Clutch issue ??

[shanusascarabus]

Hi, just after a second opinion on a strange issue with my car ( 2011 140ps 2.0 Diesel )

Just over a week ago I got symptoms of the slave cylinder failing when I got in the car for work, I pushed the clutch pedal down and 3/4 of the pedal did nothing but the last 1/4 worked and let me get he gear in.. worked like this for 1 day.
Then the pedal kept sticking to the ground ( pull up with my toe but could not use the clutch till I pumped it a couple of times )... then worked about 70% normal once the car set off...... now slowly the clutch feel has been getting better and better and now it feels completely normal and has been perfect for the past 2 days.
my problem is that I have had the car booked in to a garage since the problem occurred and its due in on Wednesday.... however im starting to wonder if it could be as simple as something like brake fluid change... the cylinder is not leaking as its lost nothing ( although its very dirty ) and i would have thought if it had failed then it would not magically start to work again.
In my head there is only the master cylinder, slave cylinder, a non return valve ( dunno where this is but garage told me my car has it ), and the fluid.... other than the actual clutch itself.

any second opinions would be very welcome as it would be great to avoid the estimated £800 for slave cylinder and clutch replacement if its not needed.

Cheers guys

 

[prt57]

First of all I’d be using a VAG specialist who will have encountered this before.
If the brake fluid is very dirty it should be changed from a safety point of view anyway. Recommended interval is two years
However, just bleeding the brakes alone will have no impact on the clutch hydraulics. The clutch needs bleeding as well. You will see the bleeder block as a black plastic component just where the clutch line attaches to the bell housing. Look down the gap between the radiator and the engine.
This is your cheapest option which needs doing in any event.

 

[norris_309]

This sounds very similar to what mine did last year. (just telling my story.. it won't be much help & won't be what you want to hear!)
All was well on my 80k mile 2.0tdi (cffb) but we went away for the weekend & whilst away pushed the clutch in & the pedal seemed to do nothing for the most part & then was like an on/off switch at the bottom of travel which did allow me to change gear.
I pumped the pedal several times and it felt a lot better but not 'quite right'
The following day needed to make a 200+ mile trip round the m25 on a bank holiday so wasn't confident it's be ok, so called the breakdown, they checked it all & said it seemed ok, no loss of fluid etc.. so we drove it home & got home ok until, clutch then felt odd again just as i came off the motorway when nearly home.
The next day took it to a local mechanic who checked it over (just as the breakdown guy did) and found nothing much wrong!.. so the mrs then used the car for work the next day, she went to change gear, and the pedal then stuck to the floor & couldn't get it working again. So was then recovered to the local mechanic, who then managed to drive it off the truck & into the unit!

he looked it over again & found nothing conclusive, so the final option was to remove the gearbox to inspect the clutch/slave cylinder which is in the gearbox!... at which point I bite the bullet & decided to get a new clutch/flywheel etc.. as the car was essential for the Mrs's job & was in bits!
All that was found was some of the clutch fingers were out of shape?.. now I'm no mechanic but I guess that could cause intermittent sticking maybe? that's what I've put it down too..

So sorry for the long post & to be the bearer of bad news, hopefully your mechanic might be able to find something before having to take it all apart!.. fingers crossed for you.

& yes it was around the £800 mark for clutch/flywheel/slave cylinder etc...
On the plus side, i got the brake fluid changed & he replaced the white clutch pedal clip that was causing the clicking pedal!.. so worth it just for that lol!

 

[shanusascarabus]

Bit of a thread revival.....

Well this problem went away on its own... and has been driving perfectly for the past 8/9 months.... had a service and brake fluid change at Audi 2 month back that i hoped would put an end to it but unfortunately it has just returned.
Audi are not the most helpful when speaking to them, they just want to strip it down to 'diagnose' which i can appreciate but when all i want is a price for the clutch, flywheel and cylinder changing it becomes frustrating.... Audi Leeds tell me around £1200 in parts and Audi York are saying £800 ish in parts... not sure why the big difference.
awaiting a callback from Volksworld but the car is now almost undriveable so i am even considering doing it myself... when I can work out the correct LUK kit for my car.

 

[shanusascarabus]

Not sure if anybody is following this but if so I do have a question.

Due to the costs involved I was wondering if there is a way to test the master cylinder first... I mean could it be as simple as clamping the line just before the slave cylinder bleed nipple and pumping the pedal ?

 

[samuelh_888]

Sounds more like master cylinder than clutch. It’s hard to test if there is an air leak. It’s a fair job to replace it - get a local VAG specialist to take a look. Not a general mechanic, you need to see a specialist.

 

[shanusascarabus]

Sounds more like master cylinder than clutch. It’s hard to test if there is an air leak. It’s a fair job to replace it - get a local VAG specialist to take a look. Not a general mechanic, you need to see a specialist.

Thanks for the reply, I have opted for the extreme task of replacing the master Cylinder, Slave Cylinder and clutch.... at 10 years old and 106k im guessing its just a sensible thing to do... even if it was only the master cylinder the whole system is the same age...... but my instinct is saying slave, which is gearbox off anyway so the bulk of the cost is there.