My son, Simon (Zdreams), just called from Southbank carpark in Brisbane to say that he's got a problem with his manual TT. He was angling into a parking bay and heard a "bang" which resulted in him loosing his clutch. Fluid is dripping from under the car which he's confirmed as being clutch fluid. Master cylinder is still about 3/4 full, apparently. The car is locked in gear and the clutch is very heavy and won't allow gear change. I'm in another town, so am trying to assist long distance. All I can think is maybe he's burst the hose to the operating cylinder, that operates the withdrawal lever on the clutch. Any assistance/advice that could be offered would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Pete
Well, something doesn't make sense.... it sounds as though either the clutch hose or slave cylinder, but the clutch shouldn't be heavier, if anything it would be lighter. I'm assuming this is with the car running though, if it's not then the heavy clutch is understandable as the vacuum booster would not be working, especially if he has tried working the clutch a number of times with the engine off. BUT, if a line has burst or a slave has spat the dummy, I would have thought the clutch would be very light, but I've never worked one with the hose disconnected so I'm not 100% sure. The first thing to do would be to isolate where exactly the fluid is coming from. Where you'd get a hose today I don't know, maybe Enzed could make one up, if that is actually the problem.
Yes, he has been operating the pedal with the engine off. He's revised his assessment of where the fluid's coming from (given he hasn't got a torch) and reckon's it's coming from up higher, probably from under the master cylinder. Looks like it could be stuffed. RACQ's coming to have a look and possibly tow him. Any recommendations for a repairer in Brissy? Might suggest Brodie - he fitted a button clutch about 6 months ago which has been rather hard (as in pressure) to use. Could this have contributed to the master cylinder going, or is this just another thing that goes wrong with 15 year old vehicles? Cheers Pete
Thanks, guys. RACQ reckon the slave cylinder is stuffed. Simon's getting it towed to a mates place and we'll have a look at it next weekend. Presently searching for tech articles. The tow is going to be REAL interesting as his Zed is lowered and has an after-market front bar. May have to go on backwards, as the front tow point doesn't line up at all with the openings in the bar. I've seen some extension tow points on eBay recently that could be worth a look, to extend the tow point through the front bar to avoid ripping it off. Any Brisbane zedders fancy a clutch tech day next weekend? Cheers Pete
