URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is fucked!

[Paddy_g46]

im just driven up the m1 and iv gone to pull off and my clutch pedal isnt doing anything. at the traffic lights i stalled and had 2 start the car in gear, when the engines is running you cannot select any gears but when engine is off you can select gears. i can drive it but have to do clutchless gear changes! the pedal makes a loud squeaking noise which it always did but just alot quieter, im stuck in a university in loughborough with my mate and nothing will be open till tuesday! can any1 shed any light on this???

 

[TomTom]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

Clutch cable snapped more than likely, common on valvers. Could even be your pedal mechanism at fault but less likely.

Get a genuine clutch cable though whatever you do.

 

[Paddy_g46]

where is the clutch cable?? how can i check it?

 

[TomTom]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

In a nutshell, it goes from your clutch pedal, through the bulkhead, round the engine and joins your release arm at the bell housing on the gearbox.

Get a mate to work the pedal, whilst you look under the bonnet, see if the arm moves in and out. Ie, if the cables snapped, you won't see the arm move.

 

[leon-and-vicky]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

if your with the rac or aa theyl give you a temporary clutch cable

 

[Paddy_g46]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

In a nutshell, it goes from your clutch pedal, through the bulkhead, round the engine and joins your release arm at the bell housing on the gearbox.

Get a mate to work the pedal, whilst you look under the bonnet, see if the arm moves in and out. Ie, if the cables snapped, you won't see the arm move.

where abouts do i need 2 look mate? any chance of a pic?

 

[Paddy_g46]

bump

 

[Paddy_g46]

any1 know where i can check???

 

[briny182]

find the cable behind your clutch pedal instead then, and see if you can easily pull it out - It will be your clutch cable anyway, and they dont cost much - you should be able to fix it yourself

 

[Paddy_g46]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

find the cable behind your clutch pedal instead then, and see if you can easily pull it out - It will be your clutch cable anyway, and they dont cost much - you should be able to fix it yourself

will it be like a brake cable of a push bike? so if i can pull the wire out of its housing its snapped? im going to call the aa out in an hour, do u think they carry spares?

 

[briny182]

yeah - thats your clutch cable, and it is snapped

 

[Paddy_g46]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

yeah - thats your clutch cable, and it is snapped

you sound sure lol, im going to go and check it now. report back soon!

 

[briny182]

sorry, i read it wrong, still feeling a little tipsy I thought you said you'd checked it and it was like a brake cable..

Still, I'm sure it will be that and nothing more serious

 

[Paddy_g46]

im just had a look and i cant really see much tbh, if the cable was broken wouldnt the pedal be floppy?

 

[Paddy_g46]

AA man just came and gone, he said because the clutch pedle is still stiff it means the cable hasnt snapped and he says the clutch is not disengaging and he can only tow me somewhere to get it fixed! he reckons its an engine/gearbox out job and possibly new clutch! £3-400 he reckons! im thinking about getting them to tow me back to london (im in loughborough at the moment) and getting some1 in london to do it!

 

[Paddy_g46]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

AA man just came and gone, he said because the clutch pedle is still stiff it means the cable hasnt snapped and he says the clutch is not disengaging and he can only tow me somewhere to get it fixed! he reckons its an engine/gearbox out job and possibly new clutch! £3-400 he reckons! im thinking about getting them to tow me back to london (im in loughborough at the moment) and getting some1 in london to do it!

bump?

 

[edde]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

AA man just came and gone, he said because the clutch pedle is still stiff it means the cable hasnt snapped and he says the clutch is not disengaging and he can only tow me somewhere to get it fixed! he reckons its an engine/gearbox out job and possibly new clutch! £3-400 he reckons! im thinking about getting them to tow me back to london (im in loughborough at the moment) and getting some1 in london to do it!

Can be done engine and box still in the car 7 hour job though its a right paian if you want cambeltt doing best take engine/box out though for ease.

£300 or so from one of the clutch specilaist places cash in hand make sure you use a proper Renault clutch not any copy cat part even for a few quid saving. Many garages won't even touch one.

 

[donsrno1]

I would check first that its not the ratchet on the pedal or something similar. Try and mesure the travel of the clutch fork when you press the cable and then others can say what theirs is so you can compare. I would post up pics to explain what I mean but I don't have time so hopefully someone else can do that.

 

[Paddy_g46]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

I would check first that its not the ratchet on the pedal or something similar. Try and mesure the travel of the clutch fork when you press the cable and then others can say what theirs is so you can compare. I would post up pics to explain what I mean but I don't have time so hopefully someone else can do that.

can any1 elaborate on this? he my be onto something that could save me some time and money

 

[donsrno1]

I can't take a pic just now but found an old one that kind of shows the gearbox and cable, though not very well its the best I can do for now.

The pic looks down over the gearbox and the bit in red is the clutch cable and the bit in yellow is a kind of rubber gaiter. If you have a look you will see that something sticks out of the rubber gaiter and connects to the cable, thats the clutch fork sticking out, so that when you press the pedal in the car it pulls the cable and in turn pulls the clultch fork which engages/disengages the clutch.

