I have a 2007 1.4 fiesta. Bought it in December. Its my first car and I didn't realise that the bite point shouldn't be that low until my dad drove it. The previous owner said he had the clutch changed in November. 

My dad bled the clutch two weeks ago, the fluid was black. Doesn't look like the previous owner had changed it. After it was bled, the bite point was back to where it should be, we assumed the problem was fixed. But now the bite point has returned to being really low (barely have to let the pedal up). 

Any advice would be appreciated as to what to look for/what could be wrong. 

Thank you. 

has fluid level gone down at all? is there any sign of a leak. check master cylinder inside car up above the pedal. A friend had one leaking there and making floor damp. Check the pipe connections under bonnet where it goes onto master cylinder and at other end where it goes onto slave cylinder. and check it's not leaking at bleed screw.

and check there is no fluid leak under bellhousing from leaking slave cylinder. Slave cylinder is inside bellhousing so major work to get to it. most people replace the slave cylinder when replacing clutch due to work involved in fixing it at a later date if it goes.  Does top part of slave cylinder look new (where the bleed screw is) . My sister has had problems with her 2004 fiesta 1.4tdci with it losing clutch pedal pressure which we haven't been able to work out the cause, but it seems to happen more when hot after driven quite a bit. and then left for a while the pedal can go back to normal . 

On my fiesta 2004 at 80000 miles the clutch started slipping above 50 mph. The bite point was a about 3 inches above the floor and the pedal was stiff to press. The garage fitted a new clutch and release slave cylinder. The first thing I noticed was the bite point was near the floor and the pedal felt soft. This is normal for new clutches. As the clutch wears the bite point gets higher and the pedal feels stiffer.

Have a 2017 1.25 Fiesta, 36,000mls. After about 30 mins of town driving when I stop at junctions etc and put it in 1st the clutch reaches the bite at a very low point and the car wants to move forward very quickly, the clutch pedal can feel a bit spongy on gear changes after this happens.

This can happen for a few minutes at a time but can suddenly return to normal as I drive home out of town or come out of a shop and drive it again. When I drive the car later on or the next day from cold it's always fine until moving off in town again after the usual 30 mins or so.

The clutch isn't slipping, the gear changes are fine and the clutch pedal always travels back up to it's proper position. Clutch/brake fluid levels are normal which would appear to rule out the master cylinder.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas? 

Thanks.

 

Clutch slave cylinder is probably starting to fail.

Thanks! 

In case you are not aware, the slave cylinder is inside the bellhousing so gearbox has to be removed to get to the slave cylinder. 

Thanks. If it has to be done then it has to be done.

If you do go down the road of replacing the clutch slave cylinder you may as well fit a new clutch plate and release bearing at the same time while the gearbox is out.

4 hours ago, unofix said:

If you do go down the road of replacing the clutch slave cylinder you may as well fit a new clutch plate and release bearing at the same time while the gearbox is out.

Thanks. It's a worry as even though it's okay a lot of the time with my luck it will fail at the worst time.

On 3/5/2022 at 10:13 PM, Rapparee said:

Have a 2017 1.25 Fiesta, 36,000mls. After about 30 mins of town driving when I stop at junctions etc and put it in 1st the clutch reaches the bite at a very low point and the car wants to move forward very quickly, the clutch pedal can feel a bit spongy on gear changes after this happens.

This can happen for a few minutes at a time but can suddenly return to normal as I drive home out of town or come out of a shop and drive it again. When I drive the car later on or the next day from cold it's always fine until moving off in town again after the usual 30 mins or so.

The clutch isn't slipping, the gear changes are fine and the clutch pedal always travels back up to it's proper position. Clutch/brake fluid levels are normal which would appear to rule out the master cylinder.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas? 

Thanks.

 

My mechanic was on holiday but have it booked in for Thursday next week, drove it this morning, pulled into shopping place after about 15mins of driving. When I put it in reverse to park the bite was very low, car just wanted to shoot back, I controlled the speed reversing into the bay but when I tried to put in neutral it wouldn't come out of gear at all, gear lever locked solid. Been driving over 30 years so I knew that if that happened just to turn engine off and it freed up again. Drove it further in town and then 5mls home without incident. 

Anyone got any further ideas as to what the problem is? My mechanic seems to thing it's damp in the gearbox however. I will tell him about what happened this morning though.

15 minutes ago, Rapparee said:

My mechanic seems to thing it's damp in the gearbox

I think your mechanic has 'Bats in the belfry' 🤣

2 hours ago, unofix said:

I think your mechanic has 'Bats in the belfry' 🤣

Thanks for that, but it's not at all helpful.

Perhaps the OP's mechanic means there's a fluid leak... but you say fluid levels are normal?

Clutch problems are difficult to diagnose from a distance, but if the fluid level is good then perhaps the seals in the master or slave are failing, sometimes working and sometimes allowing fluid to leak past.

On 3/16/2022 at 6:07 PM, orangecurry said:

Perhaps the OP's mechanic means there's a fluid leak... but you say fluid levels are normal?

Clutch problems are difficult to diagnose from a distance, but if the fluid level is good then perhaps the seals in the master or slave are failing, sometimes working and sometimes allowing fluid to leak past.

Yes, fluid is normal. It's fine from cold, drove it today from my house and all was good. 10mins on country roads in 4th and 5th, stopped at first T junction and it happened, very low bite when trying to move off in 1st. Took it out of gear then back in and it was okay. Happened a few more times in town. Leaving town and home it was driving fine.

Thanks for your reply, it may be on the right track though.

Re my 2020 post about the problem with my sisters fiesta losing pedal pressure, in the end she had the whole clutch replaced including slave cylinder and release bearing ( I had already replaced master cylinder which did not fix it) . After that it has been fine.  Never did understand exactly what was causing the intermittent problem, particularly as there was no fluid leak.

On 3/16/2022 at 2:27 PM, Rapparee said:

My mechanic was on holiday but have it booked in for Thursday next week, drove it this morning, pulled into shopping place after about 15mins of driving. When I put it in reverse to park the bite was very low, car just wanted to shoot back, I controlled the speed reversing into the bay but when I tried to put in neutral it wouldn't come out of gear at all, gear lever locked solid. Been driving over 30 years so I knew that if that happened just to turn engine off and it freed up again. Drove it further in town and then 5mls home without incident. 

Anyone got any further ideas as to what the problem is? My mechanic seems to thing it's damp in the gearbox however. I will tell him about what happened this morning though.

I had this happen recently and I needed a new clutch and master cylinder. 

Almost 3 years later, and the same issue has arisen again. Back in 2022 the whole clutch assembly was fitted. Solved the problem.

But I'm back where I started now. Mechanic will have a look on Monday, but will probably need to get clutch replaced again.

I'm a driving instructor, so that doesn't help either. Car, 2017 Fiesta 1.3, now with 58,000mls.

3 hours ago, Rapparee said:

I'm a driving instructor, so that doesn't help either.

So the clutch has lasted less than 3 years in a driving school car. It's probably done the work of a 10 year old clutch so little wonder it's failing again. Did you fit a full genuine Ford clutch back in March 2022 or was it an aftermarket kit ?