Never changed the clutch. Never changed anything major on the car. Just breaks and tires. We probably had unusally good luck.

The rear differential was replace under warranty at about 35,000. It made a whining sound and they replaced it without question.

Pete.

 

Manual transmission is my preferred tranny style ever since I was a kid. Even when I had clutch problems my gear didn't grind like it does now only in first gear. Maybe I still have air in the clutch slave cylinder. I did have the master cylinder replaced a couple weeks ago to get my brakes to work. I have a few seconds of daylight, let me try and bleed the clutch again but this time I will take off the clutch pedal to push hydraulic solenoid all the way down.

 

Jagger,

If I lift my foot off of the clutch just a little bit the car moves. My guess is the pedal 1/8th off the floor before it engages.

Tried to bleed the clutch slave cylinder again this time pushing actuator all the way down with pliers. But once again no change with the first gear.

It's not like there is a loss in power or gear slippage but why does it only affect first gear. I've checked the bushings on the levers connected to gear shift and they look fine and well lubed.

If anyone has a diagram or instruction on how to trace the cable to the where ever it goes that would be helpful. Even though I can drive changing gears smoothly it's annoying that I have to wait a few seconds while clutch is pressed just to go into first without grinding.

 

If it begins to engage that near the floor you have your problem! If so, it might be too late for your first gear syncho. There can be a lot of reasons for the problem. Air in the line is one of them. Another is a bad clutch plate, possibly warped or broken friction surface.

How far down do you push the pedal before you feel the full clutch pressure. If it is only 1/8 of the travel then it is unlikely that you have air in the line. Have you done anything that might get air into the hydraulics? Did the fluid level ever get low? Air does not get in for no reason.

I some jags had a thing called a "dual-mass flywheel". This had weights and gears inside the flywheel. It is possible that it has failed.

Is the pedal mounting secure? Are the piviot bearings good? Looking at the service manual it does not seem that much can go wrong with the slave cyclinder asside from leaking. You would know that from the fluid level.

Hope this helps,
Pete.

 

Waiving the white flag on this one for now. I give up. It really isn't that bad of a problem at the moment. All other gears work just fine even first some times. I like perfection not just working so that's why it is irritating me sooooo much.

I pretty much had to rebuild this whole car. It had a nice body and paint but didn't start, drive or brake when I got it. So what did I replace?
1. Radiator
2. Master Cylinder
3. Coolant Reservoir
4. Brakes
5. ABS speed sensors
6. Front and Back Seats
7. New bumper and wire harness
8. Thermostat
9. Front Windshield
10.Rims and Tires

Now that I have cleared all the codes in the computer, NO lights on the dash and i'm stuck with a mechanical problem. I would take off the clutch and gearbox if this wasn't my only car at the time to get a better inside look on what's going on.

Thanks for all the help guys. I really appreciated it.

 

Trust me, it's a real pain in the a*# to take them off (thanks to the AWD layout).
Keep us posted anyway! Hope we'll find a solution soon.

 

mobile, I would check the linkage because it's a REALLY easy thing to check. You don't even need any tools. Just put your fingernails under the edges of the shifter boot and it'll pop off and you'll see all the cables. If the cable for 1/3/5 is loose or stretched, you will have your problem.

 

Here is the link I posted on youtube of linkage cable slack if there is any, I'm not sure


Here are some images I took just to make sure I'm looking at the correct parts.

 

Disguay,

I checked linkage cables connected to gear shift and under the car. If I knew what I was looking for or what type of adjustments to make I'm sure I've could have gotten further that I gotten.

I pushed in button and popped it off the ball joint and played with it for slack. I did this on both cables inside and outside the car. I know it's adjustable by looking at the ends connected under the engine but which way to turn the tips of these cables is where I become clueless. BUT I KNOW THAT IT MATTERS because after putting everything back to together I couldn't put the car in any gear while the engine was running.

I took a few rounds around the block having to start off in 2nd cause it wasn't going into first. Shifting shouldn't have to warm up but after a while I was able to shift with ease again.

QUESTION: Does the clutch master cylinder have to leak fluid to be bad or can it go bad with just wear and tear and no leaking?

 

While investigation my clutch master cylinder I discovered that the solenoid that connects to the clutch pedal is bent by at least 10-15 degrees. I'm losing about a quarter inch when pressing down the clutch. Going to try and bend it back straight to see if that helps a little.

 

Try the solenoid first and then we can get into the cables. By the look of the video, you don't have too much slack and you don't have any kinks (what I was worried about.) If it were my car, and the solenoid fix didn't work, I would TIGHTEN the up and down cable because cables shouldn't get shorter, just longer from being stretched. My 5spd has the same amount of slack that you're experiencing which is normal, but what I'm thinking about is if it's grinding in 1st/3rd/5th, then I would play around with the cables before I did anything else because that up and down cable is responsible for getting you car in 1/3/5.

