Had a new clutch put in a few weeks ago and my pedal is sticking when you push it down. They said it was a pedal problem and sprayed a crapload of wd40 all over the pedal mechanism but 2 weeks later it's still doing it just as bad.

When they did my clutch they increased the pedal travel significantly by removing the throwout bolt (i've now got nothing there).

Given that it's christmas time and I need the car everyday for work i'm a bit stuck at the moment save trying to diagnose what's causing it.

Slave cylinder is about a month and a half old.

Pedal if it was sticking the wd40 would have eased it up after 2 weeks wouldn't it?

It doesn't feel like the pedal mechanism anyway, you push it down and it engages awesome, but then on release it's reluctant to follow your foot until all of a sudden it snaps back and pushes your foot up. Makes for awkward driving and easy stalls because you either rev it to compensate (which can't be good for the clutch engaging so quick when the pedal snaps back) otherwise you stall.

It's alright at higher speeds because the cars momentum keeps it going but at the lights, neutral to first and first to second can be difficult.

I'm leaning towards the master cylinder? If the pedal travel has been increased and the rubber components are moving further through the bore could they be sticking on the relatively unused part? (my master looks 400 years old but I rekitted it same time I changed the slave over to new and it was working fine pre new clutch and travel adjustment.

Am I on the right track?

Shard

They used the old rubber hose? When they're knackered they swell internally and act like a one way valve.

Are you saying they removed the clutch throwout stop nuts in the centre of the housing? Without this stop, the clutch will travel too far and "stick".

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Cheers,
Rod.
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'63 Morris 850 (Old Secondhand CAR)

Rubber hose I changed myself when I did the slave.

This is what my clutch plate looks like now;



Shard

You do need the nuts on the end of the shaft , there's a chance (a remote one but it's possible) the clutch can push too far and push the diaphram spring inside out amongst other things .

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I got it done at a mini place so I'm a bit reluctant to fiddle with the bolt as they seem to know what they're doing.

i'll try back off the adjustment a bit and see if I can get rid of the sticky spot.

I'm afraid this is exactly what's happening Shard. The diaphragm is hovering at the point-of-no-return.

Do yourself (and your clutch) a favour - go back to the guys who did the job and demand that they put the nuts back on and set the throw-out properly!!

A "Mini Place" should know better..........

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Cheers,
Rod.
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'63 Morris 850 (Old Secondhand CAR)

Yeah I agree with Oscar....
BUT in saying this I have never seen any car come in as a result of not having the nuts on the end of the thrust bearing shaft, I have however seen hundreds of cars come in because those nuts have loosened and tightened up on the housing, thus bending throw out arms/ blowing slave cylinders etc etc...., thus I understand why some people leave them off, (not the best practice)
BMC put them there for a reason, if they where there when you took it to your mechanic then ask for them back, but it is only very minor....

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Andrew@Minisport, South Australia
Ph: 08-8177-1275
Skype: minisport.au

www.minisport.com.au
Minisport for all your mini parts

The other possibility is that the pedal box pivot points are oval and binding....the clutch gets a bigger workout than the brake so it wears first....the Mini place might have been busy and just wanted to get you out the door because it is a pain of a job to remove the pedal box, weld up the oval holes and whack it back in...

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"Show me the Mini!"

I don't have the nuts on mine. I think BMC put them there to stop overthrow when someone "pumps" the pedal. That said, if you puch down on your clutch once and it don't come back then it can't be an overthrow issue (everything else being correctly adjusted etc).

I had a 1971 clubman where the clutch and brake both had issues and I had to use the handbrake driving it home. It turned out the pedals had rusted together and to the side bits. The clutch wouldn't return and the brake simply didn't move.

Anyway, I pulled the pedals apart and de rusted and greased, then it was aok.

I'm not sure if this helps you though, sounds a bit weird your problem. I would have thought that the spring on the pedal would overcome any resistance to fluid flow, especially with the shape of the piston. So if the clutch was in overthrow it simply wouldn't allow drive but the pedal itself would return.....

Hmmmm

Daniel

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Videos - Turbocharged A-Series on Dyno & at Wakefield
Mafs waz not my strong subgeckt at skkol

if it's sticking at the floor, and then coming lose and coming up normally, just check that it's not getting wedged against one of the steering rack U bolt nuts that comes up from the floor.... you did say you have to push it down further now, it might be going just that little bit further

sometimes it's a very simple problem, and the solution is to bend the clutch pedal across a bit

It's not getting stuck on the ubolts cause there's carpet there. And when it returns it's almost like it bounces up at you, you push it down and gently lift your foot and notice the pedal reluctantly coming up and then your foot hits a point and the pedal snaps up and pushes your foot up and returns to idle position.

I adjusted it back a few turns and it's not sticking now but getting out of/into reverse isn't happening without considerable force so I'll try adjust it tommorow till reverse works ok, and if it's still sticking at that adjustment, back to the mini place I guess.

thanks for all your comments.

Shard

wel, possumly it's now using a section of the MC or SC that has previously not been reached by the piston, and has corroded giving you a section where the rubber cup is dragging on it - if that's the case it'll deteriorate rapidly

probably not a lot more to suggest other than start swapping bits.... though a guru might chime in with a solution to put us in awe

I had exactly this same issue years ago when I was setting up Oscar's clutch after replacing it. I hadn't set the throw-out yet and when I pushed the clutch in (once only) it stayed down as Shard has described.
Not much chance of it happening to Oscar now - everything's too worn..........

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Cheers,
Rod.
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'63 Morris 850 (Old Secondhand CAR)

So how did you set the stop nuts if it's already in overthrow?

Daniel

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Videos - Turbocharged A-Series on Dyno & at Wakefield
Mafs waz not my strong subgeckt at skkol