Clutch slave cylinder

Faults and Technical chat for the Volvo XC40
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Poacher
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Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2022 11:37 am

Post by Poacher »

I've had a minor issue with the clutch pedal on my 2020 T3 manual not always returning cleanly after depressing it to change gear. The first half of the travel is fine with normal 'feel' as the pedal raises but then the pedal feel goes light as it completes the travel.
I spoke to my local dealer who suspects it's a slave cylinder problem.
The car is booked in to have the slave cylinder replaced at the end of this month so hopefully the problem will be resolved. Watch this space!

Bocca70
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Post by Bocca70 »

Interesting considering a number of people here have complained of needing clutches replaced with few miles.
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matthewjhd
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Post by matthewjhd »

We have a late 2019 T3 manual. It’s long had a squeaky clutch - I.e. after a few minutes driving, pressing down and releasing the pedal both cause a squeak. It’s not loud, but annoying. The dealers have tried replacing the mechanism, as well as extra lubrication. But they can’t identify the cause. There’s no sticking or stiffness, and I have wondered whether it’s something to do with the cylinder rather than the pedal.
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pwliv
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Post by pwliv »

Poacher wrote: Wed Feb 02, 2022 3:05 pm I've had a minor issue with the clutch pedal on my 2020 T3 manual not always returning cleanly after depressing it to change gear. The first half of the travel is fine with normal 'feel' as the pedal raises but then the pedal feel goes light as it completes the travel.
That sounds like air in the system, which could be caused by a faulty cylinder, but is likely to get worse, potentially to the point where you can't operate the clutch - I would try to get this treated urgently!
Paul
Denim Blue T3 Momentum auto (2021), Pilot assist, Climate, Parking assist
Poacher
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Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2022 11:37 am

Post by Poacher »

Update to my initial post regarding clutch pedal travel.
My local dealer bled the clutch system and so far there's been no recurrence but it's early days yet. I'll see what happens when I've done a few more miles.
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pwliv
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Post by pwliv »

Poacher wrote: Tue Mar 01, 2022 3:31 pm Update to my initial post regarding clutch pedal travel.
My local dealer bled the clutch system and so far there's been no recurrence but it's early days yet. I'll see what happens when I've done a few more miles.
That isn't a satisfactory response from the dealer. Yes it solves the immediate problem, but not the real issue which is how did air get into the system? There is either a leak meaning the master cylinder emptied, which I would expect to generate some sort of warning, or faulty seals allowing air to be drawn in. Neither of these will go away unless something is done to fix them, and generally will get worse with time, so you will be going back to have the system bled more and more often.
This sort of thing used to be a common issue with old cars, to the extent that I have a variety of patent bleeding kits in the garage, but is very unusual in a modern car in my experience.
Paul
Denim Blue T3 Momentum auto (2021), Pilot assist, Climate, Parking assist
Poacher
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Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2022 11:37 am

Post by Poacher »

I've got to admit that the problem didn't feel like air in the system, in my experience air gives a different feel to the clutch operation. However, having driven the car about 100 miles today the problem is still apparent. I've spoken to the dealership who are going to contact Volvo to see if this is a known problem. The slave cylinder is enclosed in the gearbox bell housing so it's a major job to get access to it. Maybe that's why they bled it first!
cat1492
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Post by cat1492 »

We've just had an issue with our 2019 T3 1.5 manual circa 40k miles whereby the clutch was fine, drove to work last week and the clutch pedal stuck half way on return following depression and we could no longer get the car into gear. Garage bled the clutch and managed to get some movement back in the gears but clutch pedal was still sticking. Long story short, we have had the master cylinder changed but that hasn't resolved the problem and the clutch is now slipping so we're having to have a whole new clutch put in.

We hadn't had any prior issues with the clutch and had nothing to suggest it was on it's way out, so if you're experiencing issues now I'd definitely raise again with Volvo.
Poacher
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Post by Poacher »

Latest on my sticking clutch pedal. Volvo recommended checking the end float on the crankshaft as some engines have half-circle thrust bearings on the crankshaft and others have full-circle bearings. My engine had the half-bearings which can be a cause of problems and the end float was out of limits. Result was a new crankshaft with full circle bearing which so far has fixed the problem. The dimensions for the end float are fairly small, I think 0.26 mm was ok, mine was 0.6 mm and this extra play seems to be enough to temporarily cause the slave cylinder to stick.
Glad it was all done under warranty!
Andy40
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Post by Andy40 »

Poacher wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 2:21 pm Latest on my sticking clutch pedal. Volvo recommended checking the end float on the crankshaft as some engines have half-circle thrust bearings on the crankshaft and others have full-circle bearings. My engine had the half-bearings which can be a cause of problems and the end float was out of limits. Result was a new crankshaft with full circle bearing which so far has fixed the problem. The dimensions for the end float are fairly small, I think 0.26 mm was ok, mine was 0.6 mm and this extra play seems to be enough to temporarily cause the slave cylinder to stick.
Glad it was all done under warranty!
Wow, yes I’m sure you were glad that was under warranty !

Hopefully has resolved the issue for good for you now… :)
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