My Car doesn't want to move house....

[Red Richie]

Yep, thats right. So there I am, packing the last few boxes, head into work to clear my desk and locker, and on the way back....

I knew she was running too smooth. It was only a matter of time.

The clutch has decided to start sticking on, ie: sometimes (not all the time) when I come to stop at the lights/junctions etc, and I dip the clutch, it doesn't disengage drive and stalls....

Was too dark for me to get a look tonight, my removals go in the morning, and I have probably the afternoon to take a look over it. Worse case scenario, I'll just drive her to Yorkshire anyway, M-Way all the way, and hope for no traffic jams...if it starts getting silly, I can just pull over and call the AA.

Now, I'm guessing it is either the master or slave cylinder. The fluid was maybe 10mm below top of the reservoir, and I'm pretty sure when I checked this a few weeks back (before the resto show iirc), it was brimmers. I haven't been under the car to check for leaks from the slave...maybe I am going to be lucky and find the bleed nipple has lost torque...

Am I mental to drive 200 hundred miles without a proper clutch? Is there anything I should beware of (apart from traffic lights of course), is there anything else that may be a quick fix? I mean quick as well, because I am packing my PC up in about an hour...

I'll let you know how it goes, in the meantime, if you see a Carmine Sprint stranded in between Hereford and Leeds on Thursday, toot your horn and give me a wave

[DavePoth]

can you select gears without too much trouble from neutral from a standing start? Take some clutch fluid with you and hope for the best I reckon. All the best with the move, although it means I shall have to get my own sprint sorted to get to rallies now...

[Red Richie]

I would say half the time I can Dave. In all honesty I didn't spend a lot of time trying different things...I had to drop my son at Warwick, then get back to pack more stuff up.

I might leave the PC until tomorrow and pack it in the car...it's gonna p155 the wife off, she wants everything "boxed and ready to go!!!"...but if I explain I am getting expert online technical help, she may sway a little...

[xvivalve]

I had this once with a very simply remedied cause.

Te carpet to footwell had rucked causing a high spot between clutch pedal arm and tranny tunnel. The friction between pedal and carpet became so great the pedal would not spring back as usual thereby holding the clutch on.

[Red Richie]

Alun....Thats the first thing I will check in the morning, I have recently put some nice thick Halfords special mats in, and I vacuumed her out today...

/me crosses fingers.

[David6214]

Change at between two and three thousand, imitate a double de clutch on the way down and you will be ok, obviously slow down in plenty of time for roundabouts. I drove around without one for a couple of months in my poor student days....

[Red Richie]

David, thanks for the advice, you just said exactly the same as my Dad did when I spoke to him on the blower...apart from he ended with "Just get the **cking thing here and I'll lend you the Merc until we fix it..."

[2F45T4U]

My Dolly loses clutch fluid. Top it up and bleed it. See how far you get

[Jon Tilson]

Top up fluid and remove silly carpets. Take some extra fluid with you.
If you notice peddle going soft then top up again. It will get you there.
Jonners

[Lewis]

You should be able to drive it completely without the clutch too, once you've picked up the knack - just stall it out at junctions and use the starter to move off. Bit of a wild ride but again, it will get you there

It's when it gets jammed in the 'on' position that it's irritating

[Lee Flintoft]

Welcome to the Yorkshire region

[Red Richie]

Well, I made it.....

The clutch was a combination of a bulky carpet and the bleed nipple weeping slightly...easily sorted.

Now, what's next on the list?

Gearbox getting very whiny and clunky, OD taking a while to engage....possibly needing a top up methinks. Voltage Stabiliser playing up, temp and fuel gauge doing what the hell they like.

I'm up here, the car is here, all my spares are in one of a thousand boxes...maybe I'll be in the Golf for the meet on monday, depends if I strike gold and hit the right box.

[Toledo Man]

I went down to this year's TSSC International at Stafford (and back) in Snowdrop without a working clutch. (all fun and games!) It turned out that the master cylinder was leaking and once I'd replaced all the seals it was fine.

[xvivalve]

If you went to the TSSC International I'm surprised you had enough money left after the entrance fee for the parts to fix it!

[Toledo Man]

I know the club's Stag registrar and I only went down on the Sunday so the cost wasn't a problem...

I'm well-known in local TSSC circles.