Technical How to check clutch travel on 1.1Eco

[gareth111278]

Hi
My 1.1 Eco is coming up to it's first service.
I'm taking it to my mate's [VAT registered] garage & we'll do it between us, we are both motor mechanics.
Just one job I don't know how to do, check the clutch pedal travel, does anyone know how Fiat check this?
Is there a measurement, or is it just the mechanics opinion?
Cheers Gareth

 

[DraigFlag87]

I could be wrong here, but isn't the clutch hydraulic and therefore self adjusting? I know this was the case on my Panda MJ, not sure about the 1.1 though.

 

[JD82]

My 10 plate 1.1 Eco is hydraulic. I believe the left hand drive Pandas have a cable clutch though. No idea what the steering wheel position means they have completely different clutch systems.

 

[Geddes]

My 10 plate 1.1 Eco is hydraulic. I believe the left hand drive Pandas have a cable clutch though. No idea what the steering wheel position means they have completely different clutch systems.

Correct.
Probably too difficult to route a clutch cable all around the engine bay for RHD.

 

[gareth111278]

I did wonder if the clutch adjustment was something that got translated from the LHD book that shouldn't have been.
I was supprised to see a hydralic clutch when i opened the bonnet.
I agree it must be because of cable routing issues.

 

[JD82]

Am I right in thinking that hydraulic clutches feel a bit nicer than cable ones? It seems to be the experience I have, although my pandas clutch can judder a bit but this seems to be a common issue, will mention at the service if it gets any worse but its not really a problem at the moment.

 

[ivantate]

Fiat and clutches never seem to have a happy time together.

Maybe it is a 'half hearted' conversion to RHD that causes these problems.

 

[JD82]

I find with mine if I release it a little quick it judders quite a bit, but none of the Fiestas or even if the Corsa ever did that. I am usualy very smooth on the clutch but there are ocassions when I need to release the clutch quickly like trying to get accross 6 lanes of traffic at lights.

 

[SurreyAlan]

never realised that lhd had cables and only rhd was hydraulic. Remembering my yoof we were always pulling out slave and master cylinders and replacing seals on our old bangers. Personally much prefer hydraulics to cable.

 

[gareth111278]

I've never had any clutch judder with ours so far.

I agree hydralic clutches are nicer, unit a cylinder seal lets go!:devil:

 

[Derv drinker]

If it's Hydraulic, it will be self adjusting up to a point then the the peddle travel will be change, ie bite higher up from fully depressed. I have just had my MJ done by our local fiat specialist using Fiat parts for £300. I did notice it was slipping occasionally, and this was confirmed by main dealer when being checked for another unrelated problem. You may also find that there will be quite a bit of friction material left and this seems to be common on the MJ. For those with a MJ it is worth getting the turbo waste gate cleaned and the turbo linkages greased at the same time,whilst access is easy.

 

[Nathan126]

Clutch cables and Fiat's dont go well, my sei is cable and i've replaced that several times.. it kept breaking at the end of the cable where it joins what would be the extension of the clutch from lhd to rhd. Going from that to the Panda was a real treat They probably realised it was too much hassle and would go with the image Fiat are trying to get rid of, so went hydraulic with the rhd model.

 

[trackdayqueen]

Am I right in thinking that hydraulic clutches feel a bit nicer than cable ones? It seems to be the experience I have, although my pandas clutch can judder a bit but this seems to be a common issue, will mention at the service if it gets any worse but its not really a problem at the moment.

Cable clutches are nicer really, simply because you get more feel. But as others have pointed out, they do snap. Hydraulic clutches can seem a bit vague until you get used to it. I've had quite a few cars with hydraulic clutches now. I remember my first one a MK1 MR2 and that felt horrible till I got used to it. Now though having driven a fair few cars with such a setup I find myself well used to it.

You can feel fairly easily if a car has a hydraulic clutch or a cable operated one, it's reasonably obvious when you drive it.