Technical Panda 4x4 climbing clutch sticking

[ianqisam]

Hello everyone, I have a 2005 panda 4x4 climbing 60,000 miles, the clutch pedal has always been very light. But when the engine is warm the pedal has a tendency to stick at the bottom.
It started whilst I was in italy with so I ran it into the fiat dealer, who without looking at it said I needed a new clutch. Which he duly fitted for me ( who'd have thought an italian car dealer would rip you off) However after a while it started to stick on the floor again. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Ian Isam

 

[Dragon Man]

hmm i cant offer help sadly however i have a 1.3 diesel that also does this. the pedal wants to stick down and has once. its like it lifts up slowly when you take your foot off the pedal. almost like it has a soft opening/eject mechanism like on an old cassette deck.

i know modern cars love to have a spring that helps hold a pedal to the floor but i think on a panda this is not a necessary thing as the clutch is already so light. If the panda has this -if-. i would be tempted to remove it.. however ive not looked to see if it has one.

 

[koalar]

In my experience it's always been the slave cylinder for this fault I have changed three, very common, hundred of others have had the same with the ford Ka and 500


About £30 and 20 minutes

You can diagnose it first by spraying grease under the rubber boot of the slave and see if it improved

 

[DaveMcT]

The only way the pedal can stay down is because there is air in the system or fluid has been forced out of the system.

The clutch spring is very strong and forces the slave back pushing fluid up the line to lift the pedal via the hydraulics.The slave is almost never under negative pressure so is more likely to leak fluid than suck air.

The light pedal action suggests your slave cylinder is doing its job. Air gets in via the master cylinder seals sucking air when you lift the pedal. Bleed the clutch system and see how it goes. If its the master the problem will return. I have not found a supplier of new seals but you can get a new master cylinder for reasonable cost.

MASTER CYLINDER, CLUTCH LPR 2413 FOR FIAT,FORD | eBay

FIAT 55187040. FIAT PANDA (169_) 1.1 (169. FIAT PANDA (169_) 1.2 (169. AXB11, 169. FIAT PANDA (169_) 1.2 4x4 (169. FIAT PANDA (169_) 1.2 LPG (169. FIAT PANDA (169_) 1.2 Natural Power (169. FORD 1544174. ).

www.ebay.co.uk

The hydraulic pipe has a QD coupling on a clip just above the gearbox. You can access it from the wheel arch. If it's dry leave well alone. The cylinder pipes simply unplug with hairpin retainer clips. I tie a string to the clip, so if it pings it's not lost. The ball joint pops off the clutch pedal with a prybar and two M6 nuts retain the cylinder to the firewall.

Slave is a bit more hassle as the battery and battery tray have to come out. Swap the master and see how it goes. Ideally, swap the slave as well.

SLAVE CYLINDER, CLUTCH LUK 512 0021 10 FOR CHRYSLER,FIAT,LANCIA | eBay

PART NO512 0021 10. LuK 056718691000070. LuK L-05021-0G97-00. LuK L050210G9700. LANCIA 55187212. FIAT 46547126. FIAT 55183388. FIAT 55187212.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[ianqisam]

Thanks for the advice ,think I'll go for the slave cylinder first.
Ian

 

[koalar]

The only way the pedal can stay down is because there is air in the system

They are intermitant, do they bleed themselves, the pedal normally returns on its own eventually

or fluid has been forced out of the system.

But it happens multi times without loss of fuid

.Swap the master and see how it goes. Ideally, swap the slave as well.

Why, I have already explained how to diagnose the problem, there's no need to guess which part 98 out 100 you have just wasted £45

Of course if you change everything it will always be fixed

Why over complicate the problem,

Remove the rubber boot from the end of the slave and but some silicone grease in

Here's a piston on a slave that I have changed on a 500, this is jamming, it does cause the pedal to intermitantly stick down, it does work fine if you regrease it. I did decide to replace it

It's always worth checking as the master is of the same construction and can also be faulty, I only know of two, both on the 500

Although several Panda owners have swap both before we knew better


These cars are very cheap to run as long as you only change the parts needed, you can take the scatter gun approach eventutly
you will hit the right part. But if possible it's better to diagnose the problem, in this case it's very simple to check

 

[DaveMcT]

I have opened four (not a huge sample) of slave cylinders. One had a rusty spring and looked crap. However a clean up job did not leak fluid so it went back in. The pedal sticking down quickly returned. The solution is not guesswork. Bleed the system and see how it goes. If the problem returns it is the master cylinder.

 

[FilipW]

Hello everyone! I hope you're all well. Does anyone have a Fiat part number for the slave cylinder? There appears to be a country wide shortage of these Type 169 1.2 [60 bhp] 4x4.
Filip

 

[koalar]

Hello everyone! I hope you're all well. Does anyone have a Fiat part number for the slave cylinder? There appears to be a country wide shortage of these Type 169 1.2 [60 bhp] 4x4.
Filip

Panda Clutch Slave Cylinder Confirmed Alternative | FIAT Panda (Mk3)

Thought I'd post this as I know there's been a shortage of panda slave cylinders 🙂 Just fitted a TRW PJF173 to mine (2010 Active Eco), not listed as compatible but bolted straight up and works perfectly! Anything compatible with this one should in theory fit and this one also seems to be much...

www.fiatforum.com

 

[FilipW]

Panda Clutch Slave Cylinder Confirmed Alternative | FIAT Panda (Mk3)

Thought I'd post this as I know there's been a shortage of panda slave cylinders 🙂 Just fitted a TRW PJF173 to mine (2010 Active Eco), not listed as compatible but bolted straight up and works perfectly! Anything compatible with this one should in theory fit and this one also seems to be much...

www.fiatforum.com

Thank you!