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MG MGB Technical - Clutch acting really strangely ... help!!

Guys, all of a sudden my clutch pedal is working strangely ... instead of taking a couple of inches of travel to smoothly engage the selected gear, it takes barely half an inch of movement from the floor to fully engage. It's very hard to drive the car like this, and my left leg is only so long. It's absolutely brutal when the car is cold ... put it into reverse, and you have only to lift the clutch pedal a tiny bit before the car is shooting backwards!

Would bleeding the clutch system help? I noticed that the fluid in the CMC is pretty darn low. Could there be a leak or something?

The clutch itself seems to work fine; it isn't slipping or anything. It's just that shifting is pretty darn inconvenient.

BTW, any clues as to how I determine what fluid the PO used? The brakes have Castrol LMA which I believe is DOT4 ... the clutch fluid looks pretty much the same as far as I can see.

If this is a matter of bleeding the system, might someone give me a quick heads-up as to how? I know how to bleed brakes; is it the same thing here? ... just loosen the bleed screw while an assistant depresses the pedal until there are no bubbles?

(The car has a Rover V8 and a Rover SD1 box, but as far as I can see it's got exactly the same system as a regular B does.)
Ted

It sure sounds like air in the system. Is there fluid in the clutch master cylinder? If it came on quickly, you may have a leak in the system somewhere. Look for fluid around the slave cylinder dust boot.
Bleeding the clutch is identical to bleeding brakes, only the line is bigger and you will need to check the reservoir after only a couple of shots. I think it takes a 7/16 open or box end wrench.

Good luck,
Mark
Mark Thomas

Could be a broken clutch cover diaphragn spring - same symptoms as air in the system.
Garth
Garth Bagnall

Ted. I recently had exactly the same symptoms which was traced to a bad master cylinder. In my case, I knew the clutch was good as I had replaced it 18 months before. I rebuilt the slave cylinder (easiest) and still had the problem. Rebuilt the master and the problem went away. I had rebuilt the master and slave cylinders when I replaced the clutch. Do not know why the master went out so soon, but could be bad rebuild kit or the bore was not as smooth as I thought it was. Also check the flex line between the hard line and the slave. If it is bad, you will get air into the system. Hence, I would examine the line first, bleed the system to get any air our and, if the problem does not go away, rebuild the slave and master cylinders. Les
Les Bengtson

This thread was discussed on 02/11/2001

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