Thread: Clutch issue, think I know what it is.......

Plate wont make any difference apart from hitting the flywheel bolts if the wrong way round. Pressure plate thicknesses or difference in thrust bearing carrier would be my guess. Is there any feel to the clutch pedal?

Hi There,
Yes the clutch pedal has the feel to it that tells my left thigh muscle I am putting pressure on the pressure plate, the clutch pedal feels normal, and the load comes on where I would expect it to, not right at the bottom of the pedal travel. The driven plate just won't disengage completely. So the large collar side faces the release bearing, is that correct? A few drawings I have seen in workshops manuals indicate the large collar faces the flywheel. Hence the reason I'm asking, and quite honestly I can't remember now which way round I had the driven plate.

If the collar was facing the flywheel and I was holding the vehicle on the foot brake with the gearbox in gear, (engine straining a bit) if the collar was hitting the flywheel bolts I am assuming I would hear some metal on metal grating sounds. There was no evidence of metal on metal sounds.

By undoing the locknut under the clutch pedal if it was just a case of a slightly thicker lining or slightly different release bearing I thought this would have made enough difference to free things up a bit more, or make some difference. When I did this there was again no difference in the symptoms.

Bit frustrating this, everything seemed to be going so well. I'm pretty well committed to taking the gearbox out now, I have some fear that if I am putting excessive load somewhere I might overload the engine thrust bearing.

Appreciate your comments and thoughts, thank you.

Cheers Marty.

I don't have much experience here but it sounds to me like the clutch is not fully disengaging. I have a clutch change ahead of me and during the research it was clear that bleeding the clutch properly can be difficult. A tip I came across on this esteemed forum is to park facing up hill (or use some ramps) so that the front is about 460mm (18 inches) higher than the rear for a 110 as a minimum guide... after you get the first fluid flow you should get a good bleed with 2 more actions of the bleed nipple (thanks Blknight).
I haven't tried this myself yet but I think it is worth a go. Certainly easier than dropping the box again.

As you can remove the slave cylinder I’m assuming your working on the TD5.
This may help if can remember which way you have assembled yours.
Td5 Clutch driven plate direction

td5 clutch plate goes in backwards to what most people consider normal.

good quality ones have this side to engine or this side to gearbox written on them, cheap ones dont.

Hi There,
OK, thank you for the guidance, the reference to the other thread was very useful thank you Kyle, I did consider removing the slave cylinder and bleeding this independently with a ratchet clamp holding the piston in place whilst pumping the pedal, based on the comment this could well be on the cards. I don't remember seeing flywheel side written on the friction plate and I don't believe that the kit was that cheap either, however Dave you are usually right maybe I just paid a lot for a cheap clutch.

So I've got something to try before I take the gearbox out, I started last night didn't get to much done. The assumption that the clutch isn't disengaging enough is where I am at hence the reason I undid the pedal stop a bit to try and get that bit extra to prove the point however made little difference.

The bit I'm struggling with getting the friction plate the wrong way round is what is the consequence of doing this, is it what I am suffering from or is it a metal on metal sound as the collar rubs on something it shouldn't, as far as I am aware audibly I'm not getting any metal on metal rubbing noises and the pedal movement doesn't feel restricted going to the floor and that includes after moving the pedal stop out a bit.

It is really weird, I'll give bleeding the clutch another go with te slave cylinder removed and clamped, I appreciate the comment about parking on the hill idea however moving the vehicle to the hill right now is the challenge.

Again thanks for the comments, I'll keep you updated.

Cheers Marty

On some older Japanese vehicles if the drive plate was reversed they would bind up on the flywheel mounting bolts. Pedal felt the same but it would not release

in the td5...

if you put it in the wrong way around the plate engages on a part of the plate and deforms the friction plate, the deformed friction plate now remains in contact with both the fly wheel and the pressure plate so you dont get a nasty grinding noise just the symptoms of a sticking clutch.