Problems with clutch/ gearbox - difficulty selecting gear

[chaddy lad]

Dear All
Your help and advice required, having difficulties with gear selection / clutch on my series 2 T.C. which happened quite suddenly last week. So Iv'e since changed gear box oil then, checked hydraulics to find reservoir empty! this has been filled giving some improvement but its still a long way from being right. The clutch bite is very low (pushing through the floor the engage gears). could it be air in the system or has the slave cylinder gone? your advice needed.

Chaddy lad

 

[arthuy]

If your pedal is nearly at the floor but still operates then could be air.If topping up the fluid makes it better the this is probably the problem but what is the source.

Look at the pedal and push rod for signs of leaks check the slave cylinder and bleed nipple, you can see it from the drivers side without jacking it up. Look at the master cylinder is there any liquid or damp patches around it.

If nothing is visable then bleed the system. Some leaks only Leak when the system is under pressure i.e pressing the pedal get some body to do it for you. if there is no loss in the resevoir then problem solved.

If the slave clyinder is bust then they are quite cheap to replace. and if you have problems getting one then a pre 1983 mini will do the job and a bit cheaper, pop into the newsagents and read MINI world there are tons of places advertising parts.

 

[Penguin]

it has a clutch and master cylinders, but what i suspect your really asking is if it has separate fluid reservoirs for the clutch and brake , in which case the answer is both masters share the same fluid reservoir.

if you have any clutch drag its always harder to engage reverse as that does not have syncromesh on it. i would start by putting it in reverse with the engine off, and starting it with your foot on the clutch, and seeing if it drives backwards. if it does the changes are the the gearbox itself is ok and your fault is clutch drag, either a faulty clutch or a hydraulic fault

 

[Ban306]

Thanks for this.
After I posted the message I looked on line and actually saw where the master cylinder is located.
Will try this clutch drag test. What if it doesnt drive backwards . Is my worst come to fruition !!!
Thanks again.

if you do the test make sure there is nothing behind you as you will go backwards and won’t be able to disengage the gear have a hand ready on the key to shut down the engine.
if the master is empty you could try refilling it and bleed the system then see where it is leaking from.
it could be leaking from the slave cylinder or the master the same thing happened to me very low clutch hard to get into gear. I changed my master cylinder to then find the slave cylinder had also rusted around the piston and had water inside the rubber cap the slave is so cheap I would just change the lot if I was you.
The worst part of the job is getting the push rod to turn where the clutch pedals is.

 

[harveyp6]

yesterday when had the problem I had left the car running for some considerable time at tick-over- 20 mins ? could the hydraulic fluid have got a bit hot ?

I've had that happen with a brake pedal going to the floor because a pipe was run too close to the exhaust, so I see no reason why the same shouldn't happen with a clutch. The only thing I would say is that if that was the case it should affect the selection of all gears, not just reverse.

 

[Penguin]

ive had that on race cars where heat soak has overheated the clutch master and so boiled the fluid, i wouldn't expect that to happen on a road car,

unless your car is fitted with a 4 cylinder clutch master cylinder, the 4 cyl master assembly will fit a V8 but its very close to the exhaust manifold and will pick up a lot of heat. is your cluch master fitted vertically as a V8 should be or horizontal parallel with the brake master?