Grim.Badger 15 Posted January 5, 2007 Yet another problem with my car that first reared it's head when my alternator started to die. I get clutch judder at the bite point, or 2.5krpm in at least a couple of gears. The engine also struggles when the clutch peddle is fully depresed and at the same time something makes a scratching/scraping noise. I'm going to check my engine/gearbox bolts tonight and check the clutch arm for a crack which are two suggestions I've found for the cause. The clutch was fitted in April/May so I'm hoping it's not that but I've also heard it could be the release bearing (seems unlikely that the engine would struggle if this was the cause). Other than the cable, which may have stretched but I'm not sure, what else could be causing this? As those of you who have been following my posts can guess I'm pretty pi***d off with my car at the moment Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 242 3 Cars Posted January 5, 2007 Hugh, your car has a Be3 gearbox doesn't it? I've never heard of the clutch arm snapping on any but the early Be1's with the quadrant & pin. I replaced the clutch on my STDT last year & since then I also have a slight judder when I take up drive but being a diesel I have no issues with it struggling to idle when the pedal is pressed again. After talking with KrisKarrera recently I'm tempted to try a new clutch cable as one cured his judder when he did. The release bearing should've been swapped when the new clutch was fitted so I'd be shocked if one has failed that quickly & I'd expect it to make some noises before it failed. Mine squeaked like mad when the clutch was pressed before it exploded. Does it struggle to idle all the time or just when the lights, heater etc are switched on? If its just when under load its pretty normal imo for a 205 & all you can do is clean the thriottle body, idle speed screw & set the idle up again with no load on to 1krpm. I think your car might be falling apart since the last North meet because of the drive along the A59 following us, unlikely though. Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KRISKARRERA 2 1 Cars Posted January 5, 2007 I've never heard of the clutch arm snapping on any but the early Be1's with the quadrant & pin.Mine did on my first Mi16, which Pug replaced and then my clutch cable snapped and then the clutch itself needed replacing. An expensive bad memory that car lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim.Badger 15 Posted January 8, 2007 I went to check the gearbox mounting bolts and only one was still in place Two are presumably on the M62 central reservation or something and one was sat on top of the gearbox. The last remaining bolt was only what I'd call hand tight, similar with the gearbox mount to the shell, so I'm not impressed with the garage that fitted my clutch. It should have rung alarm bells when I was swapping the starter motor and one of those bolts wasn't tight, plus I should have listened to my gut when I thought there should have been a bolt in the hole next to the lower starter motor bolt. Thankfully my clutch is still okay but I can't get the lower gearbox bolt back in; it seems like the hole is cross threaded but I can't be sure, is the lower hole difficult to line up? As for my comment about the car struggling, the idle would drop by about 1k when I depressed the clutch peddle so I presume that because the clutch and engine were sagging the clutch would rub against the inside of the bellhousing when it was raised. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richie-Van-GTi 70 2 Cars Posted January 8, 2007 the lower bolt can be tricky if the box is sagging away from the engine, if the 2 are pushed up together it should be easy to get in. If its the one Im thinking of then you can put the bolt in from the block side and see if the threads are ok. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim.Badger 15 Posted January 8, 2007 There is a gap between the engine and gearbox at the lower bolt hole I couldn't close, about 1mm, no mater how I shifted the geabox about. It's the bolt that goes in a different way to the other three, through the block into the gearbox iirc. The gearbox end of the hole is too small iirc so you can't put the bolt in the wrong way to check the thread but I'll check again tonight hopefully. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richie-Van-GTi 70 2 Cars Posted January 8, 2007 so its the one at the back then, I hate that bolt. Had one round off before and had to grind it out so I could remove box, its a royal pain backside. Sounds like the gearbox isnt mounted up right if the gap wont close. get someone to press clutch while you try and close it up as the clutch may be out of alignment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve@cornwall 100 Posted January 8, 2007 so its the one at the back then, I hate that bolt. Had one round off before and had to grind it out so I could remove box, its a royal pain backside. Sounds like the gearbox isnt mounted up right if the gap wont close. get someone to press clutch while you try and close it up as the clutch may be out of alignment. Seeing as the garage doesn't appear to be too hot, have they fitted the g'box coverplate too high? IIRC there is enough movement to fit it so it gets between the block and 'box Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim.Badger 15 Posted January 8, 2007 Seeing as the garage doesn't appear to be too hot, have they fitted the g'box coverplate too high? IIRC there is enough movement to fit it so it gets between the block and 'box Is that the one that covers the lower part of the flywheel? If so I took it off whilst I was trying to reposition the gearbox. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C_W 3 1 Cars Posted January 8, 2007 I'm not 100% but I think the 1mm gap may be normal from looking from below as the casting of the gearbox means its actually butted up to the engine but the outer edge has a slight gap. As long as they are tight they should be fine; the 1mm gap won't cause the clutch judder. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim.Badger 15 Posted January 8, 2007 I'm not 100% but I think the 1mm gap may be normal from looking from below as the casting of the gearbox means its actually butted up to the engine but the outer edge has a slight gap. As long as they are tight they should be fine; the 1mm gap won't cause the clutch judder. I think your right and the 1mm is normal because the other three bolt holes are completely lined up with no gaps, and I can't see how I could have a gap at one point and not the others if the gearbox was on wrong. When I found out the bolts had dissapeared there was a >5mm gap between the engine and gearbox at the bottom. I've had to drive the car without the fourth bolt in place and all seems good, but the sooner I can figure out why the last bolt won't go back in the better as I'm uneasy about driving with just 3 bolts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 242 3 Cars Posted January 9, 2007 I'm not 100% but I think the 1mm gap may be normal from looking from below as the casting of the gearbox means its actually butted up to the engine but the outer edge has a slight gap. It is, I questioned this when I refitted a gearbox to my car last week but everything was mated up & tight but the gap was still there. I'd also suspect that the judder & running poblems were down to the gearbox nearly falling off & causing extra drag on the clutch / flywheel. Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
