I have done a search on the forum looking for info on clutch problems but what happened yesterday to mine does seem very odd.
For the last while the clutch seems to have two settings. It alternates between releasing high and releasing low. No problem with shifting in any gear on either scenario. Until yesterday. Driving 14 miles in two hours through south London buggeration there was a loud bang like another car being hit. It didn't sound like it came from the car and definately not from next to my left calf.(unless it was so loud it echod off the buildings)
No problem from the car so we continued as normal. Half an hour later while pulling onto the motorway from a layby problems started. 1st no problem , second no problem..... then no clutch. Now at this point there was no warning and pulling into traffic at 6k rpm the last thing one needs is no third. Luckily I was able to hard sholder the car and checked the reseviour, which seemed OK. Climb in. No clutch. Turn off car turn on car, no first but second. Pull off but no third. drive along in 2nd looking for a place of safety when all the gears came back on line. Then no gears. Turned car off while still rolling, back on and all the gears reappeared.
All gears remained available all the way back to central London, with varying degrees of difficulty getting into first but generally no worse than when the box is cold during winter.2 hr of stop start London nightmare with only the following:
Vibration at 3000 from the gear lever, and a clonk on pull off and on overrun. (rubber centre gone?) On overun is a slight whine like a straight cut gearbox or a duff diff. There is also a click when releasing the clutch either in or out of neutral. It only made this noise when releasing the clutch very suddenly in neutral before this episode.
I have provisionally diagnosed it as the plate rubber centre letting go. It is an 18yo clutch with 90 335 miles on it so not really surprising. What was odd was that on my merc, when it chewed up the plate springs, that was it game over. Pull over and get towed. No on again off again.
What did worry me was that something in the gearbox had gone awry. Any views beyond the rubber centre letting go?
For the last while the clutch seems to have two settings. It alternates between releasing high and releasing low. No problem with shifting in any gear on either scenario. Until yesterday. Driving 14 miles in two hours through south London buggeration there was a loud bang like another car being hit. It didn't sound like it came from the car and definately not from next to my left calf.(unless it was so loud it echod off the buildings)
No problem from the car so we continued as normal. Half an hour later while pulling onto the motorway from a layby problems started. 1st no problem , second no problem..... then no clutch. Now at this point there was no warning and pulling into traffic at 6k rpm the last thing one needs is no third. Luckily I was able to hard sholder the car and checked the reseviour, which seemed OK. Climb in. No clutch. Turn off car turn on car, no first but second. Pull off but no third. drive along in 2nd looking for a place of safety when all the gears came back on line. Then no gears. Turned car off while still rolling, back on and all the gears reappeared.
All gears remained available all the way back to central London, with varying degrees of difficulty getting into first but generally no worse than when the box is cold during winter.2 hr of stop start London nightmare with only the following:
Vibration at 3000 from the gear lever, and a clonk on pull off and on overrun. (rubber centre gone?) On overun is a slight whine like a straight cut gearbox or a duff diff. There is also a click when releasing the clutch either in or out of neutral. It only made this noise when releasing the clutch very suddenly in neutral before this episode.
I have provisionally diagnosed it as the plate rubber centre letting go. It is an 18yo clutch with 90 335 miles on it so not really surprising. What was odd was that on my merc, when it chewed up the plate springs, that was it game over. Pull over and get towed. No on again off again.
What did worry me was that something in the gearbox had gone awry. Any views beyond the rubber centre letting go?
