Technical Still getting stuck in gear 😭😭😭

[Ralf S.]

I forgot to add that the clutch release bearing usually makes a noise, so if you can hear a grinding rattly sound from the gearbox side of the engine, and it stops when you press the clutch pedal in, then that's a good indicator that the release bearing is moody. If the gearbox/clutch end is pretty much quiet when the engine is idling, then that would be unusual, if the release bearing or the clutch pressure plate is wearing.


Ralf S.

 

[sherbsville]

Did you bleed the slave? It might be worth doing again before you change the master.

ooooh ok, ty!

 

[sherbsville]

ooooh omg tysm!

sorry everyone about the delay in replying, been super rough. here now tho!

 

[sherbsville]

Hang on though.

If you can change gear with the engine off, then it's more likely a clutch problem.

I presume that when the gears get stuck you pump the pedal and that doesn't make any difference... Then switching the engine off allows you to change gear (select neutral). and it's fine for a while until it gets moody again?

If you had a moody master cylinder, then pumping the pedal would get some kind of reaction... and it would do exactly the same moodiness as soon as you started driving the car again. It doesn't know it has to be moody just sometimes and not others.

On the other hand, if your clutch pressure plate fingers are falling to bits, the release bearing can jam. Releasing it (with an engine off and putting it in neutral) gives it a chance to re-seat itself and if you're lucky it ends up on "good" pressure plate fingers, and it works again until it jams again.

How many miles has your clutch done? 500 clutches seem to fail from around 50,000 miles.. (town car = lots of gear changes) although 60k is more typical and some fellas can run them to 80k..

It's rarely the friction plate that wears out. Either the pressure plate fingers wear (worst case is that they start falling out of the bottom of your clutch bell-housing) *or* the release bearing wears out. Some clutch kits only come with the 2 plates.. and a garage in a rush/plucky amateur will not replace the release bearing if one is not supplied in the new clutch kit box. So... 90% it's your clutch, not the master cylinder.

If I'm unlucky.. then the master cylinder is easy to replace.

If it was me, I would replace the whole assembly including the Quick-Detach connector at the end. If you separated the connection joint when you fitted the slave, it should come undone (you "lift" the nylon collar and pull it apart.. easier off the car).

If you never fitted the QD connected to the slave, (just the slave using the old pipe and leaving the old QD connector untouched) you should still have it (new and shiny) so fit it now.

If the clutch still jams afterwards... *I told you it's the clutch*


Ralf S.

oooooh ok, ty!

its at 73k, and i dont think its ever been changed. when it first started happening, it was when id been in a lot of traffic, but i took a hedgie to pact the other day, country lanes, and it froze when i got there. it was a hot day.

its defo getting worse, and happening on shorter trips now.

i did used to do a good mix of dual carriageway, and town, but now its all town.

i left the connector alone, and have some bendy straw thing in the box. i will get it in a bit and have a look at the end of it.

thankyou so much!

 

[sherbsville]

just to throw something else into this, im in a group for fiat girls, and someone had my issue, and they changed gear linkage cables? And, I forget now, as it was last year, but someone changed some connector bits on the end of the cables?

Could it be the connector bits? Idk what they're called.

I will face the horror of the battery tray at the weekend, and try bleeding the clutch with that kit thing I got, that reckons you can do it alone. We will see.

I have a short trip Tuesday, and that will be a good test.

Idk if its relevant, but i always had on off issues with reverse not going in, and grinding, and thats worse when the other issue kicks in.

Thankyou all so much, and sorry again about the massive delay in replying.

 

[rmjbn1]

just to throw something else into this, im in a group for fiat girls, and someone had my issue, and they changed gear linkage cables? And, I forget now, as it was last year, but someone changed some connector bits on the end of the cables?

Could it be the connector bits? Idk what they're called.

If you can select all gears ok engine off

That's usually a sign that cables are fine, and that problem is with the clutch or clutch hydraulics

 

[Ralf S.]

just to throw something else into this, im in a group for fiat girls, and someone had my issue, and they changed gear linkage cables? And, I forget now, as it was last year, but someone changed some connector bits on the end of the cables?

Could it be the connector bits? Idk what they're called.

I will face the horror of the battery tray at the weekend, and try bleeding the clutch with that kit thing I got, that reckons you can do it alone. We will see.

I have a short trip Tuesday, and that will be a good test.

