Please, pretty please help! Megane 225 clutch install nightmare!

I randomly stopped a guy last night that was driving a megane, asked him if i could get a feel for how his clutch pedal was. His pedal 'instantly' had resistance right at the top of it's travel, my one constantly has an inch and a half of it's travel without much resistance, then it feels great all the way down.
He told me he had hus clutch in January so i called guy that done it, he told me only way to bleed it is pump pedal 50,60 times 'without' clutch bleeder open, and ut will purge the air out itself, done this but exceeded pumping to about 200 times, still no difference.
I prefilled slave before fitting, but done it a bit half arsed as read pumping in a dry slave cylinder could damage the seal, so half heartedly drew the slave piston in and out while the end was submerged in fluid.

 

I agree with your point about the adjusters, but clutch part numbers match the clutch i took off. I've still got doubts despite what my local renault dealer said, and the Renault service manual said, that you 'do' need that large self adjusting clutch fitting tool, again though, people on here have said they've fitted a self adjusting clutch without the tool!
I don't know what to do now to be honest, im going to take this gearbox off again, but im just going to be staring at the correct clutch and flywheel for the car, fitted to the letter by the service manual!

 

Well, this cars set two records for me, most money i've ever speent on a car and got nowhere, and the first car i've actually kicked, nice broken front wing, well, it deserved it!
Vacuum bled the clutch, reverse bled the clutch, pressure bled the clutch now from the reservoir down(4 litres worth!) and not one bit of difference with pedal feel!! Slack for and inch and a half, then good pressure, think i've officially given up! I actually put off doing this pressure bleeding as i knew it wouldn't nake any difference, and i was right.

 

The guy from Luk i called, and i've exchanged several emails with says the part numbers i purchased all check out with my model of car. So i don't really know what to say to that.

 

Yes, new Luk flywheel, clutch kit, slave cylinder, master cylinder 'and' clutch pipe from slave to bulkhead.

 

Flywheel is same as original one i took off. If Luk tell me i've got correct one that'll do me! :-)
I tried the starting in gear thing, all hell broke loose, smoke rose from the starter motor!
Regarding the time this has all taken you've got to understand there have been weeks i can't even face being near it!
Just say for example you fit a wrong flywheel and clutch kit, you would expect a problem,right? then you fit a correct flywheel and clutch kit and you get the same end result? No gears?? That's how i feel, to me that shouts it can't be the clutch but something outwith the actual clutch.
It's like buying shoes that are way too small, your feet will hurt, you then buy the correct size shoes and your feet still hurt and you're like wtf?? Shouldn't happen.

 

Knowing my luck i've probably got the wrong feet! :-)

 

Fife in Scotland.

 

It's ok, i can move house! :-) None of the garages near me would touch this to put a clutch in it, even a local 'French car specialist' about 15 miles away wasn't interested.

 

Missed your post, how can you say i'm ignoring people and doing my own thing? I fitted it by instruction on here and various other places, and i've bled it every way that's been suggested. In fact i've everything 'but' do things my own way, either by the Renault service manual or people on here!
I've given up anyway, i've advertised it locally for 950.

 

I've got a few people interested in the car but there's something i've jyst done has made me think.
For the last week or so, well probably longer i've really had my doubts about this new Valeo clutch master i put on, when you look at the pedal and rod going into the master the way the rod pushes into the cylinder body just doesn't naje sense, little resistance at first, then it's good.
Just for the hell of it i pushed in the old clutch master by hand that was lying 'off' the car, just to see how it felt, and the rod feels nice and stiff right from the second you push it??
Whereas the new one on the car is slacker than the old one at first, then stiff. I'm going to stick in old one.

 

I can't help getting defensive here, taking breaks from things is good advice, i've done that twice already, i get that.
Do people really think i didn't check the parts with parts taken off? Or that i have to torque things correctly? Or that i didn't check part numbers.
Ebay is a complete headfuck when it comes to purchasing parts, their compatibility list is a joke!
I researched doing this job for a month before doing it and thoroughly got the whole procedure into my head before i touched a bolt!
When i fit a clutch, following every letter from the Renault service manual, what can go wrong??
I think the best point i made was if you fit a 'wrong' flywheel , then fit all correct parts the second time, would you expect the same end result twice, no gears?? No!
That's the thing that niggles me most.

 

Yes that's correct, jack front wheels off the ground, start car up, it will fly right up the box no problem, revving freely and the wheels are accelerating as they should.
Car also goes through all gears no problem with all four wheels on ground and engine off.

 

I remember when i was sent the wrong flywheel with that fitted wheels spun like hell all the time, even out of gear(i don't mean natural inertia making them spin) This time when i fitted correct flywheel and fired it up with the wheels off the ground it didn't do that, wheels were still, thought i had cracked it,but no.
From memory i remember just for the hell of it starting car up with just one wheel touching the deck, it got gears fine?
I did once put it in gear with front wheels off ground then dropped it,then fired it up in gear with clutch down and there was smoke and car wouldn't turn off lol, must have been the starter i think.
I'll try what you said.

 

Car stalled instantly when i pressed the brake with the car in gear running, with the front wheels up.

 

Out of the dozens of people who have tried to help, in the back of my mind something has niggled me, there is only 'one' person said something to me that's styck with me, he was absolutely adamant, cocky about it saying you 'cannot' fit one of tgese self adjystibg pressure plates without the large three sparred sac fitting tool, and i'm beginning to think he's right!
Renault service manual said you don't need it, people on here said you don't need, Haynes manual doesn't mention it, local Renault service department said you don't need it! But this one person said if you don't use this tool, yourclutch won't work, simple as! He said take box off, use tool and that would be that!
I have heard this tool is only for fitting the clutch cover, which is 'already' preset, and this tool makes sure this preset adjustment isn't disturbed while fitting!
But, i have also seen people using it to set the pre-adjustment 'while' fitting?? My one was preset from Luk, all i had to do, seemingly, was fit it gradually tightening the pressure bolts diagonally opposite each other, until up to torque!

 

Yes, it stalled with the clutch in.

 

I know it's difficult to keep track, but I've already mentioned the slave cylinder is extending and depressing the pressure plate fingers until they are nearly flat, so the slave cylinder is 'sort of' doing it's job, in my mind, considering there are 'hundreds' of people out there saying these are i pig to bleed, i pictured it as one bit of trapped air still to get shifted, then the slave cylinder would get that little bit more extension then disengage clutch! Make sense?
Another thing that was maybe a long shot was the service manual says not to grease input shaft, so i didn't, but the shaft would have to be pretty buggered to stop the friction plate moving. The main reason i decided to sell was Luk told me clutch, flywheel was correct, and someone on here gave me another site to confirm this, i just don't think i'd be able to see, or realise what was wrong to be honest, i feel i done nothing wrong, friction disc could be manufactured slightly too thick, or whatever, i just can't be arsed doing this all again.

 

Any believe me, you're head doesn't hurt as much as mine! :-)

 

Just a reminder as well that the clutch and flywheel on the car just now are identical to the original ones i took off.

 

I actually agree they are easy to bleed, i've always got air out easy, except the fact i had replaced so much of the system i thought there was just a blob of air trapped somewhere awkward.
I never really like how the short hose from the reservoir to the bulkhead looked trapped between the airfilter housing and the bulkhead for example.
I actually have another new clutch here but whoever buys it can have it, i just feel this crap is going to happen again putting in another clutch, i couldn't have been more careful! Honestly!