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Wayhey, the Forester has another problem! Clutch pedal dropped to the floor!


alfanige
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Well, its been at least a week before this attention seeking ****** of a car wants something else.

 

A few weeks ago I changed the Clutch Slave to bulkhead pipe after the old one had split and emptied the fluid.

 

Yesterday, the clutch pedal dropped to the floor again and the fluid has all-but disappeared. Now, me being my cynical self, thinks, OK, what has worked loose that I didnt tighten properly, but no, all seemed to look good. So I undid the Slave mounts, pointed it skywards again and got a friend to lift the pedal up and then push it down - fluid spurted out, no air etc. Did this also on the other bleed nipple on the bulkhead, same result.

 

Now I am confused. The slave "plunger" propels out when the clutch is pressed, but the lever it works against has a spring pulling it in the same direction as the plunger is taking it when the clutch is pressed. The lever will then stay stuck in that position until the clutch pedal is phyiscally pulled back off the floor, then it can be manually pushed back against the now retracted plunger.

 

So, it seems that the lever should be returning against the plunger, forced back by something, that also forces the clutch pedal back up. Does this sound abaht rite? If so, can someone enlighten me as to what, or even what the frying duck is going on now. Why the hell I got involved in a car I know absolutely nothing about is beyond me lol!

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Yeah, its really confusing me, as I topped up the fluid, but couldnt see any traces of escaping fluid and it bled through fine. The peddle will stay up, but when you press it, its initial resistance goes and it falls to the floor and stays there! I am wondering if the slave is Uncle Bucked, but I can't find an overhaul kit for one online to see if there are any serviceable items in it, so its a case of a new one to find out I suppose :-(

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Well, had another butchers at it today and the confusion still reigns. I went over to Rowley's Performance Engineering (www.subarutuner.co.uk) and had a chat with Peter who was of the same opinion as me - as in, that ain't right lol! Peter is going to hunt out some parts for me (master and slave cylinders) from his vast old parts stock, so I can eliminate them. But it does seem that its something t'other side of the clutch lever that should be springing the lever back against the slave plunger.

 

Anyhow, big shout out to the guys at Rowley's - enthusiastic, informative and extremely patient and helpful to a Subaru numpty such as myself!

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Good result and great they gave the time to help out :)

I like that.  "It ain't right"  :lol:

And equally great job with getting the parts if he has them, hope it sorts the problem out. Have to let us know  when they turn up mate. 

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Sadly, Rowleys rang me back yesterday and they haven't got the parts I was going to try. However, as before, Peter was superb and spent another 20 minutes going through the problems with me over the phone and came up with some things to try. Thats best part of 3/4 hour he spent helping me, without making a penny in sales - I cannot thank him enough for his time, but will definently be going back there when I need something!

 

Got the Workshop Manual delivered today, yeah - bought one at last lol - and can see where I am getting confused now I think. Will have a look in the morning

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Sounds like a real sound guy to be fair. I have manuals for 2001 and 2004 Fozzies I could have emailed you it if it had been any good mate. Steve is meant to be uploading them for people to download but not seen or heard anything more since I posted them :(

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Thanks chap, mine is a 99 car, so I have the manuals for the early car as well as the later ones. If anyone needs owt I will lend a hand where required. 

 

Now all I have to find is a manual for a 1999 MTD Lawnflite E/130 with the 13hp Briggs and Stratton!!! Its stuck in gear on my ramp! Why do I agree to look at these things for people - last week it was a starter motor on a Transit - easy enough you would think (I did!) but has left me with a badly burnt wrist, a head injury and a week of pain lol!

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Got there, I think!

 

It appears that the clutch was working, but it was so low down on the pedal that it was dropping out. So although I thought it being a hydraulic clutch, it would be self adjusting - it isnt!

 

If you get a dropping peddle, try adjusting the clutch by the peddle itself as follows

 

Part the First

Push the clutch lever back against the slave piston and watch to see if the fluid rises in the Clutch Master reservoir. If not, then you need to bleed the system and look for leaks.

i. Look for leaks around the Slave itself, then work back from there towards the Master Reservoir and follow the pipes too.

ii. To bleed the system, undo the two 14mm bolts holding the Slave in position and point the nipple skywards. Working with someone to operate the clutch peddle, bleed the system in the same way as you would brakes. Watch the fluid in the reservoir of course. There is a 2nd bleed nipple in the circuit up on the bulkhead behind the N/S strut mount. Do the same with this one.

iii. Fix the Slave back in position and retest the system. If the fluid still isnt moving, your Slave is probably had it OR the Master. Slave's rarely fail, but its worth trying that first as its cheaper!

 

Part the Second

OK, if the fluid IS moving but the peddle is either too low, or dropping out its probably due to its position of adjustment causing the Master to either under or over pressurise the system and so need altering.

i.Get a torch, a 10mm open ended spanner and something to kneel on outside the car. 

ii. Look up at the clutch peddle and you will see the rod to the Clutch Master from the peddle itself.

iii. Follow the rod to the peddle and you will see a nut, then a "U" piece with the threaded end of the rod through it. This "U" is held onto the peddle by a clevis pin and through bar.

iv. Start by undoing the 10mm nut to unlock the rod from the "U"

v. You may be luck enough to be able to turn the rod to adjust it now without taking the through bar and clevis pin. If not, remove the clevis pin and pull the bar out, it will allow more movement.

vi. Adjust the travel of the peddle according to requirement then do up the locking nut. Obviously put the through bar and clevis pin back in if you took them out as well!

vii. Test the clutch and the biting point will have been changed as will the peddle position.

 

Now, retest the system and take for a drive. If you are still having issues, its likely to be the Clutch Master.

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