ByCamelToVietnam Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Hi all, I have a Defender 91" 200tdi and recently the clutch pedal has started to feel soft and the biting point has dropped. On one occasion it was very hard to change gears. The clutch is about 2yrs old heavy duty ( last time it went it was the bearing/ pivot ball I think). Pedal has always been slightly soft for the first inch, but now is noticeable softer till about an inch or two off the bottom. No leaks or noticeable drop in fluid in the reservoir. I thought it might just need the pedal to be adjusted which I've done but still no luck. Any suggestions? Cheers, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 I'd change both master & slave cylinder the slave is possibly leaking into the clutch/flywheel housing, can't be any other reason, its a very simple system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByCamelToVietnam Posted October 13, 2017 Author Share Posted October 13, 2017 That's what I was thinking Western, although surely if I'm not loosing any fluid out of the reservoir there is no leak? Or could the part be failing internally? cheers Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Take the plate off the top of the pedal housing and check the two nuts on the push rod are tight on the top of the pedal. I had this come loose recently. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 have you looked underneath to see if clutch housing wading plug hole is damp or dry, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 15 hours ago, ByCamelToVietnam said: That's what I was thinking Western, although surely if I'm not loosing any fluid out of the reservoir there is no leak? Or could the part be failing internally? cheers Ben I had a similar problem with no loss of fluid. New master cylinder sorted it. As Western says "if you change the master do the slave at the same time". I assume my master was failing internally, probbably seals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByCamelToVietnam Posted October 19, 2017 Author Share Posted October 19, 2017 Thanks for the reply guys. Master cylinder went in no trouble. But, I've had a mare with the slave cylinder and stupidly pulled on the pushrod and its come out with the clip. I've tried to put the clip back in but struggling to find the right position for the clip to go in. Reading around it sounds like the clip isn't necessary, a dob of grease will keep it seated. What are peoples thoughts on no clip? I'm not at all keen on engine/gearbox out job. Cheers Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 I've done it with a big dob of grease before, carefully fed the slave on to it and it was fine for years 😊 Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 I've put the clip back in using a bit of tube over the push rod to keep the clip pushed up against the ball. With a fair bit of buggering about you can get it all back together remove the tube then reassemble. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 The other thing that could make the bite point low is a stretched pivot point on the fork, which is a weak spot. If replacing the hydraulics doesn't fix it, and bleeding with the front end upslope (to get air in the slave against the bleed port) doesn't work, then that could be a warning that the fork pivot point is about to burst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByCamelToVietnam Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 Thanks again for all the advice. I ended up just putting the slave in without seating the clip onto the fork. No problems thus far. Bleeding the clutch has definitely improved the pedal feel and with some adjustment of the pedal. Biting points is a bit more central and off the floor now. 3 hours ago, Snagger said: The other thing that could make the bite point low is a stretched pivot point on the fork, which is a weak spot. If replacing the hydraulics doesn't fix it, and bleeding with the front end upslope (to get air in the slave against the bleed port) doesn't work, then that could be a warning that the fork pivot point is about to burst. Possibly could be this and imagine it will be this if it fails. I have a fork which has the plate behind the ball point could this still break through? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 That's unlikely then. Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 As Mo says, the reinforced fork should be ok. I had a low bite point and soft pedal until I elevated the front end before bleeding. It doesn't seem to affect most people, but if you have eliminated the cylinders and fork but still get trouble, it's worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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