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Track Day Clutch Failure

GlowRed

New Member
Hi,

I have done my first track day in my Phase II Vee and I was great :race: , except for 2 clutch failures. Luckily both were just as I was about to start a cool down lap and not when approaching a high speed corner, and I was able to exit the track and limp back to the pits.

Anyway, on both occasions I pressed the clutch pedal and went to change gear and I could not engage the gear. The clutch pedal had suddenly become very light.
I let the car run to a stop I waited a minute before trying the clutch again and the first press of the peddle was very light. The second press and it got a little heavier, and the third press it was like normal. I limped back to the pits and let the car cool down over lunch, an hour and a half.

The clutch was fine again and I managed 3 more stints before it failed again with exactly the same fault.

It was nearly the end of the day, so I waited for the car to cool down and the car was then fine to drive home.

I thought that it could be old clutch fluid that may have got contaminated with water and/or air and it was boiling.

Any other ideas of what it could be?
 
I have no idea about your problem, however it would be great if you could tell us where you took the car and how was it on track?

I would be really interested to hear your feedback, the more the better :approve:

Thanks

(Could start a new topic if you feel up for it)
 
Seen it before and almost definitely your brake / clutch fluid boiling. There's a bleed nipple under the engine covers. You need to do the old open nipple, push clutch, close nipple, release clutch routine a few times to expel the air.
 
That's the immediate fix of course, you need to put in new brake fluid to avoid it boiling again in same situation.
 
Actually this is a quite common problem because the clutch fluid usually isn't changed. Indeed it is brake fluid and should therefore be replaced every time you replace your brake fluid to prevent this from happening. as Ben says, it's the very same procedure like replacing brake fluid or bleeding the brake system. The nipple is on the front/top of the gearbox, close to the engine.
 
Thanks for the information.

This is what I thought. Best thing is to change for a high quality brake / clutch fluid.
 
GlowRed":1kiafwuz said:
high quality clutch fluid
Not quite necessary as it is brake fluid from the very same reservoir. Just use some more of your high grade brake fluid you had already put into the system :)
 
hualpa_jo":1itbxs7p said:
GlowRed":1itbxs7p said:
high quality clutch fluid
Not quite necessary as it is brake fluid from the very same reservoir. Just use some more of your high grade brake fluid you had already put into the system :)

You're right. Spoke to Scott @ SG Motorsport and he advised that a pipe comes off the brake pipe and feeds the clutch. Hopefully emptying the clutch side, filling with new high grade brake fluid and bleeding will sort the problems out.

I'm taking the car in this week for him to look at and hopefully I'll be ready for another track day very soon. ;)
 
Ben":177ra38s said:
Seen it before and almost definitely your brake / clutch fluid boiling. There's a bleed nipple under the engine covers. You need to do the old open nipple, push clutch, close nipple, release clutch routine a few times to expel the air.

Thanks for the info Ben. I'm getting the clutch side fluid changed and bled this week.
 
Although the brake fluid had been changed the clutch fluid that comes off the same reservoir was not.

I had the clutch fluid changed today and it was very dark and had clearly not been changed for many years, if at all.

Hopefully this will cure the clutch failing problem.

When I get the fluid changed next time I will ensure that both the brake side and clutch side fluid are changed.
 
I was having the same problem. I tried re-flushing mine regularly but made little difference. Tried some motul rbf660 that I was using in my race car, and although it still went for longer it still went eventually.

When it happens, pumping the clutch a little (might have to get toe under pedal to return it) helps, and allows you to get a gear shift In at least (which is handy when you're only a 1/3 around the Nordschleife).
 
Athboy501":1q976t6d said:
I was having the same problem. I tried re-flushing mine regularly but made little difference. Tried some motul rbf660 that I was using in my race car, and although it still went for longer it still went eventually.

When it happens, pumping the clutch a little (might have to get toe under pedal to return it) helps, and allows you to get a gear shift In at least (which is handy when you're only a 1/3 around the Nordschleife).

Thanks for the potentially bad news.

I'm booking another track day soon, so fingers crossed.
 
Here's one of my posts from a while ago.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19150#p187461

It is a bit of a pain really! I hope you find a more permanent solution.
 
Athboy501":243y03ai said:
I was having the same problem. I tried re-flushing mine regularly but made little difference. Tried some motul rbf660 that I was using in my race car, and although it still went for longer it still went eventually.
When it happens, pumping the clutch a little (might have to get toe under pedal to return it) helps, and allows you to get a gear shift In at least (which is handy when you're only a 1/3 around the Nordschleife).
Might be related to the fact that the fluid inside the slave cylinder can't be replaced that easily. This is exactly where the hot spot is. Have you ever tried to draw the fluid out of the cylinder? Could be a solution but I have never tried it and I'm not sure whether a vacuum can overcome the spring force or not. But draining the cylinder completely of the old fluid should do the trick.
 
Interesting to hear this...........

How far into a stint, on average, did you guys lose the clutch pedal, of found it going soft?
 
Lankan":bix3643y said:
Interesting to hear this...........

How far into a stint, on average, did you guys lose the clutch pedal, of found it going soft?

I did about 4 stints in the AM before the clutch failed. Each stint was about 30 minutes.

I'm the PM the car did 3 stints of about 30 minutes before it failed.
 
After the clutch failure on my track day at Bedford Aerodrome, I had the clutch fluid changed by Scott @ SG.

I have just completed a track day at Silverstone and ran the car over the day without any problems. Hopefully the clutch failure problem is now resolved.

Just as a note, although the brake and clutch use the same fluid reservoir they need to be drained independently.
 
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