Clutch trouble

My clutch on my 1988 atmo has been gradually getting closer to not disengaging properly. It has now reached the point where it crunches when I try to engage first or reverse when stationary. The pedal has about two inches of free travel before any resistance is felt. But I think the workshop manual says there is no adjustment of the free travel. What could be causing this?

[simontaylor]

I'm sure some one will suggest you try bleeding it. I think the slave cylinder in above the gearbox and there is a bleed nipple on an extension pipe that runs down to the bottom of the gearbox under the car. Not done it myself yet, so no idea what problems/challenges you may encounter.

could also be clutch master cylinder - it might not have returned fully due to dirt and dust getting into the top of it - just check behind the pedal to see if has fully returned to rule it out as possible cause

I had the same problem with mine about 3-4 years ago. Three Renault dealers each quoted me £1000 for a new clutch despite my protests that I suspected the slave cylinder. My local auto shop couldn't find a repair kit listed but contacted a supplier who 'made one up' (one or two rubber seals). Cost was £4.20 (including next day delivery). It took me 20-30 minutes to fit and bleed, and has been OK ever since. If you have problems sourcing the bits, let me know and I'll ask the guy who me mine.

the workshop manual says there is no adjustment of the free travel. What could be causing this?

Well there is no adjustment as it is a hydraulic clutch, not a cable. Look at the reservoir behind the nearside front headlight. This is a commbined reservoir for the brakes and clutch fluid. If it is full to the top then there is no leak on the system. If the level is low then there may be a leak, or it may have dropped because of brake pad wear.... The fluid drains into the brake system from the bottom of this reservoir and into the clutch system about a third of the way down. So if there is pad wear and the reservoir is not topped up then it is easy to get air into the cluch pipes...
Wake up out there..
Now if you are lucky then you can fill up the reservoir and bleed the system from the slave cylinder on top of the gearbox. (Since your's is an atmo this is a little easier).
If the level is low and bleeding doesn't help then either the slave or master cylinder is knacked. The fact that you are getting some disengagement at present means this is probably unlikely.
Have fun

[stephendell]

The slave cylinder is just over £90+VAT from Renault. The rebuild kit is just under £30+VAT.

The master cylinder is better value at around £60+VAT and only £8+VAT for the repair kit

Thanks for the advice.
The fluid level in the reservoir is fine. I now suspect that its the master cylinder that hasn't returned fully due to dirt. I'll probably buy a repair kit and have a go at it this weekend.
Clive

Check the pin that connects the clutch pedal to the master cylinder. I found that the pin and the hole in the pedal had worn so that the pedal was travelling some way before it actually started to move the master cylinder. There should be a plastic bush in the hole on the pedal but that had disintegrated and the hole had become a bit oval shaped. I made up a new bush from a bit of 8mm copper pipe and that tightened the whole thing up and stopped the gear crunching (and improved reverse gear selection dramatically). Not sure if you can buy the plastic bush separately but the clevis pin looked like a fairly standard item.

[simontaylor]

Interesting to hear that this fix/problem can impact the use of reverse gear.
I'll check this out at the weekend. Thanks.

That used to be a real problem on my car (engaging 1st or rev), but I've had the slave and master cylinders replaced and the problem is still there, albeit not as bad.

[pgoldsmith]

Selecting reverse during the winter is particulary difficult - something to do with the cold perhaps ? Glad my drive is on a slope, at least I can roll the bigger back onto the road during the wintes months.

I had exactly the same problem with mine and came up with a similar fix which cured the problem, I drilled it out and replaced the clevis pin with a larger diameter bolt, reverse is now easy to select.

I've repaired my clutch now but am having trouble bleeding the system. Here's the story so far.
I initially bought a new master cylinder thinking that's where the problem lay. Then I spent most of last weekend trying to remove the old one. I couldn't disconnect the fluid outlet pipe. Access is very restricted when you are working with the car on the jack (plus additional support of course) and you are working through the wheel arch. The coupling nut seems to be an odd size, none of my metric or imperial spanners fitted and there's not enough room to get a decent sized adjustable wrench in. In the end I gave up and extracted the piston, leaving the body in place. Then I discovered the cause of my original 'non-returning pedal' problem - the return spring inside the master cylinder had broken. I simply replaced the spring with the one from my new master cylinder and swapped the seals over. Obviously buying a complete new master cylinder was an expensive way of repairing the old one, but that's life.
Next I decided to replace the slave cylinder as well. I managed to disconnect the pipe coupling, even though it was very tight, using a big adjustable wrench as there is better access to the slave cylinder.
Now my problem is that I can't seem to bleed the system. I spent over an hour last night using an 'easibleed' system that has a pipe you connect to the bleed nipple with a non-return valve on the end that allows single handed bleeding. But after using the whole of a small bottle of fluid I still seemed to have air bubbles in the pipe and no clutch action. I think I may have an air lock in the master cylinder that I can't shift. Any suggestions?

this has come up before. you have to force the fluid through the pipes with a bleeder that uses a tyre to create the pressure cant remember the name of it but it works really well and will fix your problem !

I've just done a search on this site for clutch problems, I wish I'd done it earlier. It appears that difficulty in bleeding the clutch circuit is a common problem, I'm glad its not just me! It appears I need to buy a Gunson's Eazibleed kit that pressurises the reservoir - I'll be trying to track one down.