Problem
 

After all my work putting in the new clutch ,fitting the sheddist kit ,De-cat pipe,and new o2 sensor , dropped the zed onto the ground and fired her up first crank ...sounded sweet as a nut put her into gear and nothing !! no movement nowt .......totally pissed off . Was getting weary of all the probs but this is the straw that could break the camels back .... numb cold and wet ... any ideas guys would really appreciate it as always ....help

Not just bleeding the Sheddist, have heard they arnt the easiest.

So it goes into gear ok ?, does the clutch pedal feel normal, can you see the slave piston extending and retracting as the pedal is pressed and released.

Yeah piston is moving in and out and I bled the system again just in case no change , so took the wheels off jacked it up and when in neutral the wheels are just turning very slowly no gear engaged and pressed clutch in put in 1st wheels turn but you can stop them by hand !!!! so tried engaging gear without pressing in clutch and all gears engage no crunching apart from reverse. So took off slave bracket to see if the clutch lever was working and seems a bit free play till you get any resistance !!!!!!! could it be a stuck clutch plate ?? was very meticulous in rebuilding the new clutch assembly so don't no what else apart from a total strip down again .......Thanks for replies guys ..at my wits end here so disappointed .

Is it possible you've fitted the clutch plate the wrong way round.

There were no markings on the new clutch plate so just fitted it as the oem one with the shank towards the pressure plate .

That sounds right.

Have now just jiggerd up my back putting the car back on axle stands ..That's all I need time to call it a day .....

It sounds to me as though the slave could be stopping the clutch engaging fully, maybe try unbolting the slave and see if the clutch lever moves to allow full engagement of the clutch.

What was wrong with the old clutch.

Was the clutch arm free.

Sorry about the back.

Release bearing not working as it should????

I had problems with original clutch not being able to engage gear so as advice on here folk said it could be seized release lever so had to take the box out so just as well to replace the whole clutch assembly, and as had problems with hydraulics before so covered all angles to make sure and fitted a sheddist kit,when the box was out the oem release bearing was pretty rough and the lever was sticky so thought I had that sorted by new bearing and really giving the arm a good clean and re grease was working fine, put the box back in and tried the lever arm seemed fine installed the sheddist kit bled it as described.So while car was up in the air was wanting a De-cat pipe as supplied by Goldie but damaged the o2 sensor on the manifold getting the original cat out !!!! seized bolts so angle grinder slipped hence new o2 sensor ,which all took a good few weeks to get all back together and to try the clutch out proper like ..... and now this .....
Thanks guys for the great helpful comments as always .... but as someone said somebody somewhere doesn't want my ZS back on the road !!! been along time ..just taken strong pain killers for the back and I'm away to have a large dram to numb the pain and the broken heart !!!! cheers ....

Did you install the release bearing correctly? Possibly holding the clutch off? Also are the driveshafts installed correctly right into the box? Or perhaps a broken cv, although i'd expect to see something

Think I installed everything correctly it's just like the clutch is engaged all the time as I said earlier the gears go in without depressing the clutch and the drive shafts turn ok ..... stumped ..

Check if when assembled, the pin for the slave cylinder is the same total length as the old slave because it could be a touch longer and always engaging the clutch.

When I fitted the Toyota hydraulics to my Rover, I thought I did something wrong because I would start pulling away and then once the engine gave some torque, it would rev freely as if I pressed the clutch. After a bunch of different things tried, I took out the pin, shaved 2 mm off of it and set it in again and it was back to normal.

Check this because it might just be something as simple as that. If it is the case, take out the pin from the slave cylinder, shave off 1mm at a time until it starts feeling better but dont go past 3-4mm.

Good luck with getting her back on the road and take care of the back!

Update.. well took the gearbox out and the release bearing is fine and moving freely but when I took the pressure plate off the clutch plate was stuck to the pressure plate and separated the clutch plate and its like slight rusty marks and an imprint of the clutch plate on the face of the pressure plate !!!!!!! Has anybody got any ideas as to this ?? was hoping it was just the release bearing but now ..not a clue ,Have checked to make sure it's the right clutch for the 180 ..details are Valeo no: 700690 MC-5 pressure plate and clutch plate no:689109 240613 / 07 46 <246> L2 .. Anybody got suggestions or had similar problems !!! would be truly grateful for advice ..... Thanks Again

Take it back mate

Just had a look on Valeo Service, the part number for the 3 piece kit for a 180 is 826549.

Yeah Pete just checked my invoice from the motor factor : Product code VAC826549 Clutch kit MG ZS 2.5 V6 .. so it's the right clutch kit ... and Goldie Quote on invoice (all goods have to be returned within 30 days of sale date for a full credit ) .. So that's that donald ducked . So don't know what else to try or do totally stumped and desperate!!

Is the gearbox deffo okay?

Think so it was working before but was just hard to engage gears so hence new clutch and sheddist kit less than 25000 miles on the car but !!! summits not right ... Cheers all for the replies it keeps me sane and willing ....

Something you could try with the gearbox removed is to manually select the gears and turn the input shaft then make sure the diff is turning, I've used a parallel pin punch in the roll pin hole to operate the selector shaft before, it would confirm that the gearbox is ok.

Tested the gearbox Pete and all seems fine !!!

That's good in that it narrows things down a bit, it kind of points to the clutch itself, or the Sheddist kit.

Did you get the Sheddist new, or used, and did it come with the disc with the fitting instructions.

Sheddist instructions.
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct...55617003,d.d2k

It was a new kit with the disc and followed instructions ..

