Set off on Sunday to a local car show at the Lancashire Mining Museum, only 15 miles or so. Picnic packed, couple of cans of 0% Guinness included. Hood down, nice and sunny and off I go. SWM stays in...cooking and cleaning to do !
On to the M60, 60mph and off at the Worsley gate...soon there but missed the entrance due to the pub at the gate not being there now ! Went up the lane, turned round and the clutch pedal went to the floor and stayed there. Symptoms were odd, can't recall the same in decades of road rescue. With pedal floored, I could still engage gears, but no drive It was as though the cable had broken, although when that happens it's hard to get in gear. Plus, it's hydraulic !
After some thought, thinking the worst...clutch gone...I phoned the rescue, my old firm. I could have been pushed into the show but it would have been tight for a slide-back to load, better on the road.
He wasn't long but just before he arrived, I had a thought and lifted the pedal with my walking stick and it stayed up and started working normally. We diagnose a poor return spring or stiff/dryness in the pivot area. A bit of random lubricating and I opted to stay and off he went, after a chat about old days.
I enjoyed an hour or so in the museum with my snap and decided to go home the scenic route, which was very pleasant except for a tw4t in a campervan who tailgated me closely for some distance.
Already got all the kit in stock for full service, electronic ign fit with new HT stuff so that, and the clutch will be done later this week. I was careful not to floor the pedal on the way back !
Down to Gehenna or up o the throne. He travels the fastest who travels alone !
Ted
|
We had a similar pedal to the floor issue in Berlingo #1.
Were on our way to N Wales for a family get together near Wrexham; Miss B's now hubby's 21st.
I drove the M/Way bit until the M54 became the A5 at which point stopped in a layby and swapped places with The Lad who was doing mileage accumulation as practice ahead of the driving test.
Got as far as the easternmost roundabout at the start of the 'Shrewsbury by pass by pass' and as he changed from 5th to 4th the clutch pedal stayed on the floor.
In that case it was some component in the clutch mechanism that was made of cheese that gave up the ghost.
The car and I went home on a flatbed while our host picked Mrs B, Lad and his sister and drove them to the party.
Joined them several hours later using car # 2 - the Xantia.
|
|
My clutch pedal to floor experience was in a ..... Xantia! At traffic lights in the centre of Cheltenham. AA towed me to a friendly garage out of town having diagnosed the failure of a plastic component that connected the clutch cable to the pedal. A colleague of his went via the Citroen dealer who had one in stock, £3.50 from memory. As the parts guy handed it over he says, "You do know it takes 10 hours to fit, it's a dashboard out job!". Car went home on a transporter!
|
>> My clutch pedal to floor experience was in a ..... Xantia!
There were several jobs that were supopsed to be dash out in the Xantia that, if you were skinny and supple, could be done with head in footwell and dash in place.
|
|
I've changed one of those clips. Do-able from the foot well, but it is not easy! When assembled, the pivot bolt was put in from the brake pedal side, and there was insufficient room to get it out. Some were able to bend the bracket to get clearance to wiggle it out, but I couldn't - had to saw the head off, 10mm 8.8 spec bolt with a hacksaw blade....
|
|
We had a clutch-pedal-to-the-floor event in out Mk1 Golf. Clutch remained engaged. The Clutch cable outer had pulled through the bulkhead. Common problem apparently.
|
You could sometimes nurse them home. I had pedal drop on the North Circular in a Range Rover towing a 20ft trailer to pick up a convertible Austin Somerset in East London somewhere.
I nursed it there, anticipating the lights and starting her in first gear. I think a clutchless change to 3rd was ok and did the job.
There was a motor factors nearby, it was the slave and I had one fitted and bled within the hour for the run back north.
Ted
|
>> We had a clutch-pedal-to-the-floor event in out Mk1 Golf. Clutch remained engaged. The Clutch cable
>> outer had pulled through the bulkhead. Common problem apparently.
Friend of mine in my Youth Hostelling group had that one with a Golf c1982. Bank holiday Friday en route to the Jurassic coast via a night stop just off the A34 in Hampshire.
We were in convoy and had enough spaces between us to to get his passengers to our destination while he was Relayed home.
Must have been a simple fix as he was back with us before we left the overnight
|
1996 a son had a clutch problem in his Volvo 480 around 7pm .
Breakdown took the car to a small local garage I had never heard.
Did a good job, fixed by noon the following day.
This is the Indie I have used for the last 29 years - 4 cars in the driveway at one point. Now back to one car and only the odd visit these as the car is on a 5 year service agreement.
The difference between the main dealer service and the Indie. The main dealer was recommending "extras" that totalled some £300 at the free service (2 year old - advised petrol additive, AC top up, Sat Nav upgrade (that had been already downloaded by me).
The Indie never added anything in all these years that was not required. Warnings YES(Front pads next year, minor exhaust leak fixed but might need a back box later this year......)
|
The newsagents I worked at had a Fiat Sceicento that had a habit of breaking clutch cables. Three times I had to nurse it back with the pedal on the floor, anticipating the situation ahead to avoid having to stop and practising my clutchless shifts. Like Ted I had a few occasions where I had to start it in first gear with a bagful of revs.
The only time it happened on one of my cars was when I was reversing onto my drive.
|
>>Indies...
Some and some.
When I was 22 my car was losing power.
I went to an indi on the way to work. They looked under the bonnet and said it would be £230 to fix. I was earning £270 a month at the time and had just bought a house so was skint.
I couldn't afford that and to be honest, the car wasn't worth much more than that. I was crest fallen.
I limped it to a mechanic that worked out of their garage on a local major road. He fixed looked at it and asked for a couple beer tokens to fix it (£2). It was a loose wire in the distributor.
|
>>
>>
>> When I was 22 my car was losing power.
>>
>>
>>
Model T Ford?
|
>>
>> Model T Ford?
>>
Cheeky so and so! :-D
|
Thought you might have been on a long "shake down" trip, Ted.
I passed a pretty immaculate looking dark blue Herald convertible parked up in Cajarc in the Lot valley this afternoon.
Given it was LHD and French registered probably not you though. ;-)
Ideal weather and roads for a drive, though.
|
Heraldic fun abd games ! - Bromptonaut
