Peugeot 206 1.1 Clutch Cable issues

[ecohouse1]

Wonder if anyone can help with this. The "new" 206 1.1 (2001) I got my daughter has always had a very low clutch bite point, as in the carpet pile! It always crunches into 1st and reverse, and can be really hard to get into first when pulling away from a junction and grinding when engaging reverse. As the cogs slip in OK when the engine is off, I suspected that the clutch plates are not disengaging properly and that the cable is "too slack" I know it has an auto adjuster built in as I have the same style on my Xantia. Tried slackening off the free play bolt on the pedal (made it worse), then pulled the cable away at the slack end - still bad.

Got my daughter to press the pedal in and noted only 12-14 mm of movement at the fork lever. Notice the Peugeot manual says 24 mm is normal and any less suggests the cable is kaput. Anyway when she had the pedal planted in the carpet, I used a big bar and pushed the lever up as far as it would go on the gearbox and the gears worked a treat. The bite point then moved up the pedal a bit which was good.However it slipped back down again, which I am assuming must be due to the slack at the pedal end. Tightened up the pedal free play again and levered the actuator lever at the gearbox end and the bite point is a lot better and seems to have stayed. Still on 12-14 mm movement though at the gearbox end so have ordered a new cable anyway.

Does this sound like a cable problem? Car has done 63500 miles BTW but probably mostly learners and new drivers as its a 1.1! Clutch seems fine - no slippage.

Cheers

[spider]

Grab the release arm on top of the gearbox and attempt to pull it, you can hear (or should!) the ratchet on the auto adjuster. There should be a fair bit of movement here, this tends to decrease as the clutch wears down.

The auto-adjust cables are usually quite reliable.

[ecohouse1]

Thanks Spider, does pulling the gear box lever towards the front act to "tighten" the cable up, ie move the bite point up the pedal away from the floor? I levered the lever towards the passenger side while Ellie planted her foot on the pedal. I then grabbed the "bellows" on the adjuster part and pushed the ends together. Whether I managed to push them much is debatable but the new bite point seems to have lasted a day so far, plus multiple clutch pedal pushing!!

[spider]

Hi.

No you do not need anyone to press / operate the pedal in fact I'd suggest against it.

Simply grab the release arm or the cable end fitting and pull it towards the front of the car and listen for the ratchet. Also note (roughly) how much it will move forward, you should not need any force to do this just grab it (the release arm that is!) with one hand and pull it.

The amount of movement here is a good indication of how much clutch wear there is. The less movement = less clutch life left (or the adjuster has died) faulty adjust does not seem too common however, I'd go so far as to suggest reasonably rare.

[flying clutchman]

the auto adjusters are complete rubbish in my humble opinion, and if it wasn't for people's inability to do simple maintenece tasks like adjusting the cable every 6 months peugeot would still be fitting manually adjusting cables. (well no they wouldn't because they're all hydraulic now). Surely the best thing to do here is fit a new cable and remove any doubt?It should cost around £35-£40. Having said that at the mileage that you've done it's extremely likely that the clutch release bearing is eating it's way through the clutch cover and so not operating as it shopuld. This is the way 90% of peugeot clutches fail. Change the cable first though(make sure they give you the right one)

[ecohouse1]

Thanks - well as I thought daughter ran the car for a couple of days and then in rush hour traffic it "reset" to biting slightly below the carpet - in that she could not engage first or reverse. I tried pulling the lever towards the radiator but there was little or no play there. Have no got the new cable so will have a go installing it tonight. I have downloaded the service manual on how to do this.

I take it I ensure the cable is connected at both ends (and under tension) and then do I ensure the free play is taken up on the pedal, BEFORE releasing the "lock" on the new cable adjuster? Or do I release the adjuster then take up the free play?

Cheers

[flying clutchman]

Connect to the pedal end first, then connect to the gearbox end, then remove the cable lock. Press the pedal a couple of times and it should be set. If it's still a problem then you need a new clutch.

[ecohouse1]

I noticed with the new cable (lock still in place) that the pedal clevis doesn't pull out much cable from the sheath. Is that because of the lock being in place? I am just hoping that I have enough to stretch to the pedal hook. Cheers

[ihave2feet]

Hi Ecohouse1,

I was just wondering if replacing the clutch cable solved this issue for you?
I've been having the same issue on my 206 - usually at the end of driving or when engaging reverse gear, the clutch seems then to not disengage correctly and I struggle to get it out of gear or into a different gear.

If the clutch cable replacement works then that will solve my problems!!

[spider]

Your clutch is dragging.

Grab the release arm (as above) and see how much movement you get.

Try this twice, at the start of a journey (if its behaving) and at the end (when its not behaving) it should not really change much. If it does your cable is possibly faulty.

Although rare, low transmission oil can cause gear selection problems too.