Vaux Insignia 2.0 Clutch problem

Mart34

Firstly sorry if this is posted in the wrong area.

I'm having problems with gear selection which came on all of a sudden, at first it was only when the car was hot, but now it's pretty much all the time. The top of the clutch is quite sloppy (about the 1st inch of depression) then you can feel the resistance. The biting point is really low, in fact I don't ever remember it being anywhere else. I'm told the problem is the clutch itself, BUT I don't have any unusual sounds or rattle. Will this always happen when a clutch is bad?

I left the car with a mechanic yesterday who asked me to leave the car with him so he could 'get round to it' so I left it there. a few hours later I returned unannounced to be told he'd looked at it and said it was the clutch and to fix it would cost £750!!!! Another BUT....

Whilst twiddling my thumbs at home waiting for a phone call from the garage I decided to try and get a diagnosis via the many many forums on the net, I found 1 particular video on Youtube which mirrored the problem I'm experiencing perfectly which was an air bubble within the hydraulic line, which surprisingly drastically changes the mechanism of the clutch . Anyway, when I questioned the mechanic about the possibility of this? I was asked if the clutch was a full pedal, this rang the alarm bells as to whether he actually looked at it in the first place, as surely if he's had properly diagnosed or even looked at the car he would of known the pedal is sloppy! Personally I don't think he went anywhere near it, instead he's just priced up a clutch and fobbed me off.

There's no fluid loss, I've found that when the vehicle is stationary with the engine running with the clutch depressed the gears will be very smooth, (however i've been half on the kerb and half off, passenger side on kerb side if that makes any difference both times i've tried changing gear when stationary) Also if I keep the clutch depressed about half way whilst plodding along down the road, and then attempt a gear change it's very smooth again. Never a long term solution i know.

Has anyone here had the same issue. Or can anyone explain how to bleed the clutch hydraulics to remove any possibility of an air bubble?

KaiserBill

If it is the clutch £750 would seem to be a lot. Vauxhall offer fixed price repairs, I have used them on my Astra. A quick search shows they offer a fixed price of £599 for a clutch on the Insignia. Much better value if you do have to replace the clutch.

Mart34

sorry I should of mentioned, the quote of the clutch includes the price of the need of a new dmf, apparently this has to be replaced regardless of whether the old one is faulty or not.

weejangus

My brother had a very similar issue with his Vauxhall van. Wouldn't go into gear at times and often it was worse when the van had heated up. He took it to a garage he trusts and the mechanic confirmed that the master cylinder was no longer doing it's job (somethnig about the internal seals no longer fully working??). He had to seperate the gearbox to get to the cylinder at which point it made sense to replace the clutch at the same time as he was already paying for the labour. Total cost about £600. It had 78k on the clock at the time.

Dont know if that helps but just another experiance.

Hope you get it sorted.

J

Mart34

Yeh I've read forum after forum and all point to that master cylinder being the problem. And it's looking likely that the only solution is a new clutch altogether. Which in turn will remove any air in the system. The thing I'm having difficulty with is its just short of £800 for the new clutch and flywheel, which unfortunately I don't have.

Likely that I'll have to park the vehicle up until I can get the money together. ��

forgotmyname

The DMF does not HAVE to be replaced. It makes sense though. It may fail soon after changing the clutch and the work involved is the same as swapping the clutch also.

If its not noisy you dont have to replace it.

Mart34

Yeh as you said tho it makes sense to do so, last thing I need is to get the clutch done, then 2k miles down the road the flywheel goes I'm back to square 1 and another huge bill.

Now here's a strange event, the car has been parked on my drive all day facing down, I went to pick my wife up from work a short while ago and the gear change has been extremely smooth for the whole journey!?!?

Shortly after returning home from I popped out to mcd's to get the kids tea. As I was waiting in traffic (rush hour) I had my foot firmly down on the clutch and the car in gear, I was stopped on a slight hill, and instead of the car rolling back it rolled forward as if I was in gear and on my biting point, may have kept my foot on the pedal a little too long as I got a burning smell too. Oops !!!

Lorian

Mart34 wrote: »

Yeh I've read forum after forum and all point to that master cylinder being the problem. And it's looking likely that the only solution is a new clutch altogether. Which in turn will remove any air in the system. The thing I'm having difficulty with is its just short of £800 for the new clutch and flywheel, which unfortunately I don't have.

Replacing the clutch wont replace the master cylinder. I have not specific knowledge of the Vauxhall but given you symptoms I'd:

a) Check the fluid level and colour in the Master cylinder
b) Check for leaks from the Slave (under/around the rubber boot)
c) bleed the clutch. £10 for easi-bleed and £3 for fluid, and 10 minutes labour. make sure the slave gets bled by pushing it in on the final bleed.

Mart34

Thanks, I'm going to pick up a bleed kit over the weekend and check the level. The fluid level in the reseviour is full, can't see any leaks but haven't had any clear views of the underside of the gearbox to check for any oil residue. A job for Sunday I think. The car is currently back on the drive (facing down) I will update tomorrow as to what gear selection is like.

is it just coincidence that the gear selection improves when the car is parked downhill?

arcon5

I'm assuming you mean the slave cylinder.

Bleeding it will only cure it for a short period.

Mart34

The fluid in the brake fluid reseviour is full.

Just an update as well, I left the car on the drive last night which is on a hill, (car facing down) drove to work this morning and gear selection is smooth. Can prob guarantee when I go home I'll struggle for gears as the car is parked on a flat surface. Seems to be a theme here.