Clutch adjustment (W124 manual transmission)
 

Hello all

The clutch on my 260E has begun to act weird - if pushed to half of the pedal travel, it works fine, yet if pushed to the floor, it remains de-clutched and down(and the engine stops).

Wonder if the clutch operation can be adjusted(and if the clutch-brake hydraulic lines have to be bled in the process). It's pretty awful to drive onn snow with a malfunctioning clutch :(

~Thank you,

Nautilus

I can't make sense of you description of symptoms. Try describing them more thoroughly, but in the meantime the following might be helpful.

There is no adjustment, which is typical for hydraulic clutch control systems.

The first thing you can try is a thorough system bleed. Check carefully under the dash where the master cylinder is located and also around the slave looking for leaks. The master or slave could also have an internal leak due to deteriorated seals or bore corrosion. If the slave is leaking on the pushrod end the fluid will migrate to the bottom of the bell housing. Any clutch system leak will show up as lowering of the brake reservoir fluid since the top of the brake reservoir is the fluid supply for the clutch control system.

Over the last several years I was experiencing increasing freeplay and finally the clutch dragged (would not completely release) to the point where I could not shift, so I replaced the slave cylinder. The end of the pushrod was worn about 1/8" - something I did not expect. Because I flush the brake/clutch system every two years, I did not think there was an internal corrosion problem and there was not. If your car has not had regular clutch system flushes there's a good change at this point in it's life that the internals are corroded.

You can check the archives under my handle and "Greg in Oz" Greg and I had several discusions of clutch issues over the last year.

BTW the new Teves slave cylinder I bought from Fastlane had the Mercedes casting part number on the cylinder casting - just like the original. It was the same part I could have bought at the dealer, but was considerably less expensive through Fastlane, but since you're in Romania you may find a local supplier more convenient.

Duke

Neither could I make any sense :confused: just brought it this afternoon to the shop and replaced the seals(gaskets) in both master and slave cylinder. Waiting for tomorrow to test it

BTW the car never had any sort of brake or clutch fluid flushes in its life... :(

~Nautilus

The gasket change + fluid change seems to have solved the problem... for now, the clutch operates as it should.

Thanks.

~Nautilus

Question
 

How muddy was the fluid that came out?

Only slightly brownish(it had been completed with fresh DOT 4 fluids over time). The guilty one was the gasket, not the fluid(not sure if the master cylinder or slave cylinder gasket, I've told them to change both).

~Nautilus

Look at the clutch pedal mechanism underneath the dash, some models have what’s called a “dead center spring” to assist the clutch pedal; if it’s out of adjustment the pedal will not retract.