Clutch question

[oldokie]

The flared side goes in toward the inlet pipe. IMHO bench bleeding is of no advantage in this instance, fill the master cylinder, barely crack the bleeder on the slave, let some fluid slowly drip into a jar, it should self bleed in 5 or 10 minutes. Don't let the master go too low or you'll have to start over. Hope this helps!

[Tonyw]

The clutch slave cylinder seal larger diameter should fit into the slave cylinder first, I am wondering if the clutch fork/lever has cracked and bending inside the bell housing??

It would help if someone could post the actual travel of the slave cylinder rod from go to whoa then he can check to see if there is something amis in the hydraulics, if there is enough travel and no or little free play then the clutch fork or clutch itself is causing the problem.

tony w

[john.p.clegg]

Tony

already have done....

which will produce 1.5cm of movement on your slave pushrod.......


John

[gino1]

Robb,
I had a similar experience and the fault was the clutch bearing sleeve, that is attached to the gearbox, had sheared off at the base of the flange.
Gino
Milano Italy

[Greg Foster]

I had just rebuilt my slave cylinder on my S3. After discussing the process with a fellow who rebuilds british hydraulics I followed his recommendations. It works great and no leaks!
Check the bore after cleaning to see if you have any serious gouges running paralell with the cylinder.
If it is not scored or the scores are slight , take your small cylinder hone and cover the hone stones with 0000 steel wool by wrapping a small amount arounde the stones. Hone the cylinder as you normally would with that setup. If you still see scoring or deep scratches you may need a new cylinder.....depending upon the diameter of the bore. Too big and the seals won't work.Too coarse a hone job and the seals will wear out quickly. The honing with fine steel wool tends to polish the bore without enlargening it. Also a typical brake hone has rather coarse stones which will remove the soft aluminum quickly and thus increasing the diameter of the bore!!!! Equating to less of a seal.
When the bore is polished, clean thoroughly with brakleen or similar and dry completely as the brakeleen may damage the rubber seals. Use Valvoline synthetic DOT 4 fluid to lubricate the bore and seal when installing the seal and piston.
Good Luck
Greg

[robb4100]

I have replaced the slave cylander and the pedal is now firm although the travel is still about the same.

Now I have to tackle the stuck clutch plate.

For those of you that have had this problem, will it continue until I rebuild the clutch or will getting it unstuck tend to solve the problem for a while.

Thanks

Robb

[john.p.clegg]

Rob
The latter........

John

[ttaunton]

Robb
John is right. When I finally got to take it all apart, the flywheel and pressure plate had a coating of burnt on muck. Probably clutch dust and condensation and maybe a bit of oil (probably doesn't help friction much either). I had to scrape it off. If you use the car regularly it may not stick again for some time. It used to be a yearly rigmarole for me after the winter lay-up, because I could never be arsed to take the engine and gearbox out, and I could always unstick it successfully quite quickly, then I was good for another year.

[1964 S1]

I agree with both of the above posts. I've had the seized clutch plate problem on both my little Elan and +2. It's happened to me three or four times over the past ten years. Also, I've learned warming the engine up first seems to help before you try the "don't have a wall nearby" solution. What you don't want happening is the rivets to shear on the clutch facings. THAT'S when it's New clutch time.

[ppnelan]

Seized clutches can usually be unstuck by heat cycling - start the engine & wait until everything is thoroughly heated through, then switch it off & leave it to cool overnight (a frost would help!). You should only need to do this once or twice and 'bob's your uncle'! Much less violent than the other methods...

Matthew

[robb4100]

Thanks guys for the advice.

Trying the heat/cold cycle tonight (gave the not to close to a wall solution a try earlier today).

I'll keep you posted.

[robb4100]

Gents,

I am at a loss. Tried to use the starter to free it up this AM and am afraid that I have fried the starter.

this is what happened
Let the car warm uo to 50 or so .
Put it in 4th and tried to start. The car rolled 20 feet or so but the clutch did not free it self.

put it in reverse and did the same.

repeat two times. the second time the car stopped and when I tried to start and just got the loud click from the solenoid.
Checked the battery (12.1 volts a little low0

tried to jump start just got the loud click unable to turn the starter.

Suggestions?

Robb

Those following along will also know that I have been chasing down a voltage regulator problem in parallel

[john.p.clegg]

Robb
Sounds like a flat battery to me,12.1 volts is a little low and will be a lot lower when trying to crank,it's amps that matter.....


John

P.S.
Maybe the starter is jammed?

[robb4100]

Well I towed it to the top of a hill. started it rolling down the hill and was unable to shift into any gear to try and push start it. once I brought it to a stop at the bottom was able to engage the gears.

towed to the top again and same thing happened.

so

the freeze/thaw method failed
the don't do it near a wall method jammed the starter or fried it (any ideas on how to unjam)
and the roll it from the top of a hill method was a non starter

I truley am a Dumb current owner

I am about to resort to taking to my mechanic- Still looking for help!

Robb

[ppnelan]

The car has to be FULLY up to temperature (i.e beyond thermostat opening temperature), then left overnight to FULLY cool. It isn't a 'quick fix'! If it doesn't free the clutch first time, it should do if repeated a second time. The heating cycle causes expansion of the flywheel, then the cooling cycle makes it contract again, so the greater the temperature range that can be created the better i.e. a frosty night will help...

I've also heard of people spraying WD40 into the bellhousing in desperation, but I'm not sure of the long term effect on the clutch facings...

Otherwise, it looks like an engine out job...

Matthew