Hello,

Yesterday, after a short trip, I tried to press the clutch pedal to start the engine (I always do this, thinking it is a good idea), and the pedal went in very softly, without the usual resistence. The vehicle started, but I could not change gears since the clutch was not operating.

Today I got the clutch cylinder replaced. The repeirman said it is Master cylinder.
My vehicle has done only 30,000 KM in 5 years.

Is this something quite common? Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening again?

The repairman said this is common and it is rubber part that gets destroyed with the hydraulic oil.

Any information greately appreciated.
BTW it is a 999 CC FIRE model.

Thanks,
Sreenath


Proud owner of Uno and Siena

If the correct hydraulic fluid is used it should not damage the "rubber*" seal.
There are, or used to be, several incompatible fluids.

I'm not sure what effect your climate (36 or 37 degrees in April this year??) will have on the life expectancy of the seal though... but I'd expect something nearer twice that age.

One other point, low mileage is not neccesarily a good thing for a clutch:
if all the mileage is done in a built-up area, with lots of gear changing, the clutch will get a lot more wear than a high mileage car which sits on a main road in top gear for hours at a time.

YMMV.


Regards


John H

* I'm not sure what the material actually is.

If this is the same Uno as in the UK ( Uno 1.0ie ) it will have a C514 gearbox. It is far more common for the SLAVE cylinder to go rather than the MASTER. Check this out, because although the slave cylinder is not cheap (for what it is) it is a bloody sight cheaper than the master and far easier to fit.
Please let us know how you get on.
Rgds, pete.

Hello All,
Thanks for all the information. I got the cylinder replaced by thre mechanic. There is lot of slow moving traffic where I drive, and the clutch is used a lot. Also, possibly I use it more than necessary.

Anyway, now it is working fine. The original part wasd made by Bosch, and the new one is locally made.

I hope this stays longer.

BTW, Is it really necessary to replace the entire cylinder- Can't we just replace the rubber part that went bad?

Thanks,
Sreenath


Proud owner of Uno and Siena

I have the same problem on my carbed Uno 1100 Mia. I thought the slave cylinder was faulty and replaced it - the problem stayed - the clutch pedal is still very soft and I found where the master cylinder is... what a mission to take it out.:bang:
If it still fails I suppose a new clutch is needed.
Brake fluid was black suggesting rubber degrading of the cylinder.