Clutch died!

Picked up our car after it had sat outside in Cairns for 3 months whilst we were up on the Cape today.

All good until halfway up the Kuranda Range when I lost the clutch - not a good place to get stranded!

Pushed in the clutch pedal to change gear but when the pedal was released (& came back up) the clutch remained as though the pedal were still being held down - like 100% released & no drive. Pushing the pedal in & out again, multiple times did nothing, no clutch & no drive. No smell. 'Loose' pedal clearly not operating the clutch any more. After sitting by the side of the road for an hour or so, clutch actuation returned, albeit with an unusual creaky feel to the pedal & creaky noises. At the time when the actuation returned there was a light smell of burned clutch. I'm thinking it was an end of life event for the clutch & that a new one will be needed. Got recovered to Mareeba on a tow truck, car is at a mechanics waiting to be seen in the morning hopefully. Have never had a clutch which has 'bound up'/got stuck in it's 'released' position before. Anyone else had this happen or have thoughts as to what has occurred?

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Had the same thing happen with the bush bomb Lada. A couple of thumps on the gear box released it. Was the slave cylinder push rod disengaging? Or was the fork stuck in position?

Did you get underneath to see if the slave cylinder and clutch fork still moved with the pedal? If they don't then you most likely have a hydraulic issue and is easier to fix. Otherwise the gearbox is coming out to investigate further.

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Ta, I wondered about an hydraulic issue, but it just wasn’t safe to get under the car in the location of the breakdown, & dark when dropped of outside the mechanics (after they had closed) & finding accommodation was then a higher priority. Hopefully they’ll find a hydraulic issue this morning. I do think it felt more like a fork stuck & preventing the clutch releasing. Fingers crossed.

Got to mechanics this morning & found clutch fully operational & feeling reasonably (95%) smooth in operation, could drive it into the mechanic’s yard without problem. They talked about having had Patrols previously with similar symptoms, caused they believe by heat deteriorating the slave cylinder seals, always on cars with 3” exhausts where the exhaust is closer to the slave cylinder. On examination they found the factory heat shield over the slave cylinder was broken off & missing. Also significant ‘gunk’ underneath the external dust seal. So replacing slave cylinder & putting on a new heat shield & then test driving. Fingers still crossed that this is all that will be needed.

That is great news, Cuppa.

better get a spare & clean out the master cylinder

Well @mudnut and @Winnie, I think you were on the money. Now have our car back with new clutch master & slave cylinders fitted. Have driven around 45kms since & clutch is ‘as new’ smooth. Feeling confident that the issue is resolved. Well looked after by RACV & the mechanics at Heavy Diesel Mareeba.

Lived in Cairns for a few years. I know that road well. Total bastard of a spot to break down for sure!

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Originally Posted by growler2058

Lived in Cairns for a few years. I know that road well. Total bastard of a spot to break down for sure!

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Yep! The place in the pic with the tow truck was a safe spot where an RACQ Patrolman towed us to after a couple of hours expecting a truck to hit us at any moment, & MrsTea up ahead around a corner waving at oncoming traffic to slow them down!

Attachment 83493

Short tow strap
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Yeah it was either a hydraulic issue, or the thrust bearing carrier was sticking the the nose cone on the gearbox. Which came to my mind first when reading this.


Its a shit design, once a new clutch is installed, thats it, what ever lubrication was applied to the carrier at the time has to last the life of the clutch. I've always had in my mind, when I eventually get my own garage with space, to do whats done on prime movers. They have a grease nipple on the side of the bell housing and a flex tube on the inside of the bell housing running from the grease nipple to the thrust bearing carrier to lubricate the carrier on the nose cone.