Idk if its relevant, but i always had on off issues with reverse not going in, and grinding, and thats worse when the other issue kicks in.

Thankyou all so much, and sorry again about the massive delay in replying.

Reverse has no syncromesh on it... so it needs the gears to be not moving and with no clutch drag.

If reverse is difficult to engage, that's a symptom that your clutch is not disengaging. When you solve the problem (whatever it is) then the reverse being moody/crunching ought to go away too.


Ralf S.

 

[John202020]

Idk if its relevant, but i always had on off issues with reverse not going in, and grinding, and thats worse when the other issue kicks in.

When selecting reverse, press the clutch, then select 4th, now straight into reverse it will not grind at all, trust me, unless theres a more serious underlying issue.
I always use this method, I used in the 80's as most cars didn't have synchro on reverse

 

[sherbsville]

oooh ty all so much for the reverse tips! its so embarrassing when it happens in public!

 

[sherbsville]

hiya, ok...

I'm not a hateful person, but I do hope whoever designed my battery tray spends alot of time stepping on legos in the dark.

I bled the clutch, and have a few questions pls. I bled thru just over 240mls, probs about 270. Idk.

The stoopid kit I bought didn't work, and leaked. I ended up cutting the plastic tubing, and using a 60ml syringe I bought when my cat was sick to give him water. It still leaked. I had loads of towels down, and the brake fluid still went all over the shop.

.
1. Is it a one way valve or something? I couldn't get an airtight seal, so does that matter?

2. At the start there were alot of bubbles. Idk if it's cos it wasn't airtight, or there was air in the system.

After about 180mls, it got frothy. Like a uti. Idk if that's cos the seal wasn't airtight, or if there was still air in the system.

Do you yall think the air was from the system? I think it was tbh, as it stopped.

3. I did my best to wipe the fluid off everything, but couldn't. Will it damage anything it touches?

4. Here is a pic of that cap thing, does it look ok?

5. Next to it there is a cap that wobbles like crazy. Is that meant to be loose like that?

The dark fluid is the one i bled, in comparison to the new fluid. Granted there's less in the lil reservoir thing, but its still lighter.

I haven't put the battery back yet, incase anyone has words of wisdom/terror.

Hope ure all enjoying melting in this humid heatwave hellscape.

Thankyou!

 

[John202020]

How does the pedal feel?
Spongy or hard and progressive?
Leaks all over the place, normal for this type

 

[jrkitching]

I'm not a hateful person, but I do hope whoever designed my battery tray spends alot of time stepping on legos in the dark

If all you're doing is bleeding the clutch, and you don't mind working by feel, there's no need to dismantle anything and you don't need to remove the battery or its tray.

Leaks all over the place, normal for this type

Once you undo the bleed screw, the fluid generally leaks around the screw.

Vacuum bleeding is the least messy way to do it.

Pressure bleeding risks spraying hydraulic fluid everywhere and I don't recommend it.

I did my best to wipe the fluid off everything, but couldn't. Will it damage anything it touches

The fluid is corrosive to paintwork and may strip paint. Fortunately it's water soluble so easily washed off.

Wash any spills/splashes with soapy water as soon as possible.

 

[rmjbn1]

1. Sorry, I've never used a vacuum bleed system.
2. Again, I don't know how your kit is meant to work, but generally fluid is bled once it's completely free of bubbles.
3. As jrk says, brake/clutch fluid can damage paint so should be washed off.
4. Reservoir can't tell us if there's any air in the system, it's only to check the level.
5. This wobbly cap?

That's the plastic cover of the gearbox breather. Leave well alone, it's fine if it's loose

I'm sorry I can't be more positive, would be good to confirm if clutch is fully bled.

Can't help but think problems were due to air in the system.

Any improvement going into reverse with engine on?

 

[sherbsville]

How does the pedal feel?
Spongy or hard and progressive?
Leaks all over the place, normal for this type

i havent put the battery back yet, but it feels firmer than before...i think. I will know later.

Iwill pay attention to how it feels, as honestly, I didnt before.

 

[sherbsville]

If all you're doing is bleeding the clutch, and you don't mind working by feel, there's no need to dismantle anything and you don't need to remove the battery or its tray.


Once you undo the bleed screw, the fluid generally leaks around the screw.

Vacuum bleeding is the least messy way to do it.

