Defender Clutch !!!

[heisenberg]

Hi all!

I have been getting some strange whining & grinding noises when depressing the clutch pedal on my defender for some time now, but it has come and gone. The clutch has been operating fine with or without the noise. I have just been for a drive on the moors to look at the snow! and part of this was off road (just for the record i am a off road novice). As soon as i came back onto tarmac the clutch pedal biting point depressed (coincidence?) and as i was driving back home it souded like a metal chain was whipping under the front floor area! I thought at first that it might just be some of the moor which may of got caught in the chassis working its way out (hoping), but it sounded quite alarming! I would of stopped but it was getting dark and its a bit scary on the moors in the dark! As i drove on the there was no clutch at all, so i had to drive back in 2nd. As i neared home i heard the sound of metal falling (sounded like a metal clip to be honest) from the underside!

I assumed before this that there was a problem with the clutch release (bearing) but have i really broken something now?

I will be taking it to the garage for repairs, so will it be £££££ !!!!!

thanks in advance for any replies

[Green Bob]

The way the clutch goes is usually the pivot punching through the fork. If the pedal feels the same, but there's no clutch, this will likely be your problem. If not, then it's going to be a hydraulic problem: a leak of fluid, which would account for the change in bite point. The hydraulic problem could be aggravated by the angles encountered when you were off road, if it's spilt from the master cylinder.

Neither of these account for your noise though.

You say you were exploring the moors, where are you? There may be a forum member close to you that help you find what's broken.