High Clutch Point

[KLUCH255]

Do any of you guys know how to lower the biting point on the clutch pedal of a 1997 E11?

At the moment its right at the very top and gets quite annoying while driving around in heavy traffic.

[Parts-King]

yes, change the clutch, you cannot adjust the biting point it is hydraulic, its a sign the clutch is worn out

Kingo

[KLUCH255]

yes, change the clutch, you cannot adjust the biting point it is hydraulic, its a sign the clutch is worn out

Kingo

Although I dont't have a reciept to back it up, I was told the clutch was replaced not long before purchasing the car, so I did the old machanics test of applying the handrake tight and pulling away in 1st gear, the engine stalled indicating that the clutch is ok with no slipping, thats if i got the test right?

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Where is it used though. If you do hill starts every day etc then you are going to wear it down far quicker.

I'd trust Kingo on this one seeing as he works for Lindop Toyota :P

But then again... he may just want a sale! :shutit: ;)

[KLUCH255]

Where is it used though. If you do hill starts every day etc then you are going to wear it down far quicker.

I'd trust Kingo on this one seeing as he works for Lindop Toyota :P

But then again... he may just want a sale! :!Removed!: ;)

Not many hill starts where I live, saying that its not done many miles at all since I bought it, around 2000.

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Ok fair enough.

Maybe you have a leak in the system? Or it's old fluid, when was the fluid last changed?

[KLUCH255]

You may be onto something now with the fluid change, I bled the clutch today just incase of air bubbles and the fluid was very brown and smelly.

Does anyone have a HOW TO regarding draining and refilling the system?

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Check the How To: section and you may find something. It's named "Workshop Submissions" ;)

[Parts-King]

I was told the clutch was replaced not long before purchasing the car,

You were "Told" it was changed, but was it? That was ten years ago right?

Was the full clutch changed? Did it just have a centre plate changed? Did it have a pressure plate? Is there a tiny amount of oil leaking onto the clutch causing it to slip and wear out quicker?

Nobody knows the answer, but a high clutch pedal on a hydraulic system is usually a sign the clutch is worn out

Kynan.................I will get you at playtime OK? :!Removed!:

Kingo

[KLUCH255]

Ok cheers Kingo, I am probably in denial because of the big expense looming.

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Ok cheers Kingo, I am probably in denial because of the big expense looming.

Not if you DIY! :P

Not an easy task mind... I can see where the expense goes...

[Cyker]

I've had this 'issue' in my old Fiesta and my Yaris. I've never actually figured out what causes it, but it isn't the clutch wearing down - In both cases, the biting point was about middle where you'd expect it, but over the course of a month they both climbed higher until a certain point and that's more or less where they stayed.

It gets worse if you always sit at the lights with the clutch in, or if you're in start-stop traffic constantly sawing the clutch in and out and never going into neutral; Going to neutral and releasing the clutch seems to reset it so it's not as high.

I had the clutch/brake oil changed in the last service and that put it back 'normal', but after a month or so of driving it had climbed back to where it is now again.

I suspect that what ever mechanism the clutch uses for 'self-adjusting' is being messed up by something I'm doing. My friend's car doesn't have this problem, but he drives like a maniac vs my quasi-hypermiling and you'd expect it to be the other way around! So it's very odd. (He does have a newer Yaris tho' so the comparison isn't apples-to-apples)

Don't bother changing the clutch yet until it's actually slipping (e.g. you're going up a hill and the car isn't accelerating as fast as the engine sounds like it should. Also, there is The Smell), as hydraulic clutches are insanely expensive to change and you'll want to get as long a run out of it as possible.

One thing that was suggested was adjusting the actual clutch pedal so it doesn't 'feel' as high, but you've got to be careful because if you change it too much, the clutch might not disengage fully when you push it in (grindgrindgrind!).

Also, when you do finally change the clutch, you need to remember to adjust the pedal back!!

I've gotten used to it so I just put up with it.

[KLUCH255]

Well I had some fluid kicking around in the shed so decided to flush it through and top up with the clean stuff.

The situation is that the clutch bites lower down the pedal and everything seems to be how it should be.

Just hope I don't have the same problem as you seem to have Cyker with it creeping back up again.

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Glad you got it sorted so easily. ;)

[Sbm007]

Well I had some fluid kicking around in the shed so decided to flush it through and top up with the clean stuff.

The situation is that the clutch bites lower down the pedal and everything seems to be how it should be.

Just hope I don't have the same problem as you seem to have Cyker with it creeping back up again.

Hi, I've got the exact same problem you had, I've got a 1997 E11 as well. What exactly was wrong with your clutch, was it just the high biting point? My biting point is quite high as well but in addition to that the clutch seems to be extremely sensitive, even letting it go very slightly can engage/disengage it around the biting point. It's not that bad because I'm used to it now, but it's a pain at traffic lights etc.

