Clutch problems - read this first!

[cwspellowe]

Bit of information for those that don't know, and a couple of pictures to help explain.

Symptoms

Heavy clutch pedal
Clutch pedal not fully returning
Bite point getting closer to the floor with use

Similar issues? Hold on.. before you go and spend the best part of £120 on a clutch kit and cable, take a look at the side of your clutch pedal. See that spring/plastic sleeve kind of assembly below that's probably there? Get rid, f*ck it in the bin.



Part 5 on the exploded diagram



Why remove it?

This is the clutch pedal assist spring, fitted by Peugeot to give the clutch a "sportier" feel. What a lot of people don't realise is that a tech update from Dealers on 306's from new advised removing the spring assembly if a customer complained about it. Now, it wasn't a recall, and most 306's will still have the spring assembly present. Normally it's not an issue but can cause some misleading symptoms.

Firstly, the clutch pedal appears to stick about 1" from the normal resting position. No problem, bit annoying to flick the pedal out with your toes occasionally, but it WILL get worse.

What happens next is the self adjuster in the cable takes this stuck position as resting and adjusts the cable to this new position. The bite point then creeps down to the floor to the point it's hard to get in gear.

Ignore it much longer, and the cable fails, no doubt soon to be followed by the clutch. Catch it in time and it may just be a case of removing the spring, in my case I had to replace the cable as the ratchet had seized at max adjustment and I couldn't get the bite point back from the floor again, although removing the spring assembly allowed the pedal to travel all the way up again.

Here's the state of my old cable. Ignore the frayed heat shielding, that's from having it resting against the exhaust on the gti and it getting burned.



Self adjuster looking pretty fine, but had reached the end of its adjustment and got stuck through drying out/poor pedal position





Thankfully my bite point has now returned to normal and the clutch feels much lighter now with the new cable. Just an "FYI" for anyone else having similar issues before they dive in and replace the whole clutch. Could save you anything up to £120-odd if this fixes it

[himindoors]

Bit of information for those that don't know, and a couple of pictures to help explain.

Symptoms

Heavy clutch pedal
Clutch pedal not fully returning
Bite point getting closer to the floor with use

Similar issues? Hold on.. before you go and spend the best part of £120 on a clutch kit and cable, take a look at the side of your clutch pedal. See that spring/plastic sleeve kind of assembly below that's probably there? Get rid, f*ck it in the bin.



Part 5 on the exploded diagram



Why remove it?

This is the clutch pedal assist spring, fitted by Peugeot to give the clutch a "sportier" feel. What a lot of people don't realise is that a tech update from Dealers on 306's from new advised removing the spring assembly if a customer complained about it. Now, it wasn't a recall, and most 306's will still have the spring assembly present. Normally it's not an issue but can cause some misleading symptoms.

Firstly, the clutch pedal appears to stick about 1" from the normal resting position. No problem, bit annoying to flick the pedal out with your toes occasionally, but it WILL get worse.

What happens next is the self adjuster in the cable takes this stuck position as resting and adjusts the cable to this new position. The bite point then creeps down to the floor to the point it's hard to get in gear.

Ignore it much longer, and the cable fails, no doubt soon to be followed by the clutch. Catch it in time and it may just be a case of removing the spring, in my case I had to replace the cable as the ratchet had seized at max adjustment and I couldn't get the bite point back from the floor again, although removing the spring assembly allowed the pedal to travel all the way up again.

Here's the state of my old cable. Ignore the frayed heat shielding, that's from having it resting against the exhaust on the gti and it getting burned.



Self adjuster looking pretty fine, but had reached the end of its adjustment and got stuck through drying out/poor pedal position





Thankfully my bite point has now returned to normal and the clutch feels much lighter now with the new cable. Just an "FYI" for anyone else having similar issues before they dive in and replace the whole clutch. Could save you anything up to £120-odd if this fixes it

can ask how easy is this to be removed, does the cable have to come off or can this be removed without removing it

[Toms306]

can ask how easy is this to be removed, does the cable have to come off or can this be removed without removing it

The pedal spring is completely separate from the cable, easily removed and no need to touch the cable at all.

[Face.]

can ask how easy is this to be removed, does the cable have to come off or can this be removed without removing it

The pedal spring is completely separate from the cable, easily removed and no need to touch the cable at all.

How do you remove this arse of a thing?

[Face.]

for anyone wondering how to remove this.

There is a retaining clip© at the bottom of part 5 remove this with a screw driver.then pull the part via the bottom towards you if doing this from the drivers side and pop out it comes.

