random clutch

[zxczxc]

just bought a gtir and its a really good example on a M reg

all seems well on the way home apart from one thing (the clutch), it doesnt slip or anything although does bite quite high compared to my last one

anyway i was driving home on motorway in 5th gear aboyt 80 mph and went to engage clutch to change down a gear as traffic was slowing and the pedal was very loose, almost like it wasnt contected if it wasnt hydrolic i'd have thought the cable had snapped. second later after a couple of pumps it returned to normal

have done about 40 miles since and its doing it quite alot although so far has always returned to normal

its almost like if i dont use the clutch at least once every 30 secs it goes all slack until i pump it a few times

i did i quick serch on here but couldnt really find anything to cover this, im sure someone has the answer

any help appreciated

matt

 

[pulsarboby]

hellooooo matt you still about!!!
remember that car i bought off you a couple years back, remember the clutch that i fixed before i drove your pride n joy away with you banging your head against the wall:lol:

well possibly the same again mate, try bleeding it;-) if that dont work then it could well be a dicey clutch master cylinder causing probs, check the fluid level

 

[zxczxc]

.

hey bob

oh bloody hell yeah i remember now! something messed up on that clutch too didnt it. ive literally only just got back with it an hour or so ago and its dark so not investigated

find it odd the way it nearly completley goes slack then comes back the clutch still works fine though no matter how much slack there is it just feels like the bite moves to lower does (due to the fact the first few inch's of the clutch movement have gone)

i'll be popping down to my gf's next week in kent so i'll be passing yours in it if its still running so might be having a couple of bits off you to repair it bu sounds of things!


its a good car though literally the best ive seen in terms of looking clean and original its looks brand new inside and under the engine bay compared to any other one ive seen in standard condition

whats worse case scenario bob with this clutch? cost wise? hundred quid or so? with fitting if its a cyclinder?

matt

 

[pulsarboby]

if your coming down matt and providing its something simple il do it for nothing for you, if its the slave then just pay for the part. if its the master cylinder though i wont have time to do it but il show you how to.

give me a bell first though as im not always about

 

[zxczxc]

.

thanks alot bob that would be great! i'll give you plenty of notice for when im due down. im pretty sure it will be next weekend sometime though. i'll drop you text/call mid next week and confirm

 

[zenwahwong56]

Hi,

I have just had a clutch problem with my R, Changed the master cylinder for a new one, changed the slave for another one (Thanks Boby) and the problem is still there, after countless hrs bleeding and investigating, turns out the fork to slave rod has a lot of travel, have a look at yours. I think this means bearing needs changing hence new clutch time! else fork is bent but not to sure how you can tell!

Well let us know

Zen

 

[zxczxc]

.

cheers for the input matey

did you have similar symptoms to me? my clutch works fine and doesnt slip or make any funny noises its literally just the pedal that goes "slack for a few seconds" and back again to normal or sometimes between the two... it is rather odd and ive been driving round in it ok now for a day or so. doesnt appear to be any leaks from near the pedal area or under the bonnet

gears change fine aswell without problem so im hoping its nothing to do with the actual clutch itself or thrust bearing/fork etc

gut feeling tells me its master/slave cylinder related just cause of the way its behaving when the pedal loses pressure etc still think its a weird problem though

matt

 

[JasonR]

mine had the same problem if you pumped it a few times it would be fine 30sec or so like you said, mine turned out to be the slave cylinder was leaking and had to be replaced it cost me £90 to get repaired so its not to bad. it does sound like yours could be the same thing.

 

[zxczxc]

thanks mate i like the sound of it being slave cylinder

cheapest option and easy fix by sound so of it

something not usually associated with a gtir

 

[zxczxc]

.

just too add ive also noticed today that the cltch also does the same thing when the car is not even turned on

if i just sit in the car with the keys not even in ignition and pump the clutchwith 3/5 secs intervals between pumps it will sometimes go all way to bottom or somewhere near there with no tension and then return after another couple of pumps?

seems strange i'd have thought engine would have to be on with it being hydrolic? ie brake pedals go hard if engines off and your pump them

its almost like when you press cltch and it pushes the piston in on the system it doesnt always spring back out (if thats even how it works)

its starting to annoy me now and im concerned going more than a few miles from home just incase one day it DOESNT come back up

everyone still thinking slave/master cylinder?

 

[JasonR]

yeah i think it could still be the master/slave. when mine went it was the same, one thing i did was when the clutch had no pressure behind it was to open the bleed valve and and let the air out try this and see what happens when i did this with mine it went stiff again i think then (if it goes back to normal) you can be sure it will be the master/slave. i was using mine for about 2 weeks like this it still worked fine just a pain in the ass when you have not used the cluch for a couple of miles lol.

 

[PobodY]

mine had the same problem if you pumped it a few times it would be fine 30sec or so like you said, mine turned out to be the slave cylinder was leaking and had to be replaced it cost me £90 to get repaired so its not to bad. it does sound like yours could be the same thing.

I thought I had this problem... and started stressing. However, when I looked at the reservoir the fluid was on "minimum". :doh:
Looks like all I need is a bottle of DOT4 fluid and I'm back in business.

 

[zxczxc]

.

suppose that something i should have already checked

where abouts is the clutch fluid reservoir to see how much fluid is in it?
im not very familar with under the bonnets of these cars

cheers

 

[PobodY]

If you look at the firewall, to the right of the brake master cylinder is the clutch reservoir. On the side it has two markings: Max and Min...

Looks like my problem is bigger anyway. I think the slave cylinder has gone, and now people are suggesting that the clutch cover might have gone too because the plate isn't returning to the flywheel when the pressure is off the fork.

 

[pulsarboby]

suppose that something i should have already checked

where abouts is the clutch fluid reservoir to see how much fluid is in it?
im not very familar with under the bonnets of these cars

cheers

did you not learn the hard way last time matt???:lol: its the one on the bulkhead the little plastic one!

 

[zxczxc]

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ahh right i'll have a look tomorrow


lol the moment anything technical comes up on these cars it frightens the life out of me bob.. believe it or not im actually pretty good working on 106 gtis and swift gtis haha

i havent had one long enough (gtir)to really get used to where everything is under the bonnet

think i had that one you had off me about 3 days..... i didnt care that day i just wanted it gone off my mates back yard. just prooblem after problem after problem lol


sorry too hear that pobody. i hope i get a bit of the luck you obviously didnt with my clutch problem

chances are we'll both have expensive fixes.. thats kinda the way it seems to work with these cars

 

[Tim]

Hoping to collect this car in a couple of days as apart from the clutch it's pretty good.

I've done some reading and it would seem either the master or slave cylinder has gone, would this be fair to say or could there be something else? I couldn't see any fluid leaking and the clutch pedal and around that area was dry as a bone.

Regards

Tim

 

[PobodY]

Is there fluid coming from the slave cylinder (down the front of the engine between the factory oil separator and the distributor? - That's what I had and a new cylinder fixed it.
It costs ~£50 to get a new one to your door, or £7 for a rebuild kit.

It could just be that the clutch needs bleeding too. - Air in the lines will give you that spongy feeling on the pedal and the clutch will grind a little because it's not coming away from the flywheel.