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Failed slave?

4K views 49 replies 8 participants last post by  imacleod 
#1 ·
I suddenly have severe clutch drag, making it difficult to engage gear ,and it creeps when it is in gear. Tried bleeding the slave, but no joy. There seems to be actuation & hold, just not enough travel. Is it likely be anything other than the slave? It was replaced, with the clutch, about five years ago.
 
#2 ·
Dunno tbh, but considering the hassle of getting to the csc, it might be worth considering swapping the master cylinder out 1st.
 
#6 ·
I did the clutch - including the release bearing/slave - about five years ago. It took me over two days, working single handed on the drive; I might be bit faster second time round...if there's a second time round.

The car's at 220k miles; the engine's good but the gearbox and driveshafts are a bit tired. The driveshafts are not causing any major issues - just a bit of backlash - and are relatively easy to get to, but if I do the release bearing, I'd probably want to put anther box in; using a secondhand box is a big risk when it takes me so long to swap thing out/over...
 
#7 ·
I did the clutch - including the release bearing/slave - about five years ago. It took me over two days, working single handed on the drive; I might be bit faster second time round...if there's a second time round.
Wow! 2 days was GOOD going! Its just taken me 4 days to change the rad+AC condenser. If you've got any pics/tips for doing the clutch it would be very welcome.
 
#8 ·
Second the pics and tips. Want to do it some time myself, but delaying the inevitable. More concerned about the weight of the gearbox, dropping it and getting it back again. And centreing the clutch / flywheel. etc.
 
#9 ·
I did the clutch - including the release bearing/slave - about five years ago. It took me over two days, working single handed on the drive; I might be bit faster second time round...if there's a second time round.
Wow! 2 days was GOOD going! Its just taken me 4 days to change the rad+AC condenser. If you've got any pics/tips for doing the clutch it would be very welcome.
It took more than two days, though I think it was only a bit of the third day.

I didn't take any pictures. It was relatively straight-forward; just a pain for access to the coupling bolts and getting the box out/in.

I'm loath to write off the old beast for the sake of a couple of days and less than £200.
 
#10 ·
Second the pics and tips. Want to do it some time myself, but delaying the inevitable. More concerned about the weight of the gearbox, dropping it and getting it back again. And centreing the clutch / flywheel. etc.
A neighbour lent me a transmission jack - brand new! -, which made handling the box a lot easier. I think I centred the clutch with screwdriver and socket; it went straight on, maybe I was lucky.

I've seen that some people put 2-3 of dots of superglue on it to keep it in place whilst being fitted; never tried that, but it seems like it should work.
 
#11 ·
Can anyone confirm whether all the Mk3 2.0 TDCi 6 speed boxes are the same?

Are they same as the 2.2 TDCi? (part numbers on eBay seem to match)

If the sticker is gone, how would you identify the box? I'm not convinced that the numbers cast in the casing are much use...
 
#13 · (Edited by Moderator)
Bought a gearbox, spent six hours yesterday stripping the parts/bolts off the car; felt pretty good about where'd I'd go to.

Today, dropped the subframe, got the old box out, fitted a new slave and shaft seals and managed to get the box back in, well...managed to get it in to the bay, but it refuses to mate to the engine. It sits about an inch out and will go no closer; I need to try rotating the flywheel tomorrow as no end of jiggling could persuade it today. I hope I've not damaged anything in my efforts; far from happy with where I got to today.

The last time I tried to do this - having replaced the clutch - it just slid on; I was hoping this would be the same as I'd not touched the clutch. My neighbour's transmission trolley/jack has got buried under debris in his brother's garage. That certainly hasn't helped; even with two standard trolley jacks, it's a PITA to work with such a heavy, awkward, lump.
 
#15 ·
Hi

When you pulled gearbox off engine did weight of gearbox move centre plate slightly. Worth checking as only needs to be slightly out of alignment to stop shaft entering spigot bearing.

Peter
 
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#16 ·
Quite possible; everything is a lot more difficult/physical without the right jack. If rotating the flywheel doesn't sort it out, I'll need to take the box back out and check...
 
#17 ·
Hi

You may have to put gearbox into gear and create friction inside or spigot shaft may turn with flywheel rather than move to allow splines to line up.

Peter
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
I've tried it in gear and out of gear, without really thinking why. I took the input shaft out of the old box - found broken shim in the bottom of that, which would go some way to explaining it's 1st gear issues - and it's pretty fussy about alignment to the clutch plate; not a great when it's a challenge to get things lined up. These boxes don't appear to have a spigot; the shaft seems to be unsupported, the small amount of rock in DMF should should make for easier insertion? The only thing I can think of is that I wasn't pushing it in as I rotated the flywheel - the other half's gone to a family birthday party so I've lost her limited assistance for the rest of this afternoon - so doing two things at once will be a challenge. Anyhoo, I need to carry on with the hokey-cokey in the hope that it agrees to cooperate before my resolve to fix it runs out...
 
#19 ·
1/2" to 1" out sounds like the splines are not aligned. Had a similar issue years ago.

Struggled to get it in, gave up and had a tea break and then a fresh start, rotated the

shaft or the flywheel a fraction of a turn and the box went straight on.
 
#20 ·
Indeed, it turned out to be the drivers drive shaft that was holding things out. I'd only jacked up and removed the passenger side, and when I was looking at it from underneath, for the umpteenth time, I noticed that side of the box was more open than the other. Lifted the drivers side, rotated the wheel, then managed to push the box home. I think it would have been fine if both sides had been lifted.

It should all be back together tomorrow; I can then find out whether it's been worthwhile/what else I've managed to break over the last couple of days...
 
#21 · (Edited by Moderator)
#25 ·
The car's been back on the road for a week now; everything seems to be fine, even the bodged sensor mount.

I particularly like the 'new' gearbox, it means getting in to first gear is much less of a challenge! The box was from an 80k mile car; only £96 delivered from Charles Trent Ltd on eBay; money well spent.

A transmission trolley jack definitely makes things easier. If your car has the standard bushes on rear of the front subframe you need to watch that you don't overstress those; I polybushed the front and rear years ago, so that was one less thing to worry about.
 
#26 ·
How easy ws it to replace the crank seal? Is it true that it has to be glued in place?
 
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