I'll give this a go in hope that it fixes it, but I'd rather do it myself than go to a garage... is there any chance you could post a quick how to, doesn't have to go into depth just so that I know I'm at the right place etc. And what oil did you use / what's recommended.

Any help would be extremely appreciated

Cheers

[KLUCH255]

When letting out the clutch in 1st gear or reverse the car would violently judder, it always felt like I wasn't giving it enough revs, I believe now that with the clutch biting point being so high this was creating the problem by not releasing properly before taking up drive?

That is just my unprofesional opinion though and I am in no way an expert, but I do know when something is wrong.

Anyway, here's what I did.

I got a small length of small clear tube about 10" long.

Put one end in an empty bottle, held in place with a bit of tape.

The other end was pushed on to the bleed nipple located at the front of the engine where the pipe goes into the gearbox.

Using an 8mm spanner I opened the bleed nipple by half a turn and asked the good lady wife to pump the clutch while at the same time I was topping up the resevoir.

DO NOT let the resevoir run dry while pumping or it will suck in air.

keep pumping and topping up until all the dirty fluid is flushed and clear fluid is starting to come through the pipe.

Next I bleed it a couple of times by replacing the resevoir lid and tightening the nipple.

I asked the wife to pump 5 times and keep her foot in the down position then undid the nipple to let the fluid and any trapped air out, this was repeated twice for safe measure.

I used Comma Dot 4 Brake and Clutch Fluid.

Hope this helps.

[Parts-King]

When letting out the clutch in 1st gear or reverse the car would violently judder, it always felt like I wasn't giving it enough revs, I believe now that with the clutch biting point being so high this was creating the problem by not releasing properly before taking up drive?

Oil on the clutch, warped centre plate due to excess heat and wear ;)

Kingo

[KLUCH255]

When letting out the clutch in 1st gear or reverse the car would violently judder, it always felt like I wasn't giving it enough revs, I believe now that with the clutch biting point being so high this was creating the problem by not releasing properly before taking up drive?

Oil on the clutch, warped centre plate due to excess heat and wear ;)

Kingo

It Drives fine now, and as long as it's not slipping I am loathed to Shell out on a new one.

Fingers crossed.

[stevo_ae92]

My e11 is the same and I've done the test you mention with same results

[Sbm007]

When letting out the clutch in 1st gear or reverse the car would violently judder, it always felt like I wasn't giving it enough revs, I believe now that with the clutch biting point being so high this was creating the problem by not releasing properly before taking up drive?

That is just my unprofesional opinion though and I am in no way an expert, but I do know when something is wrong.

Anyway, here's what I did.

I got a small length of small clear tube about 10" long.

Put one end in an empty bottle, held in place with a bit of tape.

The other end was pushed on to the bleed nipple located at the front of the engine where the pipe goes into the gearbox.

Using an 8mm spanner I opened the bleed nipple by half a turn and asked the good lady wife to pump the clutch while at the same time I was topping up the resevoir.

DO NOT let the resevoir run dry while pumping or it will suck in air.

keep pumping and topping up until all the dirty fluid is flushed and clear fluid is starting to come through the pipe.

Next I bleed it a couple of times by replacing the resevoir lid and tightening the nipple.

I asked the wife to pump 5 times and keep her foot in the down position then undid the nipple to let the fluid and any trapped air out, this was repeated twice for safe measure.

I used Comma Dot 4 Brake and Clutch Fluid.

Hope this helps.

Yes that helps a lot, thank you very much. I'll give this a go hopefully sometime this week. I'll post the results here.

My e11 is the same and I've done the test you mention with same results

With same results do you mean the same as before, or the same as KLUCH255 as in an improvement?

Cheers

[Cyker]

Well KLUCH, if you could report back later to let us know how you get on I'd appreciate the info :D

Maybe it is a contaminated fluid thing and I just need to get mine flushed out too rather than just 'changed'...

When letting out the clutch in 1st gear or reverse the car would violently judder, it always felt like I wasn't giving it enough revs, I believe now that with the clutch biting point being so high this was creating the problem by not releasing properly before taking up drive?

Oil on the clutch, warped centre plate due to excess heat and wear ;)

Kingo

I get that too when the engine is cold; Very juddery clutch engagement. Again, it was fine right after servicing but got worse at about the same time the bite-point rose.

Now that it's summer I don't get that problem except on cold days so maybe it is the fluid in my case too...?

[KLUCH255]

I have been out in the old girl this evening with absolutly no problems to report, it never judered once and pulling away from junctions was as smooth as it should be.