Rant

[TerryG]

I'm sure that somebody is tring to put me off cars. I went to have a look at the mog on saturday to see about sorting my brake lights. I thought i'd move it closer to my garage (where my tools & saloon live) and my clutch has no feeling at all! &$&%&& cars!!! does anybody have any idea what to start looking for on a hydraulic clutch that can cause the peddle to feel like it isnt doing anything (there is fluid in it and the "rod" that connects the peddle to the clutch master cylinder is ok)

[Willie]

Can only assume that the clutch slave cylinder has failed and
needs new rubbers.(assuming that you have a clutch slave cylinder)!

[TerryG]

err............... pass. Concidering as i have had a mog for coming up to 10 years i dont seem to know much about it! (I inherited my great grandparents one when i was 13) I'm amazed how its gone, it was fine the week before (last time i moved it) All the "oily" bits are marina/ital: engine, box, clutch etc if that makes any difference

[bmcecosse]

I assume you have a hydraulic conversion - standard Minor has mechanical clutch linkage. Could try bleeding it ! But there must be something leaking or seals knackered.

[lowedb]

Hydraulic clutches of that age have a habit of dying suddenly, when the slave cylinder seal lets go. Had the same on a maxi many years ago. As mentioned above, though, this is not standard mog as they don't have hydraulic clutches!

[TerryG]

nope, its not standard. I'll have a look at it on sunday and swear alot then go and part with too much money at my local motor factors

[Cam]

Well........ it all depends on what type of system it has installed.

I had the same thing happen to me. In my case it was a duff clutch master cylinder which lasted only a couple of years. I had to buy a new one from the Morris Minor centre in Birmingham (where I bought the last one from). I seriously doubt that a normal motor factor will have the parts in stock as they are usually very non-standard!

If you can post some pictures of the cylinders (master & slave) then I'm sure we can identify it for you and suggest where to get replacements from.

[TerryG]

I will have to give the car a shove out of the garage (its too dark in there) and take a snap tonight when i get in. I'll have to see if i can force it back out of gear (i jammed it into first so i could park it off the road with the starter motor) no jokes about the oil thats all over the inside of the engine bay though!

[Cam]

Oil is fine. It protects the steel!

I much prefer a slight leak to perfect sealing (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. ).

[edjones]

Terry,

our 1966 saloon also has a hydraulic clutch with master and slave cylinders. Our slave cylinder failed last year with no warning whatsoever. It started up fine and drove the 5/6 miles to a local show, then would not go into gear when we wanted to go home. Breakdown chap had to come into the show to help us

From memory, and I could be wrong, it was £27 for a new slave cylinder and 5 minutes to fit (our cylinder was scored so needed replacing rather than just new seals). The difficulty was bleeding it, apparently dual cylinder setups are more difficult to get all the air out of.

Hope this helps

[Kevin]

Hi Terry are these problems on the car that you sent westward to have a few thou spent on it ?

[TerryG]

nope, these are problems on my new (old) traveller, dont start me on the problems with the saloon i just spent 3 months wages on! I am not a happy bunny

[TerryG]

OK, found what the slave cylinder was, got a new one (local motor factors had one in stock!!) i have just spent 2 hours trying to remove it!!! Does anybody have any ideas how to push the clutch lever (arm that sticks through the bell housing in a silly place you cant access!!) to retract far enough so the slave cylinder clears it? I have tried levering it with a breaker bar but because of the silly angle you can access it from i cant get enough pressure on it. Also anoing i cant get the hoses from the back of the cylinder because some bright spark when ftting it didnt fir the clutch adjuster so whenever i put pressure on the cylinder to take the hoses off it just rotates. I'm sure the only reason that i have a mog is to make money for swarfega!
OK, Rant over.

[Cam]

Well, with mine, you just undo two bolts and it pulls off. Do yuo have any piccies of the offending article?

[Willie]

Agree with CAM all the slaves I have encountered are easily
removable. You will have to take some pics and if you cannot
post them on this site then send them via e mail.

[bmcecosse]

Is it a Minor gearbox ??

[TerryG]

nope, its from an 80s ital. Taking pics is all but impossible from the positioning of the cylinder. I will scan the lineart drawing from haynes if it will help.

[chickenjohn]

Oh dear! BL slave cylinders. I had the one go on the Allegro I owned as a student.

I've found the Minor mechanical clutch linkage to be very reliable- provided you grease the linkages and check the bronze bush is OK. You can actually SEE when something is about to go and easily identify broken bits if they do go, but hydraulic clutches.....

even the slave cylinder on my 944S2 has been leaking very slowly from the pipe since I got it and the main dealers advised just to keep topping up occasionally! as they could fit a new pipe, but that would leak too

Personally, I like the simplicity of the standard Minor set up.

[bmcecosse]

Much prefer the mechanical linkage myself ! But why have we had this 'guessing' game all through the thread - you could have explained what was on the car right at the start !!

[chickenjohn]

He's trying to work out who's clever here and who's just pretending! ;);):)