiJet. 71,000 miles on the clock.

I have owned the car since new and it has been exceptionally reliable. Even still has the original exhaust.

The clutch is not slipping at all but I have to turn the engine off to get reverse and all the forward gears are very difficult to select. There is nearly 2 inches of free play at the clutch pedal which moves nothing at the gearbox end.

There are no fluid leaks at all and the reservoir is full. Has anyone seen this before? Is is a clutch problem, master cylinder or slave cylinder problem?

Any help is much appreciated.

2 inchs pf play means 1 of 2 things

Air in system, bleed to cure

Or cylinder failure master or slave is letting fluid past and isnt allowing the amooth fluid movement

Ziggy

Thank you very much for the quick response. I will bleed it tonight. I noticed a bleed nipple on the slave cylinder.

If bleeding dsoesn't work. Is there anyway to tell if the problem is the master or slave cylinder?

Hi stumacd

I've got a 2004 multijet if there is air in the system there is a very high likelihood the slave cylinder could be leaking.

This happed with our hgt the oil then leaked onto the clutch causing it to swell and eventually you couldn't disengage the clutch.

Hopefully a simple bleed will do the job for you.

I've just replaced the exhaust on mine from the original now approaching 100k miles so they do last well changed the original brake discs and pads last year and is still on the original battery also, great little car/engine combination

I love it. I will keep it until either I die ir it dies. Probably me first!

Just an update for anyone who has this problem in the future:

Tried to bleed it and there was next to no fluid coming through. So ended up with no clutch at all. The play was definitely in the master cylinder so I bought a new one from FIAT. FIAT box, part manufactured by Valeo.

It was a bit of a pain to fit. The retaining clip was a nightmare to remove. The pipe was siezed solid. The pipe then didn't want to go back into the new master cylinder but got there in the end.

Bled the clutch from the slave cylinder as recommended. Then pumped the clutch with the top off the fluid reservoir and the last of the air bubbled up. I now have a perfect clutch.

Thanks to everyone for your help and advice.

Just an update for anyone who has this problem in the future:

Tried to bleed it and there was next to no fluid coming through. So ended up with no clutch at all. The play was definitely in the master cylinder so I bought a new one from FIAT. FIAT box, part manufactured by Valeo.

It was a bit of a pain to fit. The retaining clip was a nightmare to remove. The pipe was siezed solid. The pipe then didn't want to go back into the new master cylinder but got there in the end.

Bled the clutch from the slave cylinder as recommended. Then pumped the clutch with the top off the fluid reservoir and the last of the air bubbled up. I now have a perfect clutch.

Thanks to everyone for your help and advice.