Laurel BROKEN AGAIN!

[Rusty Pelican]

Is there a stat fitted at all , symptoms to me sound like there isnt one

Il give myself one autoshite point for finally getting something right , glad its all sorted , A working heater sounds good in this weather

[Albert Ross]

I'm back from my travels, and now warming up...... I lost my nose and feet at one point, but they returned as I drove home noisily. Hirst, thanks for the coffee and hostility, erm sorry, hospitality. Hope your neighbours recovered from the smoke screen as I left. Don't forget your PAS fluid though!! (Discovered the lack of PAS to be lack of fluid)It's great working on old motors, nothing stripped, seized, or snapped (except that little bit of course!)Roll on the next sunny weekend eh?

[Guest]

Yeah that was me looking in the wrong hole, what a berk! I'll pop to Motorworld tomorrow and sort it.

[VWPowered]

glad your rolling again hirst

[STUNO]

Hirst finally finds love..but has to pay him.

[barrett]

Good work chaps, glad to hear this is rolling again.... now get on to the Galant! (and the Stanza, and the 626...and dont you have a nice Accord coupe too....)

[Guest]

Hey I'm on top of things!I've got all the bits for the Galant and Albert is going to tackle it when the weather improves a bit. The Stanza I needed two bits of exhaust, got one, the other I won just today. The 626 is at the garage and should have a test on it fairly soon. The Accord will get sorted at some point.

[Split_Pin]

Good news and nice one Mr. Ross. Good to see people helping each other through car forum/clubs - thats what its all about

[seth]

Nice to hear its up and running Hirst. Must have been difficult not being able to pick up any fairs over the last few days. Now you can get back out there harassing bus queues again!

[Guest]

I was using the Charmant during this difficult period!

[Guest]

SODDING LAUREL!Don't worry Albert, not you - I can confirm that the temperature stays absolutely fine and it hasn't lost any water, seems like a job well done there. Looks like I've no headgasket issues to worry about so I'm chuffed with that.No, this is an all-new problem. Was driving it back from work and got a few miles away. Went to put it in third gear, but it didn't engage - just went crunch and the pedal dropped to the floor. Parked up, stuck my toe under the pedal to bring it back up and was able to drive away (with severely slipping clutch). Had to really give it some to get out of some uphill junctions, but it's home now. The pedal generally would return back up (in a quite spongy way), though in a few cases it didn't so I had to do it manually.Sodding thing. What does it want now then, I wonder? Clutch kit? Cable? Weighing in? Damn car.

[Lukas]

That sounds like a job for the mighty Charmant again!

[whitevanman]

Sounds like its a choice between a fubar'd pressure plate or if you have a hydralic clutch system the slave or master cyliondrer is leaking

[Pillock]

A sudden loss of clutch action like that usually points to the cable, rarely the clutch itself. Sounds like it may only be holding on by a thread, or possibly has pulled away from a mounting. Sciroccos used to suffer from a similar issue, the cable would saw its way through the bulkhead and the grommet come out, losing most of the travel.

[Ratdat]

I'd wager that the slave or master cylinder is borked. Had this before on Datsuns. It won't be anything to do with the clutch itself. Most often you can strip the offending cylinder, clean it, lightly hone the bore and reassemble it with the old seals and it'll work just fine.

[Ratdat]

A sudden loss of clutch action like that usually points to the cable, rarely the clutch itself. Sounds like it may only be holding on by a thread, or possibly has pulled away from a mounting. Sciroccos used to suffer from a similar issue, the cable would saw its way through the bulkhead and the grommet come out, losing most of the travel.

No cable on a C32.

[Guest]

Cheers fellas!Yeah, it was absolutely fine until then, absolutely no problems whatsoever with the clutch and gearchange, it was very slick, bites at the right point, etc. It just went from being absolutely great to near-dead within one gearchange. Least I could get it home though - couldn't smell any clutch burning and the gearchange didn't become any harder, it was just getting the power down. Was a bit like trying to drive around with the clutch 90% down, accelerating away from a stop took ages.I'll get it fixed, but after that I'm going to need to have a think about this motor. Could well be that it never has any further problems, but I suspect it hasn't seen much maintenance for the last few years and I don't know if I can afford to keep bailing it out. Shame because when it's all working, I love driving it around.