[ky jonzy]

nice easy job .. well worth it in my eyes done this on all my 306's

[Mattcheese31]

mine works fine and i guess it pings the pedal back faster, why wouldn't you want that?

[Face.]

mine works fine and i guess it pings the pedal back faster, why wouldn't you want that?

Remove it and you'll see .

[ky jonzy]

Sometimes they stick basically making you loose half the travel in your clutch pedal both my 306's (xud, Hdi) have had this issue so removed and so much better in my eyes its there to make it feel "sporty" I must of overlooked this and be an ungrateful sh*t as all it did for me was pi** me off feels better without.

[si8pny]

The Clutch in mine is very heavy to press down, I removed this spring but still no difference, How easy is it to change the clutch cable?

[mattgreene]

Its not a nice job to change the clutch cable, prepare your self to have your arms scratched to bits!! there is a guide on changing clutch cable under the guide section. it helped me with my clutch issues to remove that spring from my clutch pedal.
Just a thought have you tried to spray the clutch pedal shaft with wd40 a couple of times it might be tight on the shaft or the bush on the clutch arm on the gearbox. Id try those first before you set on the clutch cable

---

Guide for changing the clutch cable

http://306oc.co.uk/forum/thread-844.html

[JJtheHITMAN]

I replaced my clutch cable on the luxury of a ramp and it was abit of a nightmare. I wasnt aware of this spring. I shall remove at once!

[colin247]

Thanks for the info, just saved me a clutch change.

[TheLurchmeister]

Does this explain my clutch pedal not making it's mind up where to work? Sometimes it'll be right up top and others i'll end up stalling as it's pretty much a few mm lift until it bites.

[TrinityJayOne]

Don't know that the spring would do that...your cable might be on its way out! Mine had a floating bite point for a week or two before it decided to pack it in on a warmish day. I'd step on the pedal and it'd just plunge into the floor with bugger all resistance, and couldn't get it in or out of gear without polishing the teeth a little. Had to park it and walk the last few km home, then went and collected her late at night when it was colder with no traffic. The next day I managed to get her to my mechanic 45mins away by only using 2nd gear.

[LewisG306]

Does this explain my clutch pedal not making it's mind up where to work? Sometimes it'll be right up top and others i'll end up stalling as it's pretty much a few mm lift until it bites.

I sometimes get this too , might take this spring out and see what happens, can be a pain when im wanting to pull out my street and the car just leaps forward like a kangaroo because it cant make its mind up where the biting point is

[L.J]

Must give this a try today!

[Jesskendall123]

Thanks for the advice, mine does this and was going to get a new clutch

[si_batt]

Thanks for the advice, I have this problem where the clutch pedal sticks about an inch from the top of the travel. And it is difficult to engage 1st and reverse gears. So I'll be giving this a try when i get a chance and will report back if it fixes the gear engagement problems.

[Lego Jon]

Just done this. Yup at 05:43 hrs. Takes all of two mins. Hopefully my sticky pedal will be history.

[Matt-Rallye]

This problem is the exact reason i signed up too this forum today! No idea how relieved i am to have read this as my rallye is my only working and roadworthy car atm will give this a try tonight

[jonas306]

I have the pedal like described, i'm gonna check it on the weekend for that spring, i'll give feedback after.
Regards

[Moh]

Going to try this tomorrow

[Moh]

which side of the clutch pedal is this on the side towards the passenger side or the side towards the brake pedal? I took some spring out doesnt look like the pic above but thats made the clutch a lot lighter.. any idea what this spring was?

[jonas306]

I removed the spring of my spring, but still a bit heavy...

[Mitch1793]

I have been getting a horribly sticky clutch pedal but I've also been getting a creaking from in the gearbox when putting the clutch in and out which is leading me to thinking the clutch that's the problem! I'll have to give this ago though! I know the spring is still on it. Is there a separate gearbox oil fill point?

[SupaStar88]

Just did this, took 20 second lol

[DTubZz]

Good guide quick and easy, pop retaining clip off with a flat head and then just give it some persuasion and it pops off, watch your face though mine shot off lol cheers OP

[Shiny]

Aaah, amazing. Now I know why the car's been such a b**ch to drive all these years! Thanks very much!

[clayton306]

Cant wait to try this.
I've been driving my new (old) 2001 now for about a month and my left knee is falling off..

I already tried bike chain lube at the gearbox end but to no avail.
Will try this mod and see if this makes life a but easier - may also try more lube from inside the car as it feels like cable is going to give - Either that or my knee..