Gear selection issues

[Lucky13black]

Hi All,
I've got a 2011 207 1.4hdi Sportium and I was driving along when the pedal went flat to floor and couldnt select any gears, this happened a few years back and it was the slave cylinder.

Checked the slave cylinder, removed it and it split into two pieces. I fitted a new one and eventually managed to bleed the system enough to get pressure back at the pedal. This part was a nightmare as it repeatedly kept losing pressure despite no air coming through the plastic tube to the drain bottle.

The problem I have now is that even though I have pressure at the pedal it just won't go into any gear when started, it just grinds. When I turn the car off manually select 1st gear and start it up it starts crawling as if the clutch is already at biting point even though the pedal is depressed.

The clutch was only replaced 20,000 miles ago so I'd be surprised if its gone already.

Does anyone have any ideas of what could be causing this?

Thank you

[mickthemaverick]

Possible causes I can think of:
1) air in the hydraulics due to leak somewhere
2) failed master cylinder
3) failed slave cylinder
4) worn release bearing

Fundamentally the problem appears to be that depressing the pedal is not pushing the release bearing far enough to disengage the driven plate fully so either something isn't moving as far as it should or the bearing is too thin to operate the clutch all the way. One other bizarre possibility is that something, eg carpet, has got under the pedal and you are not getting full travel. As a first action I'd check the pedal has full travel and then replace the fluid and bleed it assuming you don't see any leaks. Next have someone depress the pedal while you check the movement of the slave cylinder, if that is all looking ok and you still have trouble then it will be necessary to take the gearbox off and inspect the bearing and clutch itself. Good luck

[PaulC5]

I have found the best way to bleed the clutch is to suck the fluid through at the slave cylinder and not use pedal pumping. A large syringe might work but I use a Mityvac pump. The reservoir fluid level has to be kept high since the clutch outlet is usually above the brake one and it is easy to suck air back as the level drops.

After checking the carpets as noted by mickthemaverick, I would check the slave cylinder travel before and after doing the bleeding so you can see if it makes any difference.

[Lucky13black]

Thanks for the advice mickthemaverick and PaulC5. Think I'll take a punt and change the master cylinder, I can get one off Autodoc for £45 and should be able to fit it myself. I don't think I'd be able to change the clutch on my drive and I've been quoted £1000 plus by three separate garages for a new clutch Thee cars only worth about £600 so not really worth paying that sort of money but hopefully it's just the master cylinder.