Clutch

[peter_england99]

Dear All,

Anyone have an idea what could be wrong with my clutch? I was driving yesterday and all of the sudden the clutch pedal went light and only gets any resistance in the last 1 or 2 cm of travel. There is just enough travel to disengage the clutch. I wasn't pushing the car at the time and the clutch was fine before. Is it a worn clutch? Do they normally fail without any warning? Any tips would be appreciated. The clutch was new in January 2004.

Regards,

Peter.

1997 V8 Esprit

[Jonathan]

Red Clutch hose syndrome or could be low clutch fluid (leaking system).

Oen the front service compartment (bonnet) and to the left of the brake master cylinder you'll see a clutch master cylinder with a red (or braided) hose going into the floor of the compartment - open the screw cap on this and check the oil level first.

Unlikely to be the clutch from what you say more likely the hydraulics.

[Rob]

i've replaced both the clutch master and slave cylinders on my car since i've had it.

Slave went first (after only a few months). Master did not "fail" as such, just sprang a leak..

Def sounds like hydraulic prob rather than clutch itself (which is good news

[Jonathan]

Sure mine did ?

[Cliff]

I had a similar experience and the clutch system was low on fluid.

[Rob]

From the "troubleshooting" section on EFF:

Pedal travels to floor - no pressure or very little resistance:

Master or release cylinder faulty.

Hose/pipe burst or leaking.

Connections leaking.

No fluid in reservoir.

If fluid level in reservoir rises as pedal is depressed, master cylinder center valve seal is faulty.

If there is fluid on dust seal at master cylinder, piston primary seal is leaking.

Broken release bearing or fork.

[actwon]

Red Clutch hose syndrome or could be low clutch fluid (leaking system).

Oen the front service compartment (bonnet) and to the left of the brake master cylinder you'll see a clutch master cylinder with a red (or braided) hose going into the floor of the compartment - open the screw cap on this and check the oil level first.

Unlikely to be the clutch from what you say more likely the hydraulics.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There is no red clutch hose syndrome on the V8's.

[peter_england99]

Thanks for all the replies.

I hope it's hydroulic and not a worn clutch or broken release bearing or fork. I can't access the car at present as I'm abroad at present.

I did check the master cyclinder and there was no sign of a leak. I also have a red hose.

Regards,

Peter.

1997 V8 Esprit.

[Jonathan]

I also have a red hose.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thank you.

Dragged an old photo of mine up too and I had the red hose on mine.

Peter, you're not the chap near Gatwick I was on the way to see when I had my altercation with the hedgerow are you ?

[actwon]

  Thank you.

Dragged an old photo of mine up too and I had the red hose on mine.

Peter, you're not the chap near Gatwick I was on the way to see when I had my altercation with the hedgerow are you ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The red hose is not what you think it is. It is a vacuum hose. The red hose is on my car to, but it does not go to the master cylinder.

[Jonathan]

I can distinctly remember when I went to buy that car seeing the red hose and thinking 'gonna have to replace this' and never having to cus it was fine.

Pre-98 V8s hydraulics were changed MY98 anyways, new master/slave cylinder.

Just checked the V8 parts list and you can see a clear difference bewteen the two master cylinders.....if you look at the drawings the later cylinder has 2 pipes coming out from it.

The old style master cylinder is exactly the same as the one I have now on the same year's GT3. Check SJ's parts list too - they list 2 different V8 master cylinders - if I had my old pictures of me car I could check but I'm 99% sure of it.

Incidently my V8 never missed a gearchange, unlike the GT3 which was a total and utter nightmare until I got rid of it for the stainless steel version, so I wonder how likely this is to be the cause.

[jonesl]

If it turns out to be your master cylinder, I've got one for sale...

Cheers

L J

I can distinctly remember when I went to buy that car seeing the red hose and thinking 'gonna have to replace this' and never having to cus it was fine.

Pre-98 V8s hydraulics were changed MY98 anyways, new master/slave cylinder.

Just checked the V8 parts list and you can see a clear difference bewteen the two master cylinders.....if you look at the drawings the later cylinder has 2 pipes coming out from it.

The old style master cylinder is exactly the same as the one I have now on the same year's GT3.  Check SJ's parts list too - they list 2 different V8 master cylinders - if I had my old pictures of me car I could check but I'm 99% sure of it.

Incidently my V8 never missed a gearchange, unlike the GT3 which was a total and utter nightmare until I got rid of it for the stainless steel version, so I wonder how likely this is to be the cause.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[peter_england99]

Thanks to all of you who replied to my Clutch problem.

I have just picked the car up and all is working now. All South West Lotus did to solve the problem was bleed the clutch. Then checked for leaks in the clutch system and couldn't find any. My concern is 'how did the air get into a closed system'? Hopefully will be ok now.

Regards,

Peter.