Having a good look at the clutch plate and friction face of the pressure plate it's like it has been stuck to it and no movement of the actual clutch plate !! Had someone else look at it tonight an hgv mechanic and he thought it had seized up ,but was dumbfounded as to why it wouldn't work !!!! . Tried to return the clutch kit to the motor factor for a replacement but they would not honour it as I'm not a trained mechanic or trader ... gee thanks .So do I go for another clutch kit or has anybody got any suggestions to help ...... thanks again to all ..

I think your motor factor may be on dodgy ground with that argument.

I'd be really tempted to go with another clutch kit.

Is the clutch friction plate fitting and sliding nicely on your gearbox input shaft?

Was the driven plate definately fitted the right way around? Should be marked "Flywheel Side"

Inspect clutch cover plate for any faulty springs etc. Push down against area where bearing comes into contact with it whilst on a flat hard surface to see if all appears to work.

With sheddist kit I had to modify the pedal stop bolt in order to get the pedal up more and get me more travel. Think I fitted a longer bolt and or more washers too?

Thanks for replies , Yes the driven plate fits fine on the shaft and it all seems correct, the clutch plate itself has no markings on regarding flywheel side or other so I just put it in as the original one was with the spring flange facing the pressure plate and aligned it up using an alignment tool as well ... and Pete I phoned the factors again today and asked to speak to the manager and was fobbed off with a lame excuse so said that I would call in with the clutch kit and would be asking to speak to a senior member of staff .... so we'll see what happens ...

"Update" .. well I have had the clutch kit inspected and replaced but they don't think my problem was the pressure plate or friction plate ,as there were no signs of wear on the friction plate as the Valeo stamp was still visible so had not had any contact with the flywheel ,they said it looked like the friction plate had stuck to the pressure plate ?? So they suggested that my problem lay elsewhere !! probably gearbox .. and to make matters worse !!!! My wife has given me my final warning !!!!! sort it or get rid of it from the driveway ....Mmmmh .. Can't bare to get rid of it as I love my Zs so much "when it's going" she's well named too -heart breaker- the car that is .. So can anybody suggest a remedy or how to properly check the gearbox off the car ..... many thanks for help so far ...

First step get rid of the wife. Ha Ha

Don't know your mechanical knowledge and not trying to teach granny, but:

That is how a clutch assembly works. Both sides are in full contact with the pressure plate and flywheel. Pressure on pedal via hydraulics sends thrust release forward against pressure plate and cantilever action releases pressure by bringing the pressure plate surface away from the friction plate.

I dont think for one minute it is gearbox problem. More so I doubt your original clutch was too bad either. I'd put money on it being siezed clutch arm and or not enough travel being offered from the hydraulic side of things.

I had to use extended bolt and lock nuts and washers at the pedal stop end on my sheddist kit to get the pedal up more or less in line with the brake pedal. This is where you need to start. First get one of the lads on here with a good operating system to measure slave cylinder travel to give you a rough idea of what you need.

I reckon you've gone on one of those fix it merry go rounds, at expense, which was unnecessary.

And just to keep her indoors happy, get her to work the pedal for you.

Or get her a big bunch of flowers!!!

When the clutch kit is bolted to the flywheel, might be worth seeing if its tight and you shouldnt be able to spin the centre plate. You might need a old lay shaft, or whatever the splined bit that comes out of the gearbox is called.

If it feels tight, it might be the gearbox is making the centre plate lose contact. Which as tcb says could point to a stuck clutch release arm, or the slave cylinder might be too long and not giving any free play on the clutch.

The release bearing all OK??

Failing that any good mobile mechanics that might be able to diagnose the problem. Know its going to cost, but save throwing more money at it.

Hope you can get it sorted quickly.

:yes::yes::yes:

Thanks guys ..... had thought of kicking the wife into touch. But Kelly Brook is a bit more expensive on the housekeeping money !! hah bought her a nice bottle of wine, keep her happy till she sobers up .... I know what folk are suggesting but when it was all in place the last time it was like the clutch was engaged all the time ..even when I took of the sheddist kit bracket and slave still made no difference you could select gears without touching the pedal ????and no drive at the wheels !!! Have a fair bit of mechanical knowledge over the years all be it on mini coopers but this has got me and a couple of friends totally flummoxed ... this saga is worse than the Forsythe one .. for the older viewers .... Cheers

Yeah, the bit about being able to select gears with the engine running without using the clutch is a real puzzler tbh.

The only other thing I can think of, which is pretty random is that the selector mechanism inside the box is broken, it isn't unheard of on a pg1, but is very rare, this would allow you to move the lever to all the gear positions, but wouldn't actually be selecting anything in the box.

Pete that's surprising that's what my mate said .. it's like a selection fault .. but once again will need to rule out things that it could be without spending allot of more money .. !!

Are you saying you can select gears without touching the peddle while the engine is running?
If the engine was off you can select gears without touching the peddle.

With the gearbox out of the car you can check the action of the clutch are, does it move all the way through it's motion, does it act on the other end where the clutch sits etc?

You can also check that you can select the gears and that in each gear the drive from the clutch reaches the diff.

Sorry mate Talkin .. youv'e lost me a wee bit .. when everything was installed on the first set up .. yes I could select gears without touching the clutch pedal but the only reverse gear would crunch a bit .. with no drive at the wheels when jacked up the hubs would turn but you could stop them by hand !!

Then that has to mean that either the driven plate for some reason is disengaged, ( not being sandwiched tightly between the pressure plate and flywheel ) which I find hard to believe?

OR It is being sandwiched tightly and turning the gearbox first motion shaft and for whatever reason, the drive is not being transmitted through the gearbox via the lay shaft?