Hi all, The Clutch has lost most of the pressure in my car. I believe I have a leak within the brake fluid system. I had a 'brake system failure' or a similar warning message come up on the dash and very soon after I was finding it hard to change gears and stalling with the clutch to the floor while waiting at lights, then I completely lost the gears. I can still change gears with engine off so the gearbox is still OK. I topped the fluid up with DOT4 to get back home. Is the likely problem the slave cylinder, can I check this from underneath? I have spoken to Renault and they seem to think the clutch or flywheel will likely have failed too as they normally do if the slave cylinder goes. I was expecting a £2-300 fix but more like £800:eek:
I take it this was improved after topping up the fluid if you were able to drive home? i recently had my 250 in for a cambelt change and discovered my clutch pipe was leaking really badly. And 2 weeks before it would flash up intermittently the same Brake System Fault warning because it leaked that much down to a certain level. When they found the leak they said if I didn't have it repaired soon one day I would just lose my clutch, much like how you have described above. So this would be the first thing I would be checking before you get fleeced for a new clutch and flywheel. Job to replace the pipe was less than £200 from a very good local independant renault specialist.
Hey thanks for your reply. Yes this allowed me to get home once fluid was topped but I have since lost pressure again. Do you know where the clutch pipe is? It was a VERY minimal amount of fluid I actually put in, it was still above the minimum level, but I filled it to max
I don't I'm afraid my friend, as it was the garage that found it on my car not myself. Rocketron on here has the same problem just now though and he mentioned it was near the gearbox mount I think?
I've had the plastics underneath off but cant really see any really wet areas to find a possible leak, there was fluid on the plastics though and I'm pretty sure that was brake fluid. Edit Does that black and silver metal sphere have anything to do with the system? The leak may be from there or above it
If you are definitely leaking brake fluid i would look into the clutch pipe, much cheaper than replacing anything else that's for sure. I'd get it looked at sooner rather than later though because I've had an intermittent knock coming from the front end when stationery (was here before the leak was found) and someone mentioned today it could possibly be my flywheel. So hoping it's not that, and the leak hasn't caused damage to the flywheel...
Im not driving it anyway mate, think I will be paying for an hours labour for someone to just check and see if they can see where its coming from. Re your flywheel Renault did say to me they can go if you have a leak in the slave cylinder but I'm not sure if they just meant just the slave cylinder or any leak itself within the system (I take it the clutch pipe must be part of it) Good luck
Sounds the best idea mate, I've no idea about the picture but I'd imagine someone else would be able to help you on here. Everything's so damn compacted in there haha it's hard to pinpoint anything..
I had a brake system failure warning on my way home from work today. Only stayed on for a couple of seconds then went off again. Is this the same thing you experienced?
Yes Nath it is, happened to me 9-10 times within about 10 minutes and then all of a sudden I only had about half the pressure in my clutch and had to bring it back up with my foot to restore it to original position
Mine seemed fine once it went off and didn't happen again. Will see what happens on way to work tomorrow and get it looked at. Keep us informed of how you get on.
Clutch pipe/slave is on the front of the gearbox. You should be able to see it from the engine bay. Also check inside at your clutch pedal, if the pipe has been stretched when changing the pollen filter it can also break there.
Is the clutch pipe and slave cylinder the same thing? BTW my clutch is biting when its on the floor is it possible this is just a clutch problem? I dont seen to be losing fluid
In the front of the gearbox meaning looking down at the far right of the engine bay? Also the inside of the clutch pedal as in looking up in the footwell? Ill give them a check tomorrow thanks
Yes down the front, as in down the front of the bay on the right. And yes in the footwell as the hydraulic pipe comes off the pedal. The clutch pipe goes from the reservoir to pedal and slave cylinder, the slave cylinder is inside the gearbox but it sticks out the front where the pipe is attached.
slave cyl is a concentric design, like the ever-failing one fitted the the 370z. It is indeed inside the bell housing and when it craps itself it usually contaminates your clutch disc. The connection to the plastic pipe is on the front upper section of the gearbox, sort of facing the radiator. You can't see it properly unless you take the battery box out but you could probably examine it from underneath if you take the belly tray off
Just to clarify it was a leaking slave cylinder. I was having to pump the clutch with my foot every time I came to a halt to maintain enough pressure in order to select gears. The fact its inside the gearbox means it's a labour intense job. I called 6 garages and got prices between £800-£1000... oh and the good old Renault dealer who wanted over £2600 All sorted now
Reason why you get a brake fault message is because the reservoir is shared with the brake master cylinder
Just came across this old tread. Mines the same, did you change the clutch and flywheel at the same time as the slave?
