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[Sergio]

Hi,

On Monday I left my car at a Fiat-Lancia-Alfa Oficial Workshop to change my 33 16v's Clutch and Gearbox Oil...
On Monday Afternoon they called me telling me I had a major leak in my brake fluid resevoir - The pipe on resevoir that connects to the clutch slave cylinder was broken, and it would cost me 110 euros for a new one... No sh*t, I knew it was snapped, by the guys in another workshop that I took last year to "fix" my brakes. They at the time fixed it using a soldering iron and told me there was no problem, and there wasn't until Monday... Nevertheless, I told them I didn't want a new one. I went to a local Scrappy-money-saving-yard and got a intact one for 5 euros!!!

Anyway, they had the car ready by tuesday afternoon. The bill was about 300 euros - I fitted a reconditioned clutch that cost about 120 euros, other than that it was just some bits and pieces and 4,5 hours of labour...

They is simply great, I've never had the joy of driving it so smoothly, and even when I touch the accelerator I don't get a strong transmission jerk that I got before... Just as smooth as silk (I think this might be due to the ECU reset... battery unpluged).

The only things I didn't like about the service, was that they didn't clean the resevoir that I bought from the scrappies, neither did they change the brake fluid (but then I didn't ask... I though it would be normal procedure when changing the resevoir...). Now I have a darkish colour brake fluid, and no money to change it because i'm totally broke and unemployed...
Might this brake fluid be a problem? Is it hard to change?

The gearbox is really silky, and even 2nd gear has been going smoothly

All the best

Sérgio

P.S: Sorry Keith, I haven't sent you the CD cover as I promised... I haven't forgotten, it's just that I haven't had the inspiration

[James Granger]

Sérgio

You simply need to bleed your clutch circuit. This takes a half an hour with a friend. You may find that the garage recycled the clutch hydraulic fluid (naughty) or that there is some contamination due to disintegrating seals in your master cylinder. Bleeding the clutch circuit is simple - you will need a 7mm open ended spanner to fit on the nipple which is located under the back of the fuel injection system - on the front side of the gearbox (there is a rubber cover on it to stop dirt going in). You'll need a length (about 60cm) of 4mm bore clear plastic hose and a small glass pot. Also a 250ml pot of DOT4 brake fluid (Bendix is what we used and it is very cheap). Connect the tube to the nipple, with the other end in the pot. Open the nipple, then push the clutch pedal fully in - you will notice old dirty fluid coming out - close the nipple and release the clutch pedal (DO NOT release clutch pedal with nipple open as this sucks air into system). Don't forget to continue adding fluid to the resevoir as you continue the process.

This will no doubt also make some improvement to the clutch performance as dirt in the hoses can cause some delay in the pressure being released (causing clutch slip during high speed changes) and air in the system can cause crunching of gears when you select 1st and reverse at rest. We recently replaced our master cylinder and this made a big difference - snappier changes and no crunching. By the way, you can tell if the master cylinder is on its way out as you find spots of brake fluid on your shoes from a leaking seal (hard to clean off natural leather)!

PS, try not to get brake fluid on the bodywork.

Regards,

James and Paddy Granger

[micap]

My own car seems to have a problem with the clutch. The car shakes when I clutch in from stand still. What causes this problem? Could it be solved with a new clutch cylinder maybe? Don't want to change the clutch, since the MOT runs out in about 4 months.
_________________
/Michael

ex 89 1.7 QV
now 85 1.5 QV with 1.7 engine.

[Guest]

You can also check if the fork is aligned with clutch cylinder. They are prone to misaligne when the small hole is worn.

Ciao
Yvon