Pressure bleeding risks spraying hydraulic fluid everywhere and I don't recommend it.

The fluid is corrosive to paintwork and may strip paint. Fortunately it's water soluble so easily washed off.

Wash any spills/splashes with soapy water as soon as possible.

gggggggrrrrrrr @ not needing to remove the battery

yeah it leaked all around the screw...and when i was pumping the clutch EVERYWHERE else. i mean EVERYWHERE. I dont think it hit paintwork, but defo everything metal you can see in that area. I wasnt sure if it was safe to pour water over the slave and area, so mopped it up best i could. Should i gently pour water around there?

And yes, in the future I will use the syringe to draw back on the fluid, instead of pumping the clutch to get it into the syringe. It wasnt smart tbh, but here we are.

Thankyou so much.

 

[sherbsville]

1. Sorry, I've never used a vacuum bleed system.
2. Again, I don't know how your kit is meant to work, but generally fluid is bled once it's completely free of bubbles.
3. As jrk says, brake/clutch fluid can damage paint so should be washed off.
4. Reservoir can't tell us if there's any air in the system, it's only to check the level.
5. This wobbly cap?
View attachment 469593
That's the plastic cover of the gearbox breather. Leave well alone, it's fine if it's loose

I'm sorry I can't be more positive, would be good to confirm if clutch is fully bled.

Can't help but think problems were due to air in the system.

Any improvement going into reverse with engine on?

Thankyou!

Yes that wobbly cap lol. I wondering if it was meant to be wobbly, like a weeble, but wasnt sure.

I pushed loooooaaaaaaaads of fluid thru, so it HAS to be bled properly.

I cut the tubing off the stoopid kit, and will just use it with a syringe in the future. It didnt seal it any better than just the end of the tube.

I havent put the battery back yet incase anyone said to do or look at anything. Looking forward to doing it in 30 odd degree heat later.

Im hoping it was air, as loads came out at the start.

 

[John202020]

You don't need to put the battery back to test the feel of the pedal as you dont need to start the car

 

[The Panda Nut]

When I changed our 160 master and slave the fluid went horrid very quickly. I am not sure whether this was interaction with something in the new cylinders or some problem with non compatible fluids getting mixed. I would use DOT3. If its got white sludge this did not affect the clutch operation on ours. I syringed the reservoir out several tiems before the sludging stopped.

If the clutch has not been slipping it is, as said above, much more likely hydrualics if you attach a long pipe to the bleed nipple, there is so little fuid involved you can bleed the fluid straight out without special equipment. You can see if air is going back up a long pipe and pinch the end as the pedal is allowed to rise after each stroke. I just had someone press the pedal and put my finger on the pipe to stop air back flowing each time the pedal was depressed. It is a messy job. DOT3 can be washed away with water.

 

[sherbsville]

When I changed our 160 master and slave the fluid went horrid very quickly. I am not sure whether this was interaction with something in the new cylinders or some problem with non compatible fluids getting mixed. I would use DOT3. If its got white sludge this did not affect the clutch operation on ours. I syringed the reservoir out several tiems before the sludging stopped.

If the clutch has not been slipping it is, as said above, much more likely hydrualics if you attach a long pipe to the bleed nipple, there is so little fuid involved you can bleed the fluid straight out without special equipment. You can see if air is going back up a long pipe and pinch the end as the pedal is allowed to rise after each stroke. I just had someone press the pedal and put my finger on the pipe to stop air back flowing each time the pedal was depressed. It is a messy job. DOT3 can be washed away with water.

ooooh thats super helpful, tysm. i used dot 4, i cant remember why now. when i went to get it out the garage, i thought it was gonna be dot 3, and was confused as it was dot 4.

If its still dodgy, should i get dot 3, and flush it thru with that? the bottle says it ok for dot3. im honestly confused as to why i got dot 4.

 

[The Panda Nut]

ooooh thats super helpful, tysm. i used dot 4, i cant remember why now. when i went to get it out the garage, i thought it was gonna be dot 3, and was confused as it was dot 4.

If its still dodgy, should i get dot 3, and flush it thru with that? the bottle says it ok for dot3. im honestly confused as to why i got dot 4.

They are supposed to mix but I am not so sure. We had lots of white sludge and I am pretty sure the cause was the two grades of fluid. I asked my garage man and he seemed to think contamination inside the new cyclinders. Mine however was prefilled so who knows.