Aragorn Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I've just taken delivery of disco V8 thats needing some work. One of its problems was that the clutch slave cylinder was gone, so today i clambered around underneath and fitted a new slave cylinder. I've not actually driven it to see if its worked, as i need to change the heater matrix (its leaking) and charge the battery, but i found the pedal very odd. The first several inches of pedal travel feel very light, then once its about half way down it starts to feel like a normal clutch pedal. I've bled the thing well, using an eezibleed kit and 10psi of pressure. Bled it thru three times just to be sure. It just feels like it needs some slack adjusted out of the pedal, but obviously until i get it running i cant be sure the system is all actually working. I also need to change the heater matrix, have the dash mostly out, but stalled at removing the steering wheel. I ended up buying a puller from ebay, so hopefully that will do the job when i get back over to it next week. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted June 16, 2009 Author Share Posted June 16, 2009 bump.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDi.Si Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I'm pretty sure there is an excentric adjuster at the top of the pedel to take up slack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cipx2 Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 The eccentric is used only to adjust the pedal height at rest (level with the brake pedal), not much influence on clutch performance and it's only on 200 series. Aragorn, wait till you can start the engine, shift the gearbox and see how it works. Maybe it's not properly bled (pumping the pedal will show that), maybe it's the master cylinder on its way out, maybe everything works ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted June 16, 2009 Author Share Posted June 16, 2009 It is a 200 series, but the two pedals are about level. I'll see if pumping it makes any difference, but i do suspect that knowing my luck it will be the master cylinder at fault. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinhollings Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 It is a 200 series, but the two pedals are about level.I'll see if pumping it makes any difference, but i do suspect that knowing my luck it will be the master cylinder at fault. Cheers it does sound like air but master cylinder can give this problem as they are cheep i would change it any way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted June 16, 2009 Author Share Posted June 16, 2009 The MC looks original (it has a metal can style resovoir) so its quite possibly that the slave cylinder failing and the resulting pumping of the pedal might have taken out the seals in the master cylinder. MC is about 20 quid, so if its away, i'll get one of them ordered up with the other bits. I'm reasonably sure there isnt any air in there, the eezibleed kit tends to be quite good at bleeding these things, just have to see how it goes at the weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtail4x4 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I'm pretty sure there is an excentric adjuster at the top of the pedel to take up slack. where? since fitting a britpart (yea I know) master to my 200 disco the pedal is 50mm lower than the brake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoHere Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Hi Guys I am driving a 300tdi Disco and I have the same symptom on my clutch. It has been like that for about a year now. If anything the clutch is not biting until the very end of the travel on the pedal. One other symptom is a definite different noise/tone from the gearbox when I have the clutch in or out. I had the clutch replaced about 18 months ago and I am convinced the "mechanic" that did the work didn’t replace the fork or release bearing. I’m sure one or both are on the way out. If anyone else has any ideas I would love to hear them. Does anyone know if it is possible to replace the fork and or release bearing without having to remove the gearbox from the vehicle. Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 Ok folks, fitted the matrix and refitted the dash today in the rain. Tried to drive it but you guessed it, not a hope of getting it into gear with the engine running. So does it look like the master cylinder is away? I know its a britpart slave, but i wouldnt expect these symptoms from a dodgy slave cyl, more like it pissing fluid everywhere. Dont wanna blow £30 on a genuine master cylinder to find that its still humped! I guess the other possibility is that the clutch is seized to the flywheel. I didnt actually think of this earlier, so i didnt try to see if i could free it off, but with the odd pedal travel i do have my doubts that its that... The pedal moves about 2" loosely, before feeling completely normal. Ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 The pedal moves about 2" loosely, before feeling completely normal.Ideas? Just give it a quick try with conventional bleeding. Get the misses to push the clutch pedal down to the floor then open and re-tighten the bleed nipple, repeat a few times. In my experience, the Gunson Easibleed is OK, but at 10psi pressure it'll not dislodge stubborn air bubbles like normal bleeding would. Regards Julian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 Tried it both ways but it made no difference. Also pumping the pedal doesnt improve things, and if it was air, i'd have expected it to pump up like brakes do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 Had another prod at it today, i first put it in gear, put the brakes on, and started it, it started fine, ruling out the clutch being stuck to the flywheel. Once it was running i managed to get it into gear by shoving VERY hard, and once moving i could shift by matching the revs, but the clutch is most definately not fully disengaging. Am i right in thinking its time to change the master cylinder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cipx2 Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 If you're positive there's no air in the system then try these: - check if the brake clutch hose is in good order and it doesn't swell under pressure; clamp the hose at the lower end and press the pedal hard - clamp the hose at the upper end (closer to the pipe coming from the master cyl) and see if the pressure increases proportionally with the pedal travel (i.e. the resistance you feel on the pedal is proportional with the travel) - clamp same as above, keep a constant high pressure on the pedal for like 30 secs or so to see if the master can keep the pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 hmm, the hose looked a bit crappy when i removed it, was all perished and split. I didnt have another so just put it back on. Question now is, do i just change the hose or do i just replace both. My biggest issue is i can only work on it at the weekends, meaning its another week of waiting to try a new thing. I think i'll just buy the MC and hose and change them both. Otherwise its another week and another shipping charge to get the MC if the hose doesnt fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cipx2 Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 ... made a mistake, I wrote 'brake' instead of 'clutch', now corrected but you understood what I was trying to say I donno, it's a << time vs money vs weekends lost vs even replacing both parts doesn't guarantee a working clutch >> decision. Your call ... If in your shoes, I would have replaced the master at the same time with the slave (and the hose if looked perished) from the first place. When one of them goes, the other is not so far behind. Specially on a 20 year old vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 Just thaught i'd update this for future searches etc. I pulled the old MC and it looked knackered with fluid down the back of it. Thaught bingo, so installed a new cylinder and a new flexi hose. Bled it up and it was exactly the same. So i clamped off the flexi and the pedal was instantly hard..... Turns out, the slave cylinder when mounted to the tranny sits slightly uphill, meaning the bleed nipple isnt actually at the highest point of the cylinder. Ended up unbolting the cylinder from the truck, and tilting it downwards. Got a few nice big air bubbles out of it then refitted it and that sorted it! Weird! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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