 

Never changed the clutch in all its 206,000 miles.

Pete.

 

before


After

 

Did that do the trick and help the grinding gears?

 

Better but no entirely. I've noticed that sometimes the gear grinds but if I lift up on the clutch with my foot it switches smooth again. The clutch pedal looks as if there is suppose to be a spring to help it come all the way up.

Is it possible that I have a bad clutch pedal. Even pumping the clutch pedal doesn't help I have to lift it up a bit then press down and it shifts smooth as silk.. I do have a bit more playing room on the clutch pedal since making the solenoid straight.

 

I don't have my standard transmission Jag anymore so I cannot check but I believe that there is a spring that pulls the pedal up against a stop.

A hydraulic clutch linkage system requires this. The master cylinder must be fully retracted before the the opening port to the resivour is exposed. Without the spring the cllutch pedal will rest lower and lower over time. The net effect is that the clutch will not be fully disengaged and the gears will grind.

Every standard transmission car I have had has such a spring.

As you push the clutch pedal down there should be a small movement at the top of the stroke where you feel only the spring pressure on your foot. Next you should feel the pressure increase as you begin to move the pressure plate. If you do not feel that small region of lower force then you have a problem.

Has someone had the clutch pedal or master cylinder apart in the past? I can't imagine how that connecting shaft could get bent! Perhaps they forgot the return spring.

I just looked at the service manual and they refer to the "clutch pedal return spring" on page 1615 of the manual in the section "Clutch Controls - Clutch Master Cylinder". The actual drawing is a little un-clear so I am not sure what the spring actually looks like.

Pete.

 

This was my little pet project since I love fixing on cars, imports to be specific because they are just harder to fix. I found my beauty at the salvage yard. The salvage owner wanted to restore it himself but never had the time.

My brother-n-law called me one day and asked me if I wanted a jag so I was S type and he said no X type 2.5, At the time I was unfamiliar with the X-Types so started doing research on them and decided to take on the project. My brother in law buys the cars, we have a body shop and mechanic and I fine tune them. Our mechanic does the big stuff, replace engines, tranny's, things to get the car back running.

I fine tune the cars, clear computer codes, make sure there are no electronic failures or simple mechanical failures. So when I got my Jag all the pedals were on the floor including switches and brackets. There is not telling what little things are missing off that car but that my job since I'm going to keep this one. I'm a jaguar kinda guy.

LOL that was the shorties explanation I could give you Disguay. LOL

 

I added springs to clutch pedal to help return all the up without the help of my foot and it works. That's makes a world of difference now. I'm still not grasping how all this fits together yet but it's starting to make since.

Instructions for bleeding clutch master/slave cylinder requires 2 people, the bleeder and the assistant stepping on clutch pedal. Without a clutch pedal return spring the pedal will just lay on the floor after draining fluid. So why would you need someone to press the clutch down if it will just remain on the floor after bleeding.

I imagine a new clutch pedal assembly will come with everything you need but if you're like me and have to fix it yourself here's where I put it.






What I should have done was drill a hole in clutch pedal where I put the spring to insure it doesn't just pop out, but it's in testing phase. The clutch pedal will seem a bit stiff but will ease up with time because it's a new spring.

 

That spring looks like it should do the trick. Is there is no way that you can get the original parts?


The reason that the spring is needed is due to the way that the master cylinder works. A break master cylinder works the same way but is more complicated with the power breaks and dual breaking system.


The master cylinder has a hole in the side of the cylinder about half the way down. This hole connected to the clutch fluid reservoir. The piston that the break pedal pushes on has two seals one on each end. The seal furthest in the cylinder is at the hole when the pedal is released. At this point the fluid can flow into the system and replenish any lost fluid. There should never be any lost fluid or you have a problem but over the life of the car some will get lost.


As you push the clutch pedal the piston and the first seal move past the hole. Now the pressure can build. As you push the pedal further the fluid flows into the slave cylinder and the clutch begins to release.
However the hole to the reservoir is still there so the second seal nearest the pedal is needed. That seal never sees any pressure but it prevents the fluid from dribbling out onto the carpet.


When you release the pedal the powerful pressure plate springs push the fluid back into the master cylinder which also pushes the piston back. However the piston is only pushed back to the edge of the hole not all the way past the hole. This is where the pedal spring comes into play. It pulls the pedal completely back from the piston. There is also a small spring inside the master cylinder to push the piston back fully exposing the hole. Now the fluid can be replenished.

Without the pedal spring the fluid never replenishes the system and the pedal will go lower and lower when it is at rest. With this situation the clutch can never fully disengage and you will wear the synchros and grind the gears.


Hope this helps,
Pete.

 

Excellent explanation . yeah I'm gonna order whole assembly off eBay or something . thanks for everything . got one problem temporarily fixed for now. all of that over a clutch pedal .