Really odd clutch thingy!

On my DiscoII diesel the clutch seems fine around the city, even running around for half a day. But, take it on the highway for an hour, about 100km and when you slow down the clutch is really soft and releases too soon. A bit of driving around and gear changing and it comes good again. Is this some kind of heat related problem with the hydraulics? There doesn't appear to be any sort of slippage or burning clutch smell or any of the usual tell-tale signs of clutch failure. Just curious, *before* I take this car into the desert in a few weeks. TIA, Steve in Aus.

Reply to
Steve/Aus
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Could be a problem with the hydraulic fluid. After years it will take up water. When the hydraulic pipes are close to the exhaust I can imagine the fluid will heat up, and the water will evaporate, causing air bubbles in the hydraulic system. This will give a soft feeling and soon release of the clutch. When you'll driving around gear changing,like you do when you're driving in the city, the bubbles will go up to the reservoir and dissapear, then all feels good again.

Reply to
k.w

yeah, worth bleeding it all through to get fresh fluid in the system before you try anything else

Reply to
Tom Woods

Thanks for the tips. I'll get the fluid changed and go for a run in the country Cheers, Steve W in Aus.

Reply to
Steve/Aus

My brother lent me his van a few years ago. All he did was short trips around town. I drove it about 100 miles, and got just the same as you - a clutch you needed to pump.

What it was was the slave cylinder seals. They were allowing the fluid to seep round the piston. Apply the clutch a few times, and the fluid got force back round the piston to it's "proper" side. The seals on the actuation rod were still good, so there was no external leak.

Cheers! Graham Carter Harare Zimbabwe

Reply to
Graham Carter

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