clutch has gonee (oh noes, help please)

Rich1988 · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:44

Hiya, as the title suggests one of the cylinders i believe has gone, I was on the way to my sisters and the clutch pedal out of nowhere just dropped, leaving the clutch engaged, I managed to drive for about 15 miles without too much trouble but hit traffic and needed to be recovered :'(, anyway im just wondering whether someone in the know could tell me whether it would be the master or slave cylinder that has gone, (820 vitesse)
Ta very much

Xez · 13 Jul 2008 at 23:53

Are you sure its not just cable driven?

-westy- · 14 Jul 2008 at 00:53

Xez said:
Are you sure its not just cable driven?

Good point, if the cable had snapped then it'd leave the clutch disengaged (in gear, if that makes sense)

agw_01 · 14 Jul 2008 at 01:28

800 is hydraulic.

benneh · 14 Jul 2008 at 01:43

I had a similar thing not long ago (620 Ti), that was the slave cylinder. I didn't fix it because I had no idea how to at the time, but I've since learned that it's not a difficult job tbh.

Rich1988 · 14 Jul 2008 at 10:35

I thought it would be the slave cylinder, so did a friend of mine but the romanian mechanic thought it was the master?, doesnt the master control the clutch and brakes? because the brakes were working fine.

chaparral · 14 Jul 2008 at 12:55

Rich1988 said:
(, anyway im just wondering whether someone in the know could tell me whether it would be the master or slave cylinder that has gone,

You should see clutch fluid around what ever is broken..

Sone · 14 Jul 2008 at 13:01

have you tried just bleeding the clutch?

Mine just stopped working on the motorway. Bled it about 8 weeks ago and its been fine since

InvaderGIR · 14 Jul 2008 at 13:08

Shoddy old Rover to be honest.

I had a clutch cable snap on me, in a carpark, it made me look like I stalled when reversing.

Was amusing though, foot on clutch....ok, the pedal moves too easily right to the floor. Got a replacement cable brought to the car b my brother and then the RAC bloke fitted it (pig to fit them on a 306). Peugeot designed their cables really well...nice strong cable, with a weak plastic clip that holds onto the pedal. :rolleyes:

InvG

Scougar · 14 Jul 2008 at 14:32

lol, had that on my wifes auto, but with the throttle cable. Real weak plastic clip. Thanks to the design the l-shape allowed (without us knowing) it to keep catching and driving, then when you needed to put foot down, pop off. Cable tie soon sorted that out! lol. (and BETTER than new).

French cable clutches are horrendous. Although can also be a sign the clutch is going if they keep breaking! (or the pedal rachet system is knackered).

Hydraulic system will prob be slave. Very cheap to replace. If master is needed, get either second hand or new from motor factors not from Rover suppliers as will be very expensive.

Check the lever hasn't detached btw!

Matthew

Rich1988 · 14 Jul 2008 at 14:39

Sone said:
have you tried just bleeding the clutch?

Mine just stopped working on the motorway. Bled it about 8 weeks ago and its been fine since

this is exactly what my brother suggested, surely it wouldnt leak if it just needed bleeding though

?

Rich1988 · 14 Jul 2008 at 14:40

Scougar said:
Check the lever hasn't detached btw!

Matthew

dont think it is but i will have a goosie after work

Sone · 14 Jul 2008 at 15:02

Rich1988 said:
this is exactly what my brother suggested, surely it wouldnt leak if it just needed bleeding though?

i thought the same.

Clutch was fine, after a 40 mile motorway journey i had no clutch. Bled it thinking it might last a day or two if i am lucky but its been fine since

Rich1988 · 14 Jul 2008 at 16:58

did yours leak at all though?, looking in the haynes manual it seems like a super simple job thankfully

-westy- · 14 Jul 2008 at 17:22

Scougar said:
If master is needed, get either second hand or new from motor factors not from Rover suppliers as will be very expensive.

Matthew

Woah, you'd buy a second hand MC? :eek:

Rich1988 · 14 Jul 2008 at 17:36

i probably will

only need it to last for two months

will see if i can get one from someone breaking an 800 and get both for cheap hopefully ( is it a really bad idea to buy them second hand, surely they will last for two months?)

-westy- · 14 Jul 2008 at 18:18

Rich1988 said:
i probably will only need it to last for two months will see if i can get one from someone breaking an 800 and get both for cheap hopefully ( is it a really bad idea to buy them second hand, surely they will last for two months?)

Personally I'd never buy a master cylinder 2nd hand, or any brake consumables for that matter. Calipers are different though, if I buy some 2nd hand I always strip them down and replace all the seals etc.

chaparral · 14 Jul 2008 at 18:26

Rich1988 said:
i probably will only need it to last for two months will see if i can get one from someone breaking an 800 and get both for cheap hopefully ( is it a really bad idea to buy them second hand, surely they will last for two months?)

You may find that you only need the master cylinder or slave cylinder repair kit (I.E new rubber seals)

Rich1988 · 14 Jul 2008 at 18:31

chaparral said:
You may find that you only need the master cylinder or slave cylinder repair kit (I.E new rubber seals)

it would probably be better for me just to get a couple of second hand ones, looking at the diagrams it looks fairly fiddly to take apart and chances are i wouldnt get the seals seated again

Lopéz · 14 Jul 2008 at 18:36

-westy- said:
Personally I'd never buy a master cylinder 2nd hand, or any brake consumables for that matter. Calipers are different though, if I buy some 2nd hand I always strip them down and replace all the seals etc.

Calipers are just the same as master cylinders. You can buy new seal kits for master cylinders just like you can calipers.