• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

no clutch

Share this page

Woodie

Woodie

Jedi Warrior
Offline
Well the PO told me he replaced the clutch, but had never bled it nor driven the car. Tonight was to be the first drive in two years. I had bled the clutch a week ago, and tonight got the bonnet re installed. Climbed into the car, and VROOM, started like a dream, warmed up for 30 seconds, and put my foot on the clutch, and tried to put it in gear, GGRRRRRRIIINDNNDD, same noise in any gear. Oh great. I got out and spent the next 90 minutes bleeding and rebleeding the clutch. No luck. Well lest say no luck getting the car going. The piston on the clutch moves in and out when somebody steps on the clutch, but there is no pressure to the peddle. The piston does not fully return into the slave, but when the peddle is pressed I believe it is at full travel. It extends out from the slave 2 or 2.5 inches. I tried pulling/pushing the clutch lever farther but no luck.

HELP, please. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cryin.gif
 
How long has the car set since "the clutch replacement"?
When the slave is moving out 2 -2 1/2" is it also moving the clutch lever? Could be a frozen clutch (rusted tight) from sitting. However, you said no pressure to the clutch pedal, should be some pressure when the slave starts pushing the lever. I would suspect air is still in the system. Another thought, no throw out bearing installed?
 
I think the clutch is stuck to the pressure plate. Leave the car in gear and try to rock the clutch loose.

Great long thread around here on how to break a clutch loose.
 
The clutch was replaced in the fall of 2004. It has not been driven since. The clutch lever also moves with the slave. The clutch pedal has minimal pressure, and I am sure there is no air in the system. I bled it empty twice, and the third time I kept the resevoir full till all the bubbles stopped.
 
OK read it, I will try re bleeding on saturday. I will also check to see if the engine turns when in 4th gear and the clutch pedal fully depressed. If the engine turns this is not good, and from what you say, the clutch is stuck to the pressure plate. How do I free it up, if this is the problem.
 
There has been a long post here someplace with lots of options.
 
Thanks Chris, I may try the inner tube this weekend.

NOW, what if the clutch is stuck to the pressure plate as mentioned earlier, I read how to check, but...HOW do I free that up.?? (if I need to )
 
Ah the ole slave cylinder travel PITA. You should be able to look in the top inspection hole of the transmission and see the activation of the clutch. If the rubber plug is still in the hole , just pull it off, so you can see what's going on. There is one fix you can do to get more travel without having to pull the motor, I've done this many times on the race cars. You can make the slave cylinder pushrod adjustable, It just happens to be that the OD of the slave pushrod is the perfect size to run a 5/16" die over it. You then can get a 5/16 barrel nut ( which is longer than 5/16 regular nut and two 5/16 jam nuts (thinner than than regular 5/16 nuts) thread each side of the pushrod with 5/16' die and now you have an additional inch of adjustment. Be sure not to make the cut in the pushrod near the front that would go into the slave cylinder but rather on the back side near the eye. You can also do the same thing on the master cylinder pushrod, a little more work but even more adjustment can be had from the M/C side. Hope this helps.
 
This needs to go in archives or someplace as it keeps comming up.

I have had the same problems and tried most of the methods. I finally found the one that is easy, takes only one person, quick, and will work every time if the system is in order otherwise. I found the technique here and I have posted it several more times.

Step 1. Take a bicycle tire inner tube and cut through it about 10 inches from the valve. The size of the tube is not really very important.

Step 2. Remove the cap from the clutch reservoir.

Step 3. Take the end of the inner tube farthest from the valve and put it over the filler hole on the clutch reservoir. It should be on the threaded part where the cap screws on. Then use a hose clamp (I can't remember the size) to clamp the inner tube onto the top of the reservoir. This takes a little bit of trial and error to get the right tightness. Too loose and it will leak. Too tight and it will cut through the rubber of the inner tube. May take a couple tries. If you get it too tight and it cuts through the rubber, just cut a half inch off the end and try again.

Step 4. Pour brake/clutch fluid into the open end of the inner tube until it is just below the valve. Of course, you must hold the open end of the tube elevated while doing this.

Step 5. Fold the open end of the tube over a couple time to seal it. I then clamp it using a spring clamp (don't know what they are called) from my wood shop. The type where you squeeze one end to open the other. It has rubber on the jaws so it is kind to the rubber tube. I then hang the clamped end from the hood latch so that it remains elevated above the reservoir.

Step 6. Take a bicycle pump attached to the inner tube valve and give it about 5 or 10 pumps. Careful now as too much pressure may cause the end on the reservoir to pop off and then you will have a mess.

Step 7. Now you have a much larger reserve of fluid in a pressurized system. All you do now is slip under the car and open the bleed valve. Use whatever method (if any) you want to catch the fluid flowing out. You should have a nice steady stream of fluid with bubbles followed by just fluid. It works like a charm.

The best part is that it only costs about $2.00 for the inner tube and it can be reused.

By the way, I found another problem on my '75 is that it is impossible to get a wrench on that bleeder valve. I took and cut the end off a cheap wrench so that it would fit.

Good luck.

Matt"
 
Hap, before I do this to the slave push rod, is the push rod length adjustable ? You mention an extra 1 inch of adjustment by making the mod.
 
Woodie when you bled the system till empty all you did was introduce air into the system. The master cylinder should be kept full while bleeding. Before doing anything else re-bleed the system. Another 'power' bleeder I use is this https://www.bmw-m.net/TechProc/bleeder.htm It makes brake and clutch bleeding a one person job with plenty of brake fluid available. I would also follow Hap's advice on removing the rubber plug and look in the bell housing and see if everything is there and moving. No pedal pressure indicates plently of air is probably still in the system.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Hap, before I do this to the slave push rod, is the push rod length adjustable ? You mention an extra 1 inch of adjustment by making the mod.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. We have to do this kind of mod all the time on the race cars using the tilton clutches. Also something to keep in mind, all pushrods are not the same length, I'm been parting out cars for years and keeping the pushrods and found there to be many different lengths, but don't hold your breath waiting for a British part suppilier to tell you this, but it's true, also not all the pivot arms are the same either. So if you're 100% sure all this stuff has been together on this car since factory, you're good, and I would keep trying to bleed the clutch which is a true PITA, we use remote bleeder lines on the race cars and this makes life a bunch easier.
 
Hap, tell us about remote bleeder lines.
 
my Haynes manual warned me about slave rod tampering people like u guys ; ) hahaha ..
i believe it said to change the throw out bearing....zimmmmy
 
That is exactly what it says, however you can always weld a 1/4 inch bit on it as well and fine tune with a grinder.

Worked for me.
 
with out cutting or welding is ther no way to adjust the slave rod?

The more I read what you guys write the more I pray it is a bad bleed job. I am gonna either buy a prssure bleeder, or make the bike tube one this weekend and lie on my back again, on the cold cold garage floor..WHEN I SHOULD BE SANDING PRIMER AND GETTING THE DARN CAR INTO THE PAINT SHOP !!
 
Back
Top