Dodgy Clutch

[SimonR]

While driving my father's Maestro VP to the photoshoot today the clutch was doing strange things.

At low revs it was fine although the biting point was a little high cmpared to JOE's.

The problem was that above about 3,000 revs the clutch seemed to slip, especially when going up hills. BUT then it seemed to clear for a while and only slipped occasionally, usually in fourth gear.

Weird eh?

The car has 33,900 miles on the clock so I wonder if the clutch can possibly need replacement so early.

Any suggestions would be great, thanks.

[E_T_V]

Check that the cable isn't seized with age and that the pivot arm operates freely aswell.

Also check the underside of the gearbox for any traces of oil (there is actually usually a small opening in the casting to let it out).

[Simon]

Years ago when I had my first Maestro, (which was a Jan 85 1.6 S series) I had a new clutch fitted at 33,000 miles because the original one was juddering and could be made to slip. I got the main dealer to do it including replacing all 12 drive flange bolts and it cost £107! So that's my experience of a dodgy clutch at that sort of mileage-it can happen.