Help - I've done something to my clutch
Discussion
Hi,
I have a year 2000 V8 Esprit. The gearbox has always been 'not great'. The main trouble is occasionally it'll stick in reverse, requiring the car to be moved a bit further or the engine switching off in order to get it out. Sometimes it can be tricky to get into 2nd also, it doesn't crunch, just doesn't want to go really.
I read in here that often gearbox woes are more down to the clutch and to look towards bleeding the system.
The night before last I bled the cutch fluid, took the car out next day and she was much the same as usual.
I also read on here an idea whereby you jam the clutch pedal down over night to 'squeeze' any air out of the clutch fluid. Last night I tried this and this morning I took the car to work and she's VERY difficult to get into gear.
Often crunches badly when trying to get her into first, and driving along it can be a real fight to put it into gear, double declutching helps a lot.
Tonight I've tried flushing the brake fluid again, I've probably flushed about half a pint of brake fluid through, but it's still no different.
What am I likely to have done, and what should I be looking at to fix my baby?
Any help/suggestions most gratefully appreciated.
I have a year 2000 V8 Esprit. The gearbox has always been 'not great'. The main trouble is occasionally it'll stick in reverse, requiring the car to be moved a bit further or the engine switching off in order to get it out. Sometimes it can be tricky to get into 2nd also, it doesn't crunch, just doesn't want to go really.
I read in here that often gearbox woes are more down to the clutch and to look towards bleeding the system.
The night before last I bled the cutch fluid, took the car out next day and she was much the same as usual.
I also read on here an idea whereby you jam the clutch pedal down over night to 'squeeze' any air out of the clutch fluid. Last night I tried this and this morning I took the car to work and she's VERY difficult to get into gear.
Often crunches badly when trying to get her into first, and driving along it can be a real fight to put it into gear, double declutching helps a lot. Tonight I've tried flushing the brake fluid again, I've probably flushed about half a pint of brake fluid through, but it's still no different.
What am I likely to have done, and what should I be looking at to fix my baby?
Any help/suggestions most gratefully appreciated.
It sounds like a clutch problem to me. Clutch not disengaging, specifically. Question is why? Is it adjusted properly, per the book at both ends? After that, I would venture to say there likely to still be air in the system. The stick method worked great for me. You also might try one of those pressure bleeders, and someone posted success by forcing fluid in the slave cylinder bleeder and back into the master cylinder with one of those pressure tools.
Dr.Hess
Dr.Hess
I've checked the adjustment at the clutch pedal side.
The service manual says 175mm clearence pedal to carpet which is right. It says that there should be about 95mm travel, there is actually a little more than this (probably about 10mm more).
I've tried increasing the length of the stop bolt to make this about right (actually creating less pedal travel) and it made no difference either way.
There is about 5-10 mm pedal movement before you feel it engage with the clutch which seems normal.
According to the manual there is no adjustment clutch side on the V8?
My gut feeling also is that there is still air in there. I've been using a HellFrauds one man bleed kit (little more than a bit of hose with a one way valve) rather than another person eagerly clutching a spanner.
Heartbroken Zhastaph
>> Edited by zhastaph on Tuesday 8th March 21:46
The service manual says 175mm clearence pedal to carpet which is right. It says that there should be about 95mm travel, there is actually a little more than this (probably about 10mm more).
I've tried increasing the length of the stop bolt to make this about right (actually creating less pedal travel) and it made no difference either way.
There is about 5-10 mm pedal movement before you feel it engage with the clutch which seems normal.
According to the manual there is no adjustment clutch side on the V8?
My gut feeling also is that there is still air in there. I've been using a HellFrauds one man bleed kit (little more than a bit of hose with a one way valve) rather than another person eagerly clutching a spanner.
Heartbroken Zhastaph
>> Edited by zhastaph on Tuesday 8th March 21:46
I don't know about those one man bleed kits. Also, is the bleed nipple just barely cracked, that is, at the point that fluid will barely come out? If it is too loose, it can suck air back in through the threads.
What I do is get a length of nasal canula hose, which is clear plastic tubing that goes on an oxygen bottle to the patient's nose. The O2 bottle end just happens to be the perfect size to fit on a bleed nipple. Then run the hose out next to the wheel where I can see it and into a jar. Crack the nipple just a little. Pump until there is plenty of clean fluid in the jar and no bubbles in the hose or coming into the jar.
I will say that the Esprit was a major PITA to bleed the clutch on. After all my usual techniques, I still had a little mush, which the stick method corrected overnight.
At the point your at, you might get the help of someone to pump the pedal while you lay there with the wrench.
Dr.Hess
89 non-SE
What I do is get a length of nasal canula hose, which is clear plastic tubing that goes on an oxygen bottle to the patient's nose. The O2 bottle end just happens to be the perfect size to fit on a bleed nipple. Then run the hose out next to the wheel where I can see it and into a jar. Crack the nipple just a little. Pump until there is plenty of clean fluid in the jar and no bubbles in the hose or coming into the jar.
I will say that the Esprit was a major PITA to bleed the clutch on. After all my usual techniques, I still had a little mush, which the stick method corrected overnight.
At the point your at, you might get the help of someone to pump the pedal while you lay there with the wrench.
Dr.Hess
89 non-SE
Yeah, I used to be a Neurosurgery Resident until I got PO'ed one day and walked off (quite literally, actually). Now I am a GP. But databases pay the bills and buy Lotus parts.
Good luck with the clutch. And you did need to do something about it, as it would have torn up your transmission the way it was anyway.
Dr.Hess
Good luck with the clutch. And you did need to do something about it, as it would have torn up your transmission the way it was anyway.
Dr.Hess
since 2nd and reverse are close to eachother, it sounds like your original problem might have been a cable adjustment problem. If the cables weren't going to full travel in the 2nd, 4th, and reverse cross shaft rotation direction, then it might be hard to get into those gears and be fine in the other gears. Fourth is probably not a problem, cause you are usually at speed that is slower, or the gap from 3rd to 4th is smaller.
I would suggest you fully bleed the slave cylinder, and then check the alignment of your shift cables.
The 98+ V8's use one cable to control rotation of the cross shaft (1st to 2nd) and one cable to move the shaft in and out (1st to 3rd). I don't know how to align a 98+ V8 shifter, check the manual.
For slave cylinder bleeding, I have found it impossible unless you remove the slave from the bell housing, and hang it downward while bleeding it normally (2 person method)
Travis
Vulcan Grey 89SE
www.lotuscolorado.com/vulcangrey/
I would suggest you fully bleed the slave cylinder, and then check the alignment of your shift cables.
The 98+ V8's use one cable to control rotation of the cross shaft (1st to 2nd) and one cable to move the shaft in and out (1st to 3rd). I don't know how to align a 98+ V8 shifter, check the manual.
For slave cylinder bleeding, I have found it impossible unless you remove the slave from the bell housing, and hang it downward while bleeding it normally (2 person method)
Travis
Vulcan Grey 89SE
www.lotuscolorado.com/vulcangrey/
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