Help with Astra clutch.

[S1g 579]

Hi can any body please help me. I've a 2008 atra 1.7 turbo diesel van and am having continuos clutch trouble with it. The back ground is I purchased it off a dealer in 2011. The first night the pedal when warm went to the floor. I took back to dealer who could find no fault but bled the system anyway. It was fine for about 3 months, then started happening again. The local garage replace the flywheel and clutch that was only about 5k old. The problem continued happening, about 4 flywheels and clutches later the garage twigged that they where putting the clutch plate in back to front( copying the way the vauxhall dealer had done it), a couple of months later the same problem came back. The master cylinder, slave cylinder etc and loads of pipes where changed. Still the same thing where the clutch pedal suddenly goes to the floor happens. Tried taking it to a different garage who changed the master cylinder again and until last night its been ok for nearly a year, now its gone again. Does anybody have any ideas please before I get the petrol and matches out. In all other respects the van is brilliant, and we've never at any point asked the garage to save money, just spend what is necessary to fix the problem. With older type systems ie clutch cable and solid flywheel I usually get 3-400 k at least out of clutches so am not hard on them.

[Ian 2,417]

This may be a long shot, but are all the clutch pipes firmly fixed in place where they should be?

If the pipes break loose and get near something very hot like the exhaust manifold, the clutch fluid could be getting hot which would thin it out giving you less or no clutch pressure?

 

Just a guess really as you have had just about all the clutch components replaced over the years..

 

I bet if the van used a clutch cable rather than  hydraulics the problem would of been fixed first time it happened...   Sometimes the old ways are the best

[Stormin 4,458]

What colour is the clutch fluid? If black, then the cylinder seals are going. Are the replacement cylinders of a good make? Not cheapo's from the far east.

[the showman 4,074]

have you tried google "Vauxhall astra forum" I just got a lot of info on land-rover water leaks

[S1g 579]

Thanks for the suggestions, the clutch/brake fluid is spotless and doesn't drop, parts are genuine vauxhall or direct from the manufacturer who supply vauxhall as genuine. I asked on vauxhall forums, and have only had suggestions for what has been done. I work with hydraulics every day and have a city and guilds in car repairs yet can't come up with a solution, I'm getting desperate as this van is going to be very hard to replace as very few Astra vans have rear seats these days.

This may be a long shot, but are all the clutch pipes firmly fixed in place where they should be?

If the pipes break loose and get near something very hot like the exhaust manifold, the clutch fluid could be getting hot which would thin it out giving you less or no clutch pressure?

 

Just a guess really as you have had just about all the clutch components replaced over the years..

 

I bet if the van used a clutch cable rather than  hydraulics the problem would of been fixed first time it happened...   Sometimes the old ways are the best

Probably the truest thing ever said! What's wrong with replacing a cable every 20 years or so and maybe adjusting it every 100k?

[Stormin 4,458]

Probably the truest thing ever said! What's wrong with replacing a cable every 20 years or so and maybe adjusting it every 100k?

 It's called progress.

[S1g 579]

It's called progress.

all it really means is I've got a van I can't drive!

[S1g 579]

Ah well spent all yesterday going over it from top to bottom, just can't find the answer so guess ill have to get rid of it, such a pity as in all other respects the van is absolutely perfect for what I need.