19 replies to this topic

[Dutchy1990]

Good Afternoon All,

So i am having an issue getting into any gear when the engine is running, when the engine is off, i can select any gear smoothly.

The car had been sat around for a month or so and before i never had any issues.

I bleed the hydraulics at the slave cylinder last weekend and the issue seemed to resolve itself, however after a week of non running the issue has returned.

I am thinking I have an issue with the master cylinder or slave cylinder but was wondering if there was any sort of test or anything else i can do to determine if this is the issue before i buy a new ones?

Thank you in advance.

[sonscar]

Does the clutch pedal work normally?does the clutch lever on the wok move half an inch or so?,Steve..

[Dutchy1990]

The clutch pedal travels normally but seems a bit light if that makes sense? When I look at the clutch lever everything seems to be working fine and looks like it is moving about that. I will double check that distance when I get in.

Cheers. Dan.

Edited by Dutchy1990, 10 August 2022 - 03:26 PM.

[slidehammer]

I would suspect a leaking master or slave cylinder is the problem. You can try pumping the peddle and see if you can get it in gear that way. That would indicate a hydraulic issue.. Sometime once in gear they leak pressure causing the clutch to start to bite after a while of holding the peddle down. I would look up under the dash for sighs of a leak and on the slave cylinder. Hopefully it is the slave cylinder as that is cheaper and easier to fix. I personally don't rely on repair kits anymore after have some earlier failures on them I would just replace the complete component at fault with a new one (much better in the long run)

[ac427]

Is the clutch adjusted properly?

[Dutchy1990]

Slidehammer - thanks for the advice, I will have a look into those points you have raised.

Ac427 - I can only assume yea as I haven’t touched it since I have got the car a couple of years ago. I guess I am going to have to go through the Haynes manual to check the clutch is adjusted properly.

[KTS]

is it possible that the clutch plate has stuck to the flywheel or backplate?

can't remember what you can do to release it, but I'm sure a search will throw up a few suggestions

[Andosoft]

I have had the clutch plate stuck to backplate a few times before (moisture during storage effectively had it rusted on). To check if this is the case you can pop the starter motor out, have someone push the pedal in. Looking through from starter, you should be able to see the plate movement and it should be free (i moved mine with a screwdriver to check). I was also able to free it once using a screwdriver and easing it off the plate. Another time i had to remove the diaphragm.

Have since replaced flywheel, clutch plate and resurfaced the backplate. No longer an issue.

[Dutchy1990]

Thanks for the help!! Home from work tonight now so I will give all this a try at the week! 👍🏻

[postve]

Hey Dutchy, So what was the issue ?

[viz139]

To free a stuck clutch plate start the car in gear with the clutch pedal pressed fully down. Had to do this a few times when car left outside for a long period,much longer than a week. Your problem sounds more  hydraulic.

 

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[postve]

Thx Viz as I have same issue but my clutch is basically brand new and only 590km on it, car has been sitting for 6 months as I was doing body work but damn thing will not disengage no matter what I do, trying the - rotate the plate today - see if that is the issue and if so, then what, I just put the damn motor in after swapping out gears and clutch was fine just a month ago before I did the job??? I was testing the car after sitting to avoid just that and after pulling engine and changing gears - no disengagement - and yes I have done all the adjustments, has a new slave etc so truly down to the clutch - any thoughts??

[GraemeC]

Thx Viz as I have same issue but my clutch is basically brand new and only 590km on it, car has been sitting for 6 months as I was doing body work but damn thing will not disengage no matter what I do, trying the - rotate the plate today - see if that is the issue and if so, then what, I just put the damn motor in after swapping out gears and clutch was fine just a month ago before I did the job??? I was testing the car after sitting to avoid just that and after pulling engine and changing gears - no disengagement - and yes I have done all the adjustments, has a new slave etc so truly down to the clutch - any thoughts??

 

So yours is probably more an assembly issue than a clutch sticking just because it has been sat. Possibly you should start your own thread so that it doesn't distract from the original poster's problem.

[postve]

Agreed and this is a pre balanced so not sure how on earth it could be an assembly as nothing has changed since I removed engine and put gears back in - will start a thread but working with MED folks to resolve

Thx Viz

[stuart bowes]

I read a Clarkson article once (I know generally he just repairs things with hammers I grant you) but he had an old Alfa with this issue, someone quoted him some daft price

 

in the end he wedged a broom handle in holding the clutch pedal down and left it overnight, by the morning it had pinged free

 

couldn't really say if that was adviseable or not