[seth]

Sound like pretty normal issues for a car that hasn't seen much recent use. If its a cylinder then you ought to be able to see where the fluid is coming out. Whichever it is get hold of a seal kit and get to it!

[Pillock]

No cable on a C32.

I nearly added "or equivalent clutch release mechanism, i.e. cylinder if hydraulic" but figured that since 'Urst was asking if it was the cable, that it would be cable operated :)Remove the bit about it hacksawing through the bulkhead though!

[Albert Ross]

Remember I said the release bearing was noisy? I bet it's collapsed into the pressure plate. Did you top up the PAS fluid?

[Guest]

Yeah I topped the PAS fluid up today, steering does seem a fair bit lighter than it was, though I reckon the pump might not be fully efficient as I suspect these Laurels will have lighter steering than I've got now. Seems good enough though.Must admit I forgot you mentioning that release bearing, that'll be it then! I can't see any leaks but it is pretty dark so I've only had a cursory glance. Apart from a new bearing, what will I need to order in?And erm, fancy doing some more work at some point? Cash waiting!

[Albert Ross]

I would probably suggest a full clutch kit TBH, but I think dismantle it first, and then assess the components before ordering. There may be a variety of diameters and spline types fitted, so it's worth stripping and then ordering. It needs to be on a hard surface, and the front raised, so I can lob the box out!! I am still waiting on going to a funeral within the next week or so, but will keep you posted. More than happy to sort it for you by the way mate.

[Ratdat]

If it was making a noise when idling in neutral it will NOT be the release bearing. That noise will be the input shaft bearing on the box which is mega common on Nissans and is nothing to worry about. The release bearing will not make any noise when the car idles in neutral as the bearing isn't touching the cover and thus not turning.

 

I have had A LOT of Datsuns and Nissans and I have never know a clutch plate to fail... ever. I have had several issues with clutch hydraulics giving the exact same symptoms described.

 

Look to the easy things first before you start thinking it's something more complicated than it really is.

[Albert Ross]

It was quiet at idle, just noisy when pedal depressed. I need to view/hear the car to make a diagnosis, at the moment, I am clutching at straws! DYSWIDT?

[Ratdat]

If it's noisy when the pedal is pressed then it probably is the bearing. Thought I'd mention it as i can't tell you the number of times i've heard people say the release bearing in knacked because it's noisy idling in neutral with the clutch out. However... I'd still be utterly amazed if the clutch cover has failed.

[Albert Ross]

Not sure if you were aware, Ratdat, I work at a main dealers, MOT Tester/Quality controller, Also I call myself a Mechanic, and when I had my contract updated, it said "technician"....... I got them to change it back!So you see, the Hirst fleet is in reasonably safe hands.....

[Guest]

Whoa there boys!!

It needs to be on a hard surface, and the front raised, so I can lob the box out!! I am still waiting on going to a funeral within the next week or so, but will keep you posted. More than happy to sort it for you by the way mate.

Would it be alright in my driveway in the current position of the Galant? It'd be on a flat then, can stick the front up on axle stands. If it's not going anywhere for a bit, it would seem to be the best place for it. Though it does kind of limit the chance of it going back up again!Maybe an idea would be to combine the initial diagnosis and the Galant water pump job on the same day.

[Albert Ross]

Sounds like a plan to me. Why not get the correct profile cam belt for the Laurel too, I can stay the night, we can pull some birds, throw up in the neighbours cat flap etc...........No seriously............!Joking! Lets get everything put together right eh!

[Ratdat]

Not sure if you were aware, Ratdat, I work at a main dealers, MOT Tester/Quality controller, Also I call myself a Mechanic, and when I had my contract updated, it said "technician"....... I got them to change it back!So you see, the Hirst fleet is in reasonably safe hands.....

Working at a dealer means nowt to me if I'm honest (I know some right useless buggers who are supposedly 'qualified' mechanics) but you know your stuff and that means everything which is good enough for me. I offer the knowledge I have have here mainly because I have had 150 or so older Datsuns and Nissans and have done a lot of work on them. These cars have few failings but what they do have tends to crop up regularly when you go through a lot of them so you do tend to learn what's what with them.

[Albert Ross]

Ratdat, we all KNOW you know your stuff, I mean, you are the Guru type bloke, we all aspire to...... etc (I'm gonna stop creeping now) I'm totally self taught, no qualifications, save for the testing one. I prefer it that way!