Ford Fiesta clutch issues

[Liquidfox]

Evening all,

Just a thread on behalf of my sister, she came home on Friday night and said that the car had got stuck in 4th gear on the way home and she couldn't get it out of gear at home. My dad managed to move it but there's absolutely no pressure in the pedal anymore although it does return to the top (presume this is only done by a spring though). Checked the fluids and the brake fluid looks a bit clear/watery (although i'm not sure how it should normally look when seeing from the top). No mess underneath that I could see.

It's a Mk6, any ideas before it gets carted to the garage for inspection this week? It's recently had the clutch changed a couple of months ago as it's my sister's first car and she wore it to the point where the bite was at the top of the peddle and it was slipping quite bad.

 

[PiKe]

Could be the slave cylinder, it's unlikely it's the clutch if it was only changed recently.

 

[deano-g]

you could have a go at bleeding the clutch, should only take a few mins and should only req an 11mm spanner/socket

 

[Will]

I had an identical problem on my Mk6 ST - most likely the clutch slave cylinder, especially if the clutch has been replaced recently. On this car the hydraulic concentric slave cylinder is inside the gearbox bellhousing - when the box and clutch are split to change the clutch all the pulling can damage the seals on it. For this reason some places will always want to replace the clutch slave cylinder for a new one each time you do the clutch on these cars (all mk6 fiestas).

It is not unknown for the clutch master cylinder to go on these either, though this is rarer - easier to diagnose however as its easier to get to, and so you can look for leaks.

With either problem though, bleeding the clutch will often seem to fix it, only for the problem to re-emerge some time later.

 

[blueboy2001]

Don't go racing in whipping the gearbox off just yet!

These have a plastic clip which connects the pedal to the rod which actuates the hydraulics. The clips are prone to breaking. You need to get your head in the footwell to check the rod moves when the pedal is pressed.

If you've got RAC cover they carry these on their vans.

 

[Liquidfox]

Cheers guys, so do you think this could have been caused by the garage changing the clutch? It's only been a couple of months since it was done. I'll check the footwell clip tonight and come back to you

 

[Matt82]

the 7p clip fell of on my gfs old fester and that caused the pedal to start to detach.

 

[dalin80]

Was the concentric slave replaced at the same time as the clutch?

Check the brake fluid level as well and make sure that hasn't dropped below the clutch pick up line.

 

[Liquidfox]

I've noticed that there is pressure in the pedal, it was just me being used to the STs clutch

It's seems that it's stuck in gear, the gearstick moved up and down for a bit, but no way of going side to side, now it just seems to be stuck in what I assume is still 4th. The gaiter and everything is off but there doesn't appear to be anything loose inside, is there anything I should be looking for?

 

[ShakenNstirred]

I've noticed that there is pressure in the pedal, it was just me being used to the STs clutch

It's seems that it's stuck in gear, the gearstick moved up and down for a bit, but no way of going side to side, now it just seems to be stuck in what I assume is still 4th. The gaiter and everything is off but there doesn't appear to be anything loose inside, is there anything I should be looking for?

sounds more like the gearbox has gone than the clutch
or the linkage

 

[Liquidfox]

I was thinking the linkage, anything easy that I could check? It's booked in the garage for the end of the week if it's not fixed by then

 

[ShakenNstirred]

if you can get under the car and see if you can see anything out of place/broken.
hopefully its not a gear selector in the gearbox

 

[Finglonga]

Just check the brake fluid as it doubles up as the clutch fluid but for some reason the idiots at Ford put the take off for the clutch half way up the reservoir so of it is down slightly due to the slave seals failing it draws in air.

Top it up to the top, bleed it and top it up again and it will be drivable for a few miles.

 

[Sonea Fifer]

Don't go racing in whipping the gearbox off just yet!

These have a plastic clip which connects the pedal to the rod which actuates the hydraulics. The clips are prone to breaking. You need to get your head in the footwell to check the rod moves when the pedal is pressed.

If you've got RAC cover they carry these on their vans.

This!

I've got a MK6 ZS and initially thought the same as the OP when my car displayed the same symptoms one week after I bought it! I had no pressure at all in the pedal, I couldn't select any gear and it simply returned to the top position. The garage I bought it from were decent enough and sent out a mechanic who took the gearbox apart in the pouring rain only to discover the fault lay in the drivers footwell. It's just a tiny fragile looking circlip, you'll easily be able to see if it's broken or missing with a quick look!

 

[dalin80]

Just check the brake fluid as it doubles up as the clutch fluid but for some reason the idiots at Ford put the take off for the clutch half way up the reservoir so of it is down slightly due to the slave seals failing it draws in air.

.

Most manufacturers do this as it makes sure that even if you have a leak from the clutch system it wont compromise the cars brakes.

 

[Liquidfox]

if you can get under the car and see if you can see anything out of place/broken.
hopefully its not a gear selector in the gearbox

Cheers, will have to see if we've got any axle stands I can use.

Just check the brake fluid as it doubles up as the clutch fluid but for some reason the idiots at Ford put the take off for the clutch half way up the reservoir so of it is down slightly due to the slave seals failing it draws in air.

Top it up to the top, bleed it and top it up again and it will be drivable for a few miles.

Fluid looks fine, it's at maximum, although does look a bit clear at the top of the reservoir, I thought this should be a strong orange colour?

This!

I've got a MK6 ZS and initially thought the same as the OP when my car displayed the same symptoms one week after I bought it! I had no pressure at all in the pedal, I couldn't select any gear and it simply returned to the top position. The garage I bought it from were decent enough and sent out a mechanic who took the gearbox apart in the pouring rain only to discover the fault lay in the drivers footwell. It's just a tiny fragile looking circlip, you'll easily be able to see if it's broken or missing with a quick look!

Had a look underneath the pedal the other night and it seems as if it's still connected to the hydraulic, I can't really tell if there's pressure or if it's just the spring resisting as the clutch is really light anyways. I tried moving it with my hand and it there does seem to be resistance, more than a spring can do by itself I imagine.

 

[Dogbreath]

Most manufacturers do this as it makes sure that even if you have a leak from the clutch system it wont compromise the cars brakes.

I suspect all manufacturers that use a shared reservoir for clutch and brakes do this, it would be absolutely mad not to.