Clutch on the way out in France?

[tonyidle]

Are you saying that modern engines don’t have engine braking?

Ian

They do in the same way as older engines did. But nothing like the amount of braking that would be available with the throttle wide open with no fuel being burned.

 

[Barclaybasher]

The brake fluid was changed about 6 months ago...

Whenever I have a problem with a vehicle I think of the last thing done

Changing the fluid? Could it be that there was air left in the system? - not bled properly?

Pumping the clutch pedal brought the clutch pedal up (your first post)

 

[tacr2man]

I would change the fluid as it probably hasnt been changed for years
(not unusual) and brake fluid is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture) this is what vapourises and can cause the problem you mention , especially as lots of newer vehicles have spring assisted pedal to lighten the clutch load . You can also get similar when the slave cylinder has corrosion buildup, caused by moisture as well.
During overun (downhill) engine braking the engine will cool as the heat generated by compression will be nowhere near enough to maintain the heat being lost thru cooling system and heat lost thru radiation from block etc . As previous poster majority of modern engines will go to full fuel cutoff on overun relying on fact that engine is rotating due to being coupled.
You can even do it with ascents as well if the cooling system is
over spec enough . Many years ago i had a landrover diesel 2.26
I rebuilt it using military spec highest capacity cooling system with oil cooler , and 13 blade tropical spec fan . I towed a broken down VW camper up over the alps , due to weight and low power output of the engine , it was having to be done at about 15 to 20 mph in 2nd gear max rpm , the engine temp actually went down as I was doing it .

 

[Deneb]

The brake fluid was changed about 6 months ago... but I suspect it was the first time it had ever been done in 12 years. Could they have flushed the brake circuit, but left old fluid in the clutch end?

Usual method in my experience is just to push new fluid through the brake pipes until it comes out of the bleed nipples at each wheel. This doesn't replace old fluid in the clutch system unless the clutch is also bled, nor does it replace the old fluid in the ABS module.

 

[Wagoneer]

I've been watching this thread with interest....mainly cos I've got a Fiat X250 of that age.

Don't think the Fiat service schedule mentions anything about replacing the hydraulic fluid to the clutch slave cylinder. Since the slave is contained in the clutch bellhousing, it's probably not possible anyway.

Fiat, in their wisdom, probably thought the clutch would only survive 4/5 years in commercial use, so the problem of replacing the clutch fluid did not arise.

Any thoughts ???

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[Deneb]

There's a bleed valve on the clutch slave cylinder body where it projects externally from the clutch bellhousing. Although the owners manual refers to changing the brake fluid, the operation as described in the dealer manual includes brake and clutch fluid replacement and bleeding. Whether they can actually be bothered to do both is another matter...

 

[Guigsy]

There's a bleed valve on the clutch slave cylinder body where it projects externally from the clutch bellhousing. Although the owners manual refers to changing the brake fluid, the operation as described in the dealer manual includes brake and clutch fluid replacement and bleeding. Whether they can actually be bothered to do both is another matter...

Ah, so if I took the van to my friendly (non-Fiat) car mechanic, is it possible they only bled the brake lines and not the clutch slave?

 

[Deneb]

Anything is possible in my experience. Whilst there are some good mechanics out there, there are also some who might not even have bled the brake lines but still charged for it.