Clutch Pedal Intermittency

[howarthcd]

Recently (twice in a week over 500 miles) the car's clutch pedal has gone almost right to the floor with minimal pressure required, only to return to normal operation after pumping the pedal around 5-6 times.

Both times this has happened it has been after going around 3/4 way round a roundabout - not sure if this is a factor.

Has anyone else had a similar issue? I'm ruling out the clutch pedal spring initially as the clutch operation returns to normal shortly after the problem has occurred.

Thanks
Chris

[howarthcd]

Recently (twice in a week over 500 miles) the car's clutch pedal has gone almost right to the floor with minimal pressure required, only to return to normal operation after pumping the pedal around 5-6 times.

Both times this has happened it has been after going around 3/4 way round a roundabout - not sure if this is a factor.

Has anyone else had a similar issue? I'm ruling out the clutch pedal spring initially as the clutch operation returns to normal shortly after the problem has occurred.

Thanks
Chris

A glaring omission - the car is a 2004 1.9 CDTI 120 with 106K miles.

Also just to add that when the problem occurs the clutch is operational but the bite point appears to be just above the floor.

Cheers
Chris

[dh.dti]

either the slave or master cylinder is drawing air in, any signs of fluid loss?

[howarthcd]

Not to my knowledge. Is the clutch fluid reservoir shared with the brake fluid reservoir?

[plasma]

yes

[dh.dti]

yes, it's the same reservoir... usually if it's the slave it will leak fluid around the bell housing.

[howarthcd]

Thanks - I'll keep an eye on the level then, and the area that you mentioned. Annoying that the slave cylinder is tucked away inside.

I suspect then that I won't find out the cause until either a leak is spotted or the clutch fails to operate.

[dh.dti]

replacing the master would be my first choice if no fluid loss & it's the cheapest

[howarthcd]

That's great, thanks - I'll bear that in mind.

Cheers
Chris

[howarthcd]

I had the master cylinder replaced today so we'll see how we get on over the next few days.

The internals of the old master cylinder look OK, but I guess it's difficult to tell what's going on at a microscopic level without further investigation. The main rubber seal looks quite puny compared to the seals on master cylinders that I've refurbished on other (older) cars, it wouldn't surprise me at all if it was on its way out.

Cheers
Chris