Clutch problems!!!!

[S2 Ant]

Driving last night and suddenly my clutch wouldnt disengage when i put the pedal down, was fine up until then and its not slipping. the fluid in the resevoir at the front on the passenger side is low, but dont know what fluid goes in there....

im hoping this is why it wont disengage, also the power steering was a bit heavy too.....

HELP ME PLEEEEEEEASE cos had to bodge it home but banging it in to gears whilst bliping the throttle... hope ive not done anymore damage doing it!!!

Could someone please TXT me what rating fluid goes in there so i can try sort it.

077644 87181

[Vagsport]

Fluid in passenger side resovoir is nothing to do with your brakes, that is mineral fluid for your PAS only. If your clutch does not disengage, then I would say there is air in your clutch master cylinder, or a leak in your clutch slave cylinder. First thing to check would be the fluid in your combined clutch / brake fluid resovoir. If this ever happens while you are out, I would get the car recovered home, rather than mash the lever through the gate clutchless, this can ruin the syncro hubs, which will cause crunching gear changes later.
HTH

Siena

[Mark Halligan]

Ant,

as Siena has said, the power steering reservoir on the nearside has nothing to do with the Clutch. This shares fluid with the brakes, if you look you will see a hose that comes off of the brake fluid reservoir on its left and toward the back. This leads to the Clutch master cylinder, which is bolted to the bulkhead inside the car, and is a real F£$cker to change BTDT.

What does the pedal feel like when you press it, is it any different?

I had to change my clutch mater cylinder when the pushrod from the pedal snapped, but I doubt this happens too often.

Try bleeding the slave cylinder to see if that makes any difference.


Mark.

[Greg_S]

Looks like we are all of the same opinion. Had a call from Ant this morning and the general concesus between me and my dad was that is was probably an airlock in the clutch master cylinder.

[S2 Ant]

most of the pedal now feels really really soft, nothing there, but toward the bottom it starts to disengage, as the revs die down but it does still drive the car, so its partially releasing it but slipping...

That would make sense about the airlock as obviously the air would compress a lot more so the pedal wouldnt do anything.

Brake fluid resevoir is full by the way....

It happened during really giving it some too, ******! lol

[S2 Ant]

Ok, the level is def high enough, altho that feed i guess is at the topish part of the resevoir and it happened just after taking a left turn at high speed so would shift the fluid away from the feed so the air may have got there i dunno...

Where is the slave cylinder and i assume there is just a nipple on it to bleed it.

Where is the clutch master cylinder? if im able to bleed both i guess it makes sense to do them both, should i do them in a particular order or wouldnt that matter?

Wont be doing it until tomorrow now anyway...

Until i know where the bits are to do etc im a bit stuck... also a lil bit hungover LOL


Cheers for the help tho guys

[Vagsport]

Unlike the braking system, the clutch needs little fluid to work, if you popped the feed off the reservoir, the clutch will work for at least a couple of days before it became spongy. Spirited cornering will not make any difference. There is only one bleed point, on the slave cylinder. I find clutches are easier to bleed than brakes. If you're alone, undo the nipple and let fluid run through. If it doesn't come out, give the pedal a couple of quick pumps to start it off. It works fine for me, even after doing a 6 speed conversion with an empty, new slave and master. The pedal will feel soft for a few hours, but will gradually become firm, as any air left in the system will work its way to the top of the reservoir. Bear in mind though, if there is air in your system and nothing has been disturbed, be prepared to renew the slave / master or both.
HTH

Siena

[S2 Ant]

hmmmmmmm... somethings probably knackered then cos was fine then just went!

Will check out tomorrow....

along with finding prices.... i shudder to think what they're gonna be like

[S2 Ant]

Have spoken to a mechanic mate of mine who specialises with VW / Audi...

Because it felt like the clutch was disengaging a bit before but not now, he reckons its the slave cylinder, best bet is to bleed the slave cylinder then see if it works at all, but goes again.

If it does that he said to change the slave one and that should do the job So hoping its that... slave cylinder is only £21+vat too so not too bad....