Club 80-90 Forums

Good evening,

Please reassure me that I am not mad!

I have a 1985, 1.9, petrol, manual, RHD, T25.

Last year I drove her to Gibraltar and back with no issues. Last week I drove her down to Lacanau, France with no issues. On the way back I hit a problem. As we started back for home I could not get her into gear. We were going round a roundabout and I could not change down nor up. We stopped, turned off the engine and tried all the gears and they worked fine. We set off again and everything was ok for a while until we got to a hill and it started playing up again. For the next 200 miles I had the same problem. Sometimes I could get her into gear and others times not. Then we got to a toll and I had my foot down on the clutch, the gear in 1st but the engine stalled.

And so it went on until about 90 miles from the end of the journey the problem just disappeared and has not occurred since. The brake/clutch fluid is on max and there appears to be no fluid leaks anywhere.

Any ideas?

Sounds like a spigot bearing problem, though why it would be intermittent is a bit of a puzzle.

From another post recently on here

pionte wrote:sounds like the spigot bearing has seized.... this means that the input shaft is permanently being driven by the flywheel. It means the gearbox out again if so... Not expensive just in labour.

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=107122" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

have a read here too...sound familiar ?

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... ot+bearing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But before you go to all that trouble (doing it, not reading about it ), I would check the clutch hydraulics including the cylinders first. Have you had to put any brake fluid in recently ?

Hmmm M1 guy issue does sound familiar except (as you say) my problem is intermittent.

In the year I have owned her she has never has a brake fluid change or top up. The level has always been on maximum so not thought it needed anything doing to it.

The clutch feels normal. Somebody checked underneath as I pressed the pedal and everything seemed to move ok. He said the cable almost looked quite newish. That's actually a worry as the guy who had it before seems in hindsight to be a bit of a bodget guy.

CJRW42 wrote:Hmmm M1 guy issue does sound familiar except (as you say) my problem is intermittent.

In the year I have owned her she has never has a brake fluid change or top up. The level has always been on maximum so not thought it needed anything doing to it.

That's OK then, I thought if you had recently needed to top it up it could be an air lock as the clutch uses the same fluid tank.

CJRW42 wrote:Somebody checked underneath He said the cable almost looked quite newish. That's actually a worry

It is a worry because there is no clutch cable

It's a hydraulic clutch, don't let him near your van again !

I too had exactly the same problem a few years back, I too thought I was going mad until I found out what it was.

It was the slave cylinder at fault. Fluid was leaking past the seal when the pedal was pushed sloooooowly, but not when pushed fast. The fluid was leaking into the rubber gaiter, and was not leaking out at all. When the pedal was released, the rubber gaiter squirted it all back into the system where it should be. The clue was that when the pedal was pushed, the gaiter could be seen to inflate, then slowly deflate again when not under pressure. Strange but true.

So my guess is the clutch slave needs replacing, but it could also be the little valve in the master cylinder, as sometimes these go intermittent before failing completely. If the master cylinder hasn't been replaced yet, it's time must be near.

ThanksColin.

Will check this out. Sound like you may have solved the mystery.

Colin's rule.

Colin.

Well I replaced the slave cylinder which was the main culprit.

Gear changes are a lot smoother now. However the problem is still occurring. When it happens:

1. I put my foot on clutch.
2. Take her out of gear.
3. Try to put her in a new gear and it won't go in. If I try to force it then it starts to grind. Almost like I have not got my foot on clutch.
4. The only gear I can select is the one I was originally in.

Then suddenly it will start working again.

And thats the master cylinder replaced. Still not working

Sounds like it might be back to this then =

ghost123uk wrote:Sounds like a spigot bearing problem, though why it would be intermittent is a bit of a puzzle.

From another post recently on here

pionte wrote:sounds like the spigot bearing has seized.... this means that the input shaft is permanently being driven by the flywheel. It means the gearbox out again if so... Not expensive just in labour.

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=107122" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

have a read here too...sound familiar ?

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... ot+bearing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[quote="ghost123uk"]Sounds like it might be back to this then =

Agreed Just a pity my mechanic is on holiday for the whole of August. Looks like I am missing Busfest 2 years in a row

ghost123uk wrote: It is a worry because there is no clutch cable

Unless it's an Aircooled ... some/all 1.6 aircold had cable crutches.

Ian Hulley wrote:

ghost123uk wrote: It is a worry because there is no clutch cable

Unless it's an Aircooled ... some/all 1.6 aircold had cable crutches.

CJRW42 wrote: I have a 1985, 1.9, petrol, manual, RHD, T25.... The brake/clutch fluid is on max and there appears to be no fluid leaks anywhere.

worth noting though, for future reference

Here is a question. What if the gear linkage boot at the engine end was corroded to almost nothing so that it breaks apart in your hand?

Could this cause the problem and explain why is is intermittent?

CJRW42 wrote:Here is a question. What if the gear linkage boot at the engine end was corroded to almost nothing so that it breaks apart in your hand?

Could this cause the problem and explain why is is intermittent?

do you mean the rubber boot that protects the cup from getting crap in it or do you mean the aluminium cup ? If the latter then yes it could well have been the issue, new one from brickie

Just got her back from the garage.

And it was the spigot bearing. It had completely worn to almost nothing.