Clutch Failure Warning

[Green Maestro Man]

Hi all - it's been a while since I posted - too long away from my computer at work and also pretty good luck with the car.

Anyway, by word of explanation - the Green Maestro Man name is both literal in the sense of my car (my Maestro is Green) and my mechanical knowledge (beginner!) - also have never owed a Maestro before - just thought I would put all that in case some of my questions sound ridiculous.

I'm wondering if my clutch is going. When I pull off in first gear, there is a little "shudder" when I engage the clutch. It's nothing too serious, and the gears haven't been slipping, so I wasn't sure - but about twice in the last 3 or 4 weeks when I pull off instead of a shudder I got a louder knocking sound when I pulled off - again which stopped as I got going.

The car is G reg (89) with about 80,000 miles on it.

What I'm wondering is am I experiencing symptoms of a poor engine mounting? Lots of other vinyl/rubber under the bonnet (ie vacuum pipes) have needed replacing as they have pretty much disintegrated, and the mount looks original.

I've tried adjusting the clutch cable - but when I turn the adjusting knob the entire cable turns (i.e. left and right). I've put some WD.40 to the metal above the adjusting know to see if what has happened is that the metal nut (?) has rusted. No success yet but I might keep trying..

Any ideas? I'm going to keep with trying to adjust the clutch cable - but don't want to do any damage by forcing it..

Should I be looking at replacing the engine mount too?

And, most importantly - I've driven cars that give you clear warning (ie. slipping gears for a few weeks) that the clutch is on it's last legs and cars that didn't seem to give me any warning at all - gears slipping one morning and the damned clutch not working by the evening.... anyone have experience on what a Maestro might do - I'm a man of limited means so don't want to replace anything I don't have to.

Thanks for any help...

Green Maestro Man

[D87 SMW]

The knocking... are you in the right gear?

If you think a mount may be the problem, try looking at the gearbox mount on the nearside of the car. There is a hook there which should have a sufficient gap between itself and the actual mount. This I believe is in case the mount fails, it hooks on.

This hook on my 1.3 Maestro was wedged against the mount, therefore creating all sorts of noises.

If you are adjusting the clutch cable, you do not turn it. You remove the clip on the spring and pull the cable through the bulkhead, then replace the clip.

Hope this is of some help to you.

;)

[D87 SMW]

However, if any of the above are not the problem, it could be anything like the release bearing, or oil-contaminated friction plates.

You'll probably need a new clutch cable, or full kit, in which case you could change the oil seals on the shafts. These however are only appropriate if the mounts are correctly tightened, and that the clutch is operated smoothly in the first place.

What model is the car, exactly?

[E_T_V]

Does the car shudder or just make a loud knock?

If it judders, i.e. surges forward sort of pulsing, when slipping the clutch then it could be a warped clutchplate or one that is breaking up.

If there is just a knock when taking up drive I'd be more inclined to suspect loose CV joint, (the bolts on 1.3s and 1.6's have been known to work loose), or a worn engine mount or even the exhaust fouling the anti-roll bar.

Does the car actually judder when you pull away or does it just make a loud clunk?

It is worth getting under the car and having a quick check to see if the CV bolts are loose where they connect to the gearbox (if it is a 1.3 or a 1.6)

Also if you have an assistant open the bonnet, apply the handbrake VERY firmly, and get the assistant to try to drive off (but not so the car actually moves) Stand at the side of the car (so you can't be run over) and look at the way the engine tilts. It will tilt but it should not foul anything, and a worn engine mount can usually be spotted by it tilting too much or making a noise as it hits metal rather than rubber.

Hope some of that helps

[E_T_V]

The clutch cable is self adjusting so you'll probably not need to adjust it. To reset the adjusting mechanism you remove the circlip at the end and slide the adjusting bit back to its origninal position. Then you replace the circlip and operate the clutch several times to let it adjust itself.

[Green Maestro Man]

However, if any of the above are not the problem, it could be anything like the release bearing, or oil-contaminated friction plates.

You'll probably need a new clutch cable, or full kit, in which case you could change the oil seals on the shafts. These however are only appropriate if the mounts are correctly tightened, and that the clutch is operated smoothly in the first place.

What model is the car, exactly?

1.3 L Model...

[Green Maestro Man]

Thanks for all replies recieved so far...

By way of more information - thanks for info re: adjusting the clutch cable - the book I have said it was a nut, not a clip, which was confusing and clearly I was trying to take it off the wrong way.

As for the "judder vs knock", etc - It actually judders more often (almost always from 1st) a bit - will check later tonight to see if that's affecting how it pulls off -

Will check the CV bolts as when thinking about that, given the sound of the occasional "knock" that makes sense - A long time ago I drove a car with a loose cv joint and thinking about it now that seems to make sense.

So, will check the hook near the gearbox, do the "handbrake" test, and generally poke around a bit more. The more I think about it, the more the clutch plate seems like the likely explanation - but will investigate further over the weekend and come back to you all on Monday. Thanks for the help.

Peter

[MGTurbo]

Thanks for all replies recieved so far...

By way of more information - thanks for info re: adjusting the clutch cable - the book I have said it was a nut, not a clip, which was confusing and clearly I was trying to take it off the wrong way.

As for the "judder vs knock", etc - It actually judders more often (almost always from 1st) a bit - will check later tonight to see if that's affecting how it pulls off -

Will check the CV bolts as when thinking about that, given the sound of the occasional "knock" that makes sense - A long time ago I drove a car with a loose cv joint and thinking about it now that seems to make sense.

So, will check the hook near the gearbox, do the "handbrake" test, and generally poke around a bit more. The more I think about it, the more the clutch plate seems like the likely explanation - but will investigate further over the weekend and come back to you all on Monday. Thanks for the help.

Peter

Judder is common. I had it on mine and it was the oil seal on the gearbox that had gone causing contamination of the friction lining.

If your car has a self adjusting clutch then do as Steve said, otherwise, do the adjuster on the bottom of the cable if non-self adjusting, but i doubt it will help unless the clutch is slipping as well.

Gareth

[Rich]

If you suspect an engine mount try the tie rod.

This silly design is a bar which is mounted at the front of the engine on the pully side, and has 2 bolts in which stops the engine tilting back and forth. In Austin Rovers infinate wisdom, in my cars case, no spring washers or ny-lok nuts were used, so these nuts and bolts always worked lose.

Try tightening them up, if that helps but it comes back, replace one nut for a ny-lok and the other with a spring washer and normal nut. I only say two types as a ny-lok will not fit in the gap for one of them as the fuel pipe is in the way.

If this mount has worked lose, you will feel a lot of movement, in the gearlever, and it will be possible to lift or rock the engine by pulling and pushing on the manifold. It was worrying when my car did this little stunt!

Rich