Clutch Hydraulics problem (I hope)

[sentwistle]

Hello,

I have been having problems with my clutch pedal for a while now. I am almost certain it is the hydraulics as it works just fine most of the time. Occassionally the pedal does not come back up propoerly and today the slighest touch of my foot sent it sinking to the floor on it' s own (is there a ghost on board my 3.2 :~)

I think a plunger seal is getting stuck creating a negative pressure which sucks the pedal back.

My question is does anyone have any experience of this and if so which end of teh system it is most likely to be. In the end I know I should change both master and slave cylinders but it would be nice to get the faulty one done first.

I will take a hard look for leakage on the cylinders this weekend as this may indicate the answer - one question is what' s the best way to get to the gearbox slave cylinder - I assume under the car as without looking too hard I haven' t seen the slave from the engine bay.

Can anyone shed any rays of wisdom onto this task ?

Cheers, Steve E.
Silver ' 87 3.2 Coupe

 

[Guest]

Well, my words of wisdom are limited (beyond Don' t Do It !), but the slave cylinder is on top of the transmission, on the driver' s side (Bentley book/American ?), held on by 2 nuts.

One assumes that the clutch pedal return spring (behind pedal pivot) is OK.

 

[sentwistle]

John, thanks for your comments. I have checked the spring already and it seems ok.

Your comment (Don' t Do It !) raises another question. I am assuming the repair of the system will be a DIY suitable job.

I think it was Hugh who explained his thought process on picking jobs to do himself and jobs to sub-comtract to the experts.

Anyway I figure I will have to replace rather than repair the cylinders (as they WILL be scored or ridged inside the bore and a seal kit will be destroyed quickly after installation). I thus figure that it is a simple task which might cost a few hours of labour which I could do myself and enjoy getting to know my car. Oh yes also the risk of me messing up the job and making it a more costly mess is low.

Any comments - is there something I don' t know or John was this an off the cuff comment ?

Cheers, Steve E.

 

[Guest]

It was a bit off the cuff, as I tend to stay clear of car things that get my hands dirty - mostly on the basis of, I' ve started and I can' t finish!

Now electrical car things, no problem, ' cause I understand them.

Anyway, my Bentley book does not devote much space to taking these things apart (just a couple of pages), so they must be pretty easy, if you have the patience (and don' t mind grovelling in the footwell/under the car).