Major clutch disaster '99 s40 1.6

[Miketwovolvos]

Hi Everyone,
I stupidly did not leave well alone and changed my clutch fluid and the cylinder failed straightaway. I replaced the seals and sorted it, now I find that the fork seems to have come away from the release bearing..I don't know how it could have done, all I did was remove the slave cylinder..
Anyway, I am guessing the gearbox (Renault) most come off to find out what happened..My question is, can the gearbox be moved far enough away from the engine to change the thrust bearing/re-engage the release fork, without removing the driveshafts..does anybody know the minimum stuff I can remove/disconnect to get this done? I don't need to change the clutch or remove the gearbox completely from the car, I think ...well, I hope...

Thanks,
Mikey

[magnuz]

It's unlikely that you will get to the release bearing without removing the gear box from the car, there's not much space to pull it far enough back, & when you remove it you need to pull it off the locating dowels & rotate the box anti clockwise, before pulling it away from the engine so the diff housing clears the cross member. I would be tempted to fiddle around with it for a while to see if it will relocate on the bearing & pivot post. Can't remember if you can see much of it through the hole to relocate it ?

[Miketwovolvos]

yes..what I need is one of those tiny cameras Edd China used to fix a BMW once...I just can't understand it..I take the slave cylinder rod off the top of the fork and then it just seems to behave as if the release bearing had somehow disappeared..if it was forced forward, then the clutch would not be fully engaged (I know it is)..The fork slots into the shoulders of the release bearing in all the pics I have seen, so I cannot work out what has actually happened in there..I guess unless the same thing has happened to somebody else and they notice the the post. I have tried moving it about but it is certainly worth trying some keyhole surgery before drastic stuff, as I don't want to disturb the driveshafts etc..

[Miketwovolvos]

I have managed to get the fork lined up OK and reconditioned the clutch slave cylinder and got it running again, although I think some brake fluid managed to get into the clutch area when the old seal let go...I have some judder, but once engaged the clutch seems OK. Hopefully it will burn off, but I suspect it has shortened the lifetime of the clutch..I guess I should have just changed it anyway and taken precautions..a 21 year old car with still functioning aircon (unlike my brother's 2016 BMW) and the original exhaust..you tend to assume everything will just go on for ever...