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Problem with clutch pedal - wont go into gear

1K views 19 replies 5 participants last post by  Saabracadabra9000 
#1 ·
Hi all, I couldnt get my car into gear tonight, the pedal feels really loose and when trying to go into reverse it crunches, it wont go into first at all. Its literally just happened tonight, but I did notice yesterday I was having trouble selecting gears. I know there is no clutch cables as the system is hydraulic but does anyone have any idea what could be wrong and if it is common?

Thanks,

Alex
 
#3 ·
You have a few options, so I would start with the cheapest, rebleed the system, you need a pressurised gadget from Guyson or a mightyvac vacuum pump. If this doesn't work check the flexible hose for leakage or bulging under pressure, then change the master cylinder and finally if all of these fail its your slave cylinder and the gearbox has to come out!
What year is your car as if its 1992-1993 than you need the chassis number to get the right slave cylinder as this was a changeover year...they both look the same but are slightly different and it took a garage 6 goes to sort mine out....luckily I only paid for one gearbox removal. IIRC it was £160 plus parts about £250 all in.
 
#5 ·
Saabracadabra9000 said:
...Ive just been reading up and apparently it could be the clutch master cylinder. Ive priced this up and its £69.00. Does anyone know what is involved in replacing one of these? Or could it be something else making the clutch pedal loose?

Regards,

Alex
To answer the question as to what's involved:-

Remove the clip on the pin that goes through the clutch pedal linkage.

Undo the pipes from the fluid reservoir and the one going to the slave cylinder.

Remove the two nuts that hold the master cylinder in place on the bulkhead.

Withdraw the master cylinder, replacement is a simple reversal of removal and pressure bleed the system.

The best part is that most of it is done by feel because you can't easily see the nuts on the master cylinder. If you're finding it a total pig, remove the inner wheel arch lining as from memory when I last had that off, it's much easier to view.

As others have said though, check the other things first although mine did go fairly quickly once the seals on the master went. I just put new seals in for a few quid. It has been mentioned that this isn't a great idea because it may let crap into the slave cylinder, expediting it's failure too. In my case, I didn't have the car that much longer so it wasn't my problem.

David.
 
#6 ·
...Thanks for everyone's input. Ive called a mobile mechanic as this is all out of my league really, he's an ex Saab master technician so Im hoping he will be familiar with 9000s and this problem and know the right parts to use. So fingers crossed it wont be the slave cylinder. Ive gone through the car's histoey and it had a master cylinder replacment at 79k in 1995, (now 132k).

I hope for life its just not the slave cylinder as I acnt afford the labour charges.

Hopefully though, when she has bled me dry and I have replaced all the common parts to go she will be reliable.

Alex
 
#8 ·
...I have had the Saab tech look at it today and he says its the slave cylinder, he has checked the master cylinder and the flexi pipe which he says has already been replaced with the proper later one. He has quoted me £50+vat for the slave cylinder but is going to quote me tomorrow labour wise, as he says hes going to have to remove the subframe and gear box and inner wheel arch to fit it. Does anyone know roughly how long the job takes ..just so I know im not having my pants pulled down over the price?

Regards,

Alex
 
#9 ·
Well having just had a clutch changed on a Volvo, that was around 200 quid labour for 5 hours and it's pretty much the same type of job. In fact, the slave cylinder might be 50 quid but then depending on clutch plate condition you'd be silly not to have the clutch friction and pressure plates changed at the same time otherwise, you could end up paying for the same job a little further down the line.

David.
 
#11 ·
3 hours labour is about right, do not get an AP clutch plate as it ruins your flywheel and is like an on/off switch, bite is very aggressive.

Give Steve at www.malbrad.co.uk a call as they do a braided clutch hose.

Think positive with the clutch, if you are not running massive power upgrades the clutch will last you a good while longer...:cheesy:
 
#12 ·
I,m dithering on a clutch upgrade & the Spec unit from the states seems to be the best buy at the moment $ to £ & all that. But the original unit keeps hanging in there & i,m putting out a healthy does of torque / power initial mid rpm boost is well past 1.5Bar tailing to 1bar as the rpm rises, pritty much max on the std injectors & turbo & using the closer 4.05 ratio gearbox. you can induce a bit of slip at the initial high torque load & at the top end but only under serious 4 / 5th gear WOT conditions
 
#13 ·
...Well, Ive had the slave cylinder replaced, the guy started it at 10am and finished it by 2pm - Still needs to bleed the system though (he couldnt do it then because its a 2 man job apparently) so with luck I should have the car back tomorrow. Slave cylinder is costing me £53+vat and I had a rough quote of £100 labour to do the job. Just have to see what the bill ends up as tomorrow though.
They are going to be fitting a new timing chain kit (its slightly rattly on startup, they quoted £200 to fit. After that the engine should be reliable and running nice and smoothly/quiet.

Regards,

Alex
 
#14 ·
Saabracadabra9000 said:
...Well, Ive had the slave cylinder replaced, the guy started it at 10am and finished it by 2pm - Still needs to bleed the system though (he couldnt do it then because its a 2 man job apparently) so with luck I should have the car back tomorrow. Slave cylinder is costing me £53+vat and I had a rough quote of £100 labour to do the job. Just have to see what the bill ends up as tomorrow though.
They are going to be fitting a new timing chain kit (its slightly rattly on startup, they quoted £200 to fit. After that the engine should be reliable and running nice and smoothly/quiet.

Regards,

Alex
The bleeding process is a one man (or woman) job if using a pressure bleeder and they're only 15 quid or so, surprised he doesn't have one.

If he's going to fit a new timing chain kit complete with all sprockets and guides, you'd better post his details because for 200 quid he's either seriously underpricing it or he's just rolling on a split chain. :)

David.
 
#15 ·
They both tried to bleed ths system today but couldnt because according to them the master cylinder has now failed, the rubber seal has gone they said. So now they are going to get a new master cylinder for me.

The £200 was labour only (im supplying the chain kit)

I can see this becoming expensive. Its so hard to trust people with jobs like this as they can say anything and make you shell out more cash in parts/labour. I hope they are honest though as my "saab tokens" for this month are nearly all gone.

Regards,

Alex
 
#16 ·
Saabracadabra9000 said:
The £200 was labour only (im supplying the chain kit)

I can see this becoming expensive. Its so hard to trust people with jobs like this as they can say anything and make you shell out more cash in parts/labour. I hope they are honest though as my "saab tokens" for this month are nearly all gone.
That's still very cheap if they're replacing the lot. 20 quid an hour labour right, that's half what I pay the independent guy that does the Volvo and Saab main dealer is about 90 an hour.

David.
 
#19 ·
tl:dr, but if it hasn't been said, check your slave line going to the slave cylinder. mine blew out and gave me the same symptoms you're having, luckily i got stuck in third gear though 2 miles from my mechanic. ;)
-=tristan=-
 
#20 ·
At last they have fixed it and it drives really well now. I think there must have been a problem since I bought the car as the clutch pedal feels really hard and solid now, before it was alot looser. The only problem I have now is my speedo doesnt work, they told me about it and said they must have knocked it out when they were removing the box or putting it back. They are ordering me a new one.

Its been a right mess and I have been without a car for over 2 weeks. I have been patient with them, even when they replaced the slave cylinder and they said the one they got failed, so they had to fit another, then they said it wouldnt bleed. I had to take the car for a 20 mile drive tonight in it just to feel good about the whole thing, but I cant really go down the motorway in it as the speedo doesnt work.

Id like to say they have been good and I trust them and its just been mine and thiers bad luck, but I still feel p***d off about it.
Regards,

Al
 
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