If you can get a mate to press the clutch pedal in you can then measure the distance the clutch fork travels through. Someone else on here could then measure what the distance traveled by theirs is and you could compare to make sure yours is travelling the right amount. I would offer to measure it on mine but I'm running a 172 gearbox and clutch fork which I would think will have a different travel as the clutch fork is longer iirc.

I hope that make sense, if not someone else can have a go at explaining, lol.

 

[Paddy_g46]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

I can't take a pic just now but found an old one that kind of shows the gearbox and cable, though not very well its the best I can do for now.

The pic looks down over the gearbox and the bit in red is the clutch cable and the bit in yellow is a kind of rubber gaiter. If you have a look you will see that something sticks out of the rubber gaiter and connects to the cable, thats the clutch fork sticking out, so that when you press the pedal in the car it pulls the cable and in turn pulls the clultch fork which engages/disengages the clutch.

If you can get a mate to press the clutch pedal in you can then measure the distance the clutch fork travels through. Someone else on here could then measure what the distance traveled by theirs is and you could compare to make sure yours is travelling the right amount. I would offer to measure it on mine but I'm running a 172 gearbox and clutch fork which I would think will have a different travel as the clutch fork is longer iirc.

I hope that make sense, if not someone else can have a go at explaining, lol.

yes mate that makes perfect sense! cheers, so if my fork isnt moving as far as some1 elses what does this tell us lol

 

[donsrno1]

I don't know exactly what would be the cause but it would suggest that your clutch isn't the problem but something to do with the pedal/ cable. I'm not saying it'll show anything 100% but it's certainly where I would start.

 

[Paddy_g46]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

I don't know exactly what would be the cause but it would suggest that your clutch isn't the problem but something to do with the pedal/ cable. I'm not saying it'll show anything 100% but it's certainly where I would start.

i checked it mate and my clutch fork travels 1 and 1/4 inches when the clutch is pressed, any possibility of u checking yours in the morning?

 

[donsrno1]

I can try but as I say I don't think mine will be correct because the 172 box uses a longer clutch fork iirc so my measured travel would be greater. I'll have a go and post it up anyway though. Try asking over on WC and someone should be able to tell you I would think, or at least advise if its in the right ballpark - though I would think that sounds approx correct tbh.

 

[alex_e3]

Alot of people over on williams clio have had this problem lately, myself included.

I changed the clutch and cable to no avail, in the end i found that the tensioner spring on the pedal ratchet mechanism had worn. It's a right pain in the arse to change the pedal though - nearly broke my back on the sill, and much cursing!

If the ratchet system wasn't to blame, only other options are the nylon pivot bush in the gearbox bellhousing, or possibly 1 of the clutch springs.

 

[Paddy_g46]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

Alot of people over on williams clio have had this problem lately, myself included.

I changed the clutch and cable to no avail, in the end i found that the tensioner spring on the pedal ratchet mechanism had worn. It's a right pain in the arse to change the pedal though - nearly broke my back on the sill, and much cursing!

If the ratchet system wasn't to blame, only other options are the nylon pivot bush in the gearbox bellhousing, or possibly 1 of the clutch springs.

could it be the clutch release bearing?? exactly what problems were u having?

 

[Paddy_g46]

i just remembered just b4 i pulled off the motorway i floored it in 5th gear a few times to do a bit of overtaking and there was a really heavy vibration for about 1000 revs then it went/got weaker, is it possible that something is actually loose in the clutch and is blocking something???

 

[Paddy_g46]

my clutch fork is moving twice as far as it should according to haynes manual, can any1 think of what would cause this

 

[gunnergibson]

i'd say your clutch has gone.The pedal will still feel normalish.. if you look on williams clio you will the dramas i had. i changed the clutch start to finish in 5 hours..with an assistant.

 

[Paddy_g46]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

i'd say your clutch has gone.The pedal will still feel normalish.. if you look on williams clio you will the dramas i had. i changed the clutch start to finish in 5 hours..with an assistant.

yeh i read about u mate, i have checked and my clutch fork is actually moving fine (the distance) but my clutch just wont disengage. i think my release bearing has popped through maybe which would explain the heavy vibration aswell

 

[donsrno1]

If the fork is moving as it should then your probably as well just changing the clutch. Other possibilities could be the pivot bush or the release bearing but any of them would need the box to come of anyway so might as well put in a new clutch while you have the box off. The new clutch would come with a release bearing anyway but you would have to order the pivot bush from renault, they are only a few quid so may as well be replaced as they can wear through.

 

[Paddy_g46]

Re: URGENT HELP!!! Clutch is f**ked!

If the fork is moving as it should then your probably as well just changing the clutch. Other possibilities could be the pivot bush or the release bearing but any of them would need the box to come of anyway so might as well put in a new clutch while you have the box off. The new clutch would come with a release bearing anyway but you would have to order the pivot bush from renault, they are only a few quid so may as well be replaced as they can wear through.

well the clutch is apparently only a year or so old mate and is an "organic" clutch so no point replacing it if its ok, i suppose the clutch centre will be able to tell if the pivot bush is fucked???

 

[Paddy_g46]

bump