2012 C3 clutch master cylinder 3rd one after 43k LUK

[livewire101]

Clutch pedal went to floor again.
replaced march 2024.
replaced again.
is this going to fail every 2 years? its a plastic thing that looks like its off a kids toy.
last time i remember seeing some comments about using Luk, avoid as reports of these failing.
So i go and buy a FEBI one £20 more than the Luk.
open the box and its a Luk inside (common for parts to be repackaged by other brands in the car world apparently)
Is Luk the only manufacturer of these.
So of course fitted it.
it is meant to be the OEM part.

[mickthemaverick]

You are not alone, have a look at this thread: viewtopic.php?p=785590&hilit=c3+clutch#p785590

[livewire101]

mmmm seems its going to be a thing then. if it lasts 2 years time to replace it. As its such a pain when it goes, no warning and car is stuck.
I have got 2 old ones now, cant work out how it works anyway. so going to cut one open as the piston thing doesn't look like it should work at all.

[shtu]

Keep the receipt - Febi offer a 3 year warranty.

https://www.febi.com/quality/3

[livewire101]

ok, thanks for that. brought it from a online place called "parts in motion" will check it out.

[livewire101]

You are not alone, have a look at this thread: https://frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/view ... ch#p785590

quite a thread. goes off topic a bit, but seems a thing.

To update on mine.
i have looked at the two previous ones I have got that have man dates of 2020 and 2023.
Its a 2012 model that had 18k on it when i brought it in 2023.
So it had already been replaced at least once before.

I have cut one open and it just has a lip-seal in it. obviously this just wears out and fails.

my first one replaced after having the car a year, second one 21 months after that.
i do about 12k a year.
18 month service needed to avoid failure maybe?

[PaulC5]

I have not had to replace one on a Citroen yet. I do notice when the brake fluid in them is changed as part of the 2 yearly brake fluid change that in the clutch it is usually a bit black due to the rubber wearing.

[livewire101]

I have not had to replace one on a Citroen yet. I do notice when the brake fluid in them is changed as part of the 2 yearly brake fluid change that in the clutch it is usually a bit black due to the rubber wearing.

could be a factor in the wear? is a brake fluid change a thing?
been working with my own cars for years, and have a good friend who runs a small repair garage.
I know the fluid can suffer from water ingress, had a honda in for a airbag recall and honda done a so called health check and said the fluid need changing as moisture content was too high so they replaced it.
His thought on it was, "well im doing brakes all the time and would had thought the bleeding changes the fluid in most cases often enough. As when i done the clutch we flushed loads of fresh fluid through using an airline bleeding tool he has.
Have got to do the rear brakes shortly on the Citroen as pads low so will replace the fluid 100% then.

[PaulC5]

The service schedule is to change the brake fluid every 2 years. It uses nearly a litre of fluid when I do it so just the occasional bleeding is not good enough. People might not do the clutch if lazy but it still uses the brake fluid from the same reservoir. I find the clutch pedal a bit lighter after the fluid change.

Brake fluid absorbs water from the atmosphere not just if water drips on to the reservoir. We had a neighbour who never replaced brake fluid on one car and when braking hard at a roundabout the brakes did not work due to the water absorbed which lowered its boiling point.

[livewire101]

another failure.
at 50k this time.
replaced again. with fresh fluid. used dot4 ESP as that was what comma recommends. cant really see if the ESP is needed as Citroen only mentions dot4.
have returned the last one under warranty, hopefully get a refund for that.
i got the car in 2023 with 18k on it. the one I first replaced had a manufacture date of 2020 on it, so that was a replacement one.

[PaulC5]

Do you have to use the clutch many times a day, to be wearing out so soon it does not seem right. On our 2010 C3 bleeding the clutch cylinders involved moving clips and the pipe on the slave cylinder so I was never sure if fluid went through the slave as if it had a normal bleed screw. If the cylinder is dry inside when first used it might help to wear it out.

[livewire101]

it does not seem right.
of course you use the clutch a lot.
never had master cylinders fail before, thats with 30 years of cars and i have done over 100k in previous cars.
i cut one of the failed ones open, and its just a single lip seal that is there doing all the work!

[myglaren]

Only had one go, on a Renault 4, 1981.