Jump to content

Misadventures of the Galant: Clutch


Guest

Recommended Posts

Here's an interesting thing on which I need to take advice on from the Autoshite crew.

 

Driving the Galant this afternoon, the clutch pedal has gone very noticably spongy. This is odd as on the morning it was absolutely fine. By spongy, I mean that it doesn't really seem to have any bite and seems to be pausing for a moment before changing gear. Still drives OK though, doesn't seem to be slipping under load or anything.

 

For info, the Galant is the 1982 model, rear wheel drive with a 4-speed manual box. I've driven it about 7000 miles since getting it and the clutch has always been fine, not sure when it was last replaced.

 

Here it is chilling at the roadside:

Posted Image

 

The only issue I can think of is that the gearbox has a small leak and I'm wondering whether this issue could be caused by low oil, or whether this is clouding some sort of clutch issue. It's coming off the road in a few weeks for an overhaul and I don't want to buy £10 worth of gearbox oil and arse about only to have it all drained out and binned within weeks if it's very obviously a clutch issue.

 

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't really offer any good advice here. Only time I have experienced something similar was on my Skoda Estelle, many years ago. Clutch got progressively 'soggier' with a lower and lower bite, which unfortunately led to the clutch grenading itself spectacularly and a larger than expected bill. :?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Only time I have experienced something similar was on my Skoda Estelle, many years ago. Clutch got progressively 'soggier' with a lower and lower bite, which unfortunately led to the clutch grenading itself spectacularly and a larger than expected bill. :?

Actually, that's very useful advice indeed. I was wondering whether I'd be able to get away with it more than anything else, my exhaust has been blowing quite badly for a while now, but I put up with it on the basis that if it drops off completely I could probably put it in the boot and drive home. However, this sounds like a situation which can only end in peril. The MOT on the Galant comes up later this month and I'm taking it off the road before then, unfortunately given this event it might have to be sooner than I think.Unfortunately, that leaves me at the mercy of the rest of my fleet, i.e. ones that have a valid MOT. Options available to me are an untaxed Stanza which boils up on idle and an untaxed Cuore TR-XX with knackered tyres.All is not well at the Hirst Cabs office.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To be honest I though the clutch was getting to the point where the maximum amount of fun had been extracted from it when I drove it last week.Looks like you`ll have to catch a bus, or walk. The Stanza is out because as soon as we`ve sorted out the overheating problem I`m going to throw the keys down a grate, sadly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update, it is the clutch, it is indeed on its way out. The bite still exists, it's just very near the top of the pedal now. Will it leave me stranded at the side of the road? Most likely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is stashed away now, drove it down to the "vehicular storage point" and it did alright, just became increasingly difficult to get it into 1st. It's OK as the MOT runs out tomorrow and there's some stuff I want to do to it before it goes down, fix the rust, etc. I could have kept using it for work but it's just not worth the risk, with the miles I do nowadays it'd just accelerate its demise, whereas at the moment I could still feasibly drive it up for MOT and then take it to a mate to fit a new clutch (or indeed, a new engine and box combo). Rather do that than pay for it towing!In the shortest term I'm putting the Cuore back into action as that still has some ticket left on it, just waiting on a tyre delivery - a bonus as I can put it up for sale soon after (it would be utterly unsaleable with the old rear tyres) and start using the Stanza, which should be ready soon. Really I could just tax it up now as it has a valid ticket and is mechanically sound, but it looks an absolute dogs dinner and would probably be burned out within an hour. I can not emphasize this enough - it's not ratlook, more like Eastern Bloc peasant look.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...