clutch / hydraulics

[stevei]

bottomed out on a raised driveway this w/end. thought nothing more of it. later that day the clutch peddle went spongey, before failing altogether. after recovering then failing 2 or 3 more times it finally gave up & left me stranded. when starting in gear it still jumps forward, so hopefully the clutch wont need replacing (£1800 ouch!). just wondering if anyone has had similar experience or advice as to what may have gone wrong!

[fourwheeldrift]

Could be the clutch slave cylinder - if so it's just a modest replacement cost.

[stevei]

garage are looking at it today. they suggested a fractured pipe, which one & where i do not know but i will keep you informed. seems strange though, even the mechanics said you can normally knock the preverbial out of the bottom of the car without any sort of failures especially from the clutch/hydraulics. however lack of fluid / leaks seems to suggest your diagnosis could be more accurate.

[jeffa]

Would you believe it my clutch on my Cerbera 4.5 suddenly died. I checked the reservoir - dry with a black sludge in it. I tried to clean it, refill it and bleed it. Interesting that on the 4.5, the slave cyclinder is in the bell housing and the bleed nipple is on an extension from the bell housing which is conveniently close to the reservoir. Well done TVR I thought I would have to crawl under the car. I checked for leaks - found none. I have concluded the leak must be in the slave cylinder which is in the bell housing. I guess I have a bell housing with clutch fluid in it. It is going into Team Central tomorrow by RAC. I have a warrany with Warranty Holdings so I hope this will sort it. Car has only 10,000 miles on the clock. 6000 in the last 5 months since I bought it.

[fourwheeldrift]

STOP Before you take it to Team Central make sure they are still there. There are reports here saying they have gone into receivership. You may not get the work done or car back for a long while........ CHECK IT OUT FULLY. IF IN DOUBT GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. Edited by fourwheeldrift on Thursday 15th February 20:58

[James]

quote:hopefully the clutch wont need replacing (£1800 ouch!).

£1800 for a new clutch? Who are you getting to do it? It should be no more than £1000 + VAT.

[TVR Engineer]

The slave cylinder on the 4.2 is also in the bellhousing, depending what date your car was built it might need a modified slave cylinder and bellhousing, whatever the result there will be a good few hours needed.

[stevei]

car still with the garage, apparantly they seem to think the clutch 'seals' have gone. have been told that it could still be a problem with the actual clutch, but they wont know until they open it up (does the gearbox have to come out?). has been at the garage since last saturday & when i phoned they said they didnt have the parts so needed to order them (not expensive 'but' could incur 1/2 days labour?). i must confess they were really arsey about the whole problem, when asked when i might pick it up the mechanic in the background (thinking the phone was on mute) said 'if he complains about time schedules tell him to f**k off!!!!'. i sometimes wonder who is the one thats actually paying!!!

[stevei]

by the way, James, when i phoned the garage while still sitting at the side of the road stranded, the service guy suggested it could be a fried clutch, thats when i asked for a ball park figure and he suggested £1800 - 2000, for the full unit supplied & fitted (and by the sounds of it firmly inserted up my rectum!!!)

[richb]

quote:the mechanic in the background (thinking the phone was on mute) said 'if he complains about time schedules tell him to f**k off!!!!'. i sometimes wonder who is the one thats actually paying!!

I think you should at least let us know which garage this is - Steve Rich...

[James]

Which dealer is this? I've needed 2 clutches done by Fernies on my 4.5 (one after 23k miles, the next one about 18k miles later). Both cost me about £1k plus VAT. Parts are £850, and a mechanic who knows what he's doing can do the job in 3 or 4 hours.

[richb]

Not a Cerbera admittedly but Steve Howard at Thames Valley (Race) Services, Twyford, replaced the clutch in my S3c for around £650.00 R...

[mhibbins]

Again a bit off the cerbie path and possibly being a bit naive (having only had my s3 for a couple of weeks) but given the s3 engine and gearbox is from a granada, even if the clutch itself is strengthened why does it cost 650 quid to change a clutch... where is the complexity? -- Mark

[jeffa]

To TVR Engineer: Does this apply to a late 1997 4.5? What was wrong with the unmodified one?

quote:The slave cylinder on the 4.2 is also in the bellhousing, depending what date your car was built it might need a modified slave cylinder and bellhousing, whatever the result there will be a good few hours needed.

Edited by jeffa on Sunday 18th February 19:38

[stevei]

Richb, i have no probs. at all in telling you it was 'The' TVR Centre, Barnet. The only reason i havent said anything to them yet, is because they still havent 'opened' it up to see exactly what the prob. is (over a week now!).......what i dont want is 'so sorry about our rude staff', when i complain, then find out that they try & add on whatever extras (new clutch?) etc etc that they see fit. This seems to be the major problem when you want to keep a FTVRSH (main dealer). I will keep you posted as to what happens (when they eventually call back with a full diagnosis!).

[jeffa]

I have the modified slave cylinder! I understand they are used in NASCAR. The seals have still gone despite the modified slave cyclinder after only 3 years 9,000 miles. Apparently the TVR factory are out of stock of these seals. I wonder why?