Technical clutch has gone, AGAIN!!!

[Benjammo]

I've had the clutch and cable changed about 6 weeks ago, and then, when I was driving back on sunday night the clutch became heavy and it was hard to get it into gear, I thought it maybe the cable wearing itself in and just needs adjusting, so I tightened it up just half a turn, tried it and, snap, clutch pedal on the floor.

It turns out its the link bar thats snapped this time, but I know this is normally a symptom of the clutch going, and because it went stiff and hard to get it into gear I'm sure its the clutch.

Is there a better make of clutch I can put in? I'm sure its just a standard motor factors one thats in it, or could there be another reason for all the clutch's I've gone through? (this is the 3rd one in 3 years, 5 cables, 1 quadrent, one pedal box and now the link bar) I don't rally the car, I'm a member of the IMA etc etc I'm not a bad driver. honest.

 

[marino]

Try slackening the cable tension , my pedal was slightly stiff on my shumi and the clutch is quite fierce so i slackened the cable and this made it easier to press and the clutch bites better now, not sure about the best to buy clutch though , good luck..

 

[mrcinquecento]

Try slackening the cable tension , my pedal was slightly stiff on my shumi and the clutch is quite fierce so i slackened the cable and this made it easier to press and the clutch bites better now, not sure about the best to buy clutch though , good luck..

That wont work here, sounds much more serious than simple cable adjustment issues. Sounds more like somethings gone very wrong with the new clutches bearing or fingers or more likely, the springs have snapped if it happened quite suddenly.

Do you have a receipt for the clutch? sounds like it was faulty to me!, if you can prove it was after removal and inspection, do so

should get a refund to put towards a better clutch if nothing else, no harm in trying anyway!

 

[blu73]

does sound like alot of clutch problems... theres nothing wrong with the standard clutch tbh, you need some serious upgrades before you need t upgrade it. Something else is afoot here, i'm not a expert on gearboxes or clutches but you defo shouldn't have that much bother.

Could a dodgy gearbox mount cause excessive wear?? I would hope a garage would have noticed this the amount of time its sounds like its been off

 

[mrcinquecento]

Yes and no, if the mount goes, it alters the way the cable can operate slightly. that means if the clutch disengages, it might not fully, which would cause the gears to be hard to engage, and in extreme occasions (and as i had ) plumes of clutch smoke!!, causing premature wear on the drive plates. this sounds more bearing/spring/finger related to me tbh, and that wouldnt cause that type of wear i dont think. it certainly doesnt change the feel of the pedal much, so i doubt its related.

sounds like a spring snapped in the clutch and its lead to a very quick failure of other parts imo.

 

[blu73]

yes but he says its his 3rd clutch in 3 years its highly unlikely they were all defective in the same way, infact its pretty damn unlikely they would all be defective at all. There must be something else going on.. Have all the repairs been done at the same place??

 

[mrcinquecento]

yes but he says its his 3rd clutch in 3 years its highly unlikely they were all defective in the same way, infact its pretty damn unlikely they would all be defective at all. There must be something else going on.. Have all the repairs been done at the same place??

i definitley agree theres something up!, youd have to be mega unlucky to have 3 dodgy clutches in 3 years!

the mount cant be gone, there would be other symptoms, like funny metalic noises, knocking, ratling etc, long before all this.

either, the garage ISNT renewing the clutch at all, but charging for it, or they seriously have no idea what the hell they are doing!, either way, it aint good and i also dont buy into the idea of 3 defecticve clutches in a row in 3 years.

 

[rallycinq]

Clutches will be under parts warranty so you shouldn't be paying for them anyway.

You need to have a look at what part of the clutch has failed.

Cheers

SPD

 

[Benjammo]

thanks for all the help, sorry I've not replied sooner. this is the second garage I've used, I've known them for a while now, I've only used them because their the closest to my mums house, (where I had the rac tow it to) but I am thinking either the clutch was never changed or they don't know what there doing because, although the little try under the dash had already been taken out they just cut it with a Stanley knife and butchered it.

I also had the timing belt and water pump changed at the same time and I've always thought the water was never changed, its still like chicken soup. they say it must have been crap from the rad, but I don't buy it.

 

[blu73]

they should have flushed the rad anyway, takes like 2 seconds to back flush it.

Sounds like you found some proper cowboys!!

 

[rallycinq]

Difficult at this late stage, but always ask to see the removed parts from your car, whatever internal work you have done.

Cheers

SPD

 

[Benjammo]

Difficult at this late stage, but always ask to see the removed parts from your car, whatever internal work you have done.

Cheers

SPD

true, I think I'm going to take the cover off the bottom timing belt pulley and see if the water pump looks new or not, I doubt it will

hopefully my new dash will still be in one piece when I get it back.:bang:

 

[levemircento]

could be the release bearing at fault, was that changed each time the clutch was changed?

 

[blu73]

again any reputable garage would have replaced it but i think we are getting to the route of the problems here..

You thought about having a go yourself? Its not that difficult at all, a spare pair of hands to help is almost a must though.

 

[Ffoxy]

Are either of the chosen garages members of The Good Garage Scheme?

If not... well its not great really.

If so, you have a come-back.

Take a look see here... http://www.goodgaragescheme.co.uk/

Here is the one I use for all the cars we have.
http://www.goodgaragescheme.co.uk/feedback/index.php?id=3243

 

[Benjammo]

Really not happy now, its taken 4 days to change the clutch and the link bar, there tryin to charge me 125 to replace the bar which only snapped because the clutch went, and now I've only got 4 gears, I cant get 5th or 6th:bang::bang:
heads are gonna roll on monday. they also said they haven't flushed the cooling system because I have a hole in my rad. theres not been any signs of a leek but I'll be havin a look in a bit.

 

[mrcinquecento]

Really not happy now, its taken 4 days to change the clutch and the link bar, there tryin to charge me 125 to replace the bar which only snapped because the clutch went, and now I've only got 4 gears, I cant get 5th or 6th:bang::bang:
heads are gonna roll on monday. they also said they haven't flushed the cooling system because I have a hole in my rad. theres not been any signs of a leek but I'll be havin a look in a bit.

6th? have you fitted a 6 speed or do you mean reverse?

sounds like they havent put the cables back on correctly or bent the gear selector.

whatever garage it is your using sounds totally clueless/cowboys tbh

i would be threating them with trading standards.

unless the radiators leaking, theres no excuse not to flush the system also, maybe they mean the rads damaged, but again, its still not a reason you wouldnt flush it if the owner requested it. you would just let them know the rad wasn't 100%.

 

[Benjammo]

I've got a 6speed on it. I use to go to collage with the owners daughter and I've used them before, but now there just slack. they've even left something under the bonnet when they've closed it and dented it from the inside. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

 

[Benjammo]

well I got it sorted, 6 speeds, still denyin anything to do with the dent, its lasted a week and the pedal box has snapped its welds, so its off the road again!!!
looks like I may have to sell her if she doesn't start behaving herself.

 

[blu73]

its almost unbelievable your problems with this.