Diagnosing a clutch problem...

[Gleedo]

Hello all, first time here posting though ive been lurking and reading posts for a while

I have a 406 3.0 v6 on a T plate and I appear to be having some clutch issues, but i dont know how severe the issue is as im the most un-mechanicaly minded person you are ever likely to meet lol...

The other morning when I started the car, I could not get the clutch into any gear. It wasn't a case of it struggling to get into a gear, but it felt like the gear box has been nicked or something. I waited with the car turned on for a couple of minutes while wondering what the issue might be, and then it was ok again

The gears can also sometimes be a little hard to shift if I get stuck in heavy traffic for any length of time, but as i only really do motorway miles to and from work, I rarely see this issue, but it may have been around for some time.

I have called a couple of local garages, but they just say you need a new clutch and please give us £700 , but tbh ive never really trusted our local garages as ive heard some bad stories from other people about them....

If the entire clutch needs changing thats fine, but if it could be caused by something easy for to check and fix, then thats brilliant

Any help or thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated

[mjb]

Good news - chances are your clutch is ok. It sounds like either a hydraulics problem (easy to change, especially if you've got a little black 'pot' sitting behind the engine to the driver's side) and/or a gear linkage issue (potentially a pain)

If it doesn't go into gears (2nd to 5th especially) when the engine's off, you have linkage issues (or a knackered gearbox, but that would be very rare and very expensive). The easiest thing to have a crack at with the linkage is the end where it meets the gearbox. If you take the air filter box out (2 hose clips, disconnect the sensor at the back, then lift out) you can see the 2 ball joints on top of the gearbox at the back. Pop these out with a screwdriver, clean them up, put some grease in the cups, then use a large pair of mole grips or similar to pop them back on. I think I may have done a howto for this, else it's one of the earlier steps in my clutch change howto in the knowledge base section.

[steve_earwig]

Hi there, welcome aboard

I'm glad you understood that Matt, it completely confused me

[Gleedo]

Good news - chances are your clutch is ok. It sounds like either a hydraulics problem (easy to change, especially if you've got a little black 'pot' sitting behind the engine to the driver's side) and/or a gear linkage issue (potentially a pain)

If it doesn't go into gears (2nd to 5th especially) when the engine's off, you have linkage issues (or a knackered gearbox, but that would be very rare and very expensive). The easiest thing to have a crack at with the linkage is the end where it meets the gearbox. If you take the air filter box out (2 hose clips, disconnect the sensor at the back, then lift out) you can see the 2 ball joints on top of the gearbox at the back. Pop these out with a screwdriver, clean them up, put some grease in the cups, then use a large pair of mole grips or similar to pop them back on. I think I may have done a howto for this, else it's one of the earlier steps in my clutch change howto in the knowledge base section.

LOL - You were just speaking a different language there he he

I'll have a mate at work look at your response as he's fairly clued up on this lingo.

Further info - It was quite bad again this evening when leaving work, but I noticed after changing gear, the clutch pedal does not come all the way backup on its own.

If I get my foot under the pedal and "help" it all the way back to where the pedal should be, the next gear change is very smooooooooth

Thanks soo much for help so far guys - really appreciate it

[mjb]

In that case clutch hydraulics are almost certainly your problem.

Have a look under the bonnet for the little black pot (about 2" diameter, 2" deep, pipe coming out the bottom) near the drivers side right at the back. If you've got one, it's going to be a piece of cake to repair, but you'll have to buy a whole new system - either from another V6 in a breakers yard, or a new system from the dealers (about £300 I think). You just remove the old bits (master and slave cylinders) by pushing them in and turning them anticlockwise, like a bayonet light bulb, and put them in the same way. Should be dead easy.

If you don't have the black pot, you'll need either a new master cylinder (£unknown) or a slave (£20). They're harder to fit though because they involve bleeding the system through which can be a pain in the rear. It's also imperative that the passenger side of the car is jacked up as high as possible due to the poor design of the reservoir.

If in doubt about the pot, just post us a photo of your engine bay

What part of the country are you in - there may be someone near you willing and able to help. Alternatively any garage should be able to fix it in 15-30 mins.

[Gleedo]

Awesome help mjb - I will check for what you have said thanks

Too dark outside to check now, but i'll have a look at work tomorrow lunch time

Will report back my findings and how I get on.

[Gleedo]

Did a bit of phoning around this morning.

Peugot cant actualy source the part, but I was only really after a quote anyways.

So I called Mr Cluth and they said the work to do the master/slave cylinder would be £232 (inc parts, labour, and vat) which was cool. But they also said that they wouldnt know if the rest of the clutch needs doing until that work is complete. Something about if the clutch is too heavy? Does that sound correct? If so, the whole thing could cost £672 and tbh the cars probably only worth that it self lol.

If i knew right now that this IS going to cost me £672, I would just buy a new car. Tough decisions....

[Captain Jack]

That price isn't tooo bad but if you are even a little bit mechanically minded, you can replace them yourself. Certainly the slave cylinder is easy, there's plenty of how to's on this forum. The part itself doesn't cost more than £25. Master is a little more expensive at around £30.

[mjb]

If it's the sealed system (with the black pot), you should be able to get a replacement from a scrappy for a lot less

[Gleedo]

Hi guys,

In the end I decided that perhaps it was time to get a newer car, so I have purchased a Toyota Celica.

So now I have a 406 3.0 V6 Coupe sitting on my drive doing nothing. It has a bit of a dent in the NSR quarter, MOT til Feb 13 and Tax til end of march. 135k on clock. Could probably do with a service at some point. Free to good home

[supafrisk]

Hi guys,

In the end I decided that perhaps it was time to get a newer car, so I have purchased a Toyota Celica.

So now I have a 406 3.0 V6 Coupe sitting on my drive doing nothing. It has a bit of a dent in the NSR quarter, MOT til Feb 13 and Tax til end of march. 135k on clock. Could probably do with a service at some point. Free to good home

Ooooohhh yes please, I miss the V6

[Doggy]

Nice to hear from you Soops - perhaps Santa's come early

[steve_earwig]

*Goes outside to find something to BREAK

[supafrisk]

Seriously though, how much you looking for it?

[Gleedo]

Seriously though, how much you looking for it?

Well if it is the whole clutch that needs replacing, then the repair bill might be more than the cars worth, so id feel guilty to ask anything for it. But you can make a little offer if you want to

Im Junction 5 off of the M40 btw.