Clutch collapse

[BadMonkey72D]

My 2007 Elise is in the garage with a "collapsed clutch."
I don't live anywhere near a lotus dealer, so its in a local performance auto shop (who service my ferrari - which is also in the shop).

The dealer I bought it from said:
"This is the first time I'm hearing of such a problem. Have they checked all the clutch hydraulics, lines, slave and master? I've never heard of a clutch collapsing on these vehicles. Unfortunatly for warranty you would have to bring the vehicle to a Lotus Dealer to have this looked at."

I thought it was the shifter cable, but that's fine.

Has anyone else had this happen?

Any ideas as to what would cause this? Too much time on the clutch pedal?
I'm not even sure what exactly a collapsed clutch is.

Thanks for any help.

I'm stuck with only my corvette now - 66% of my cars are out of commission.

[choi0706]

I'm guessing you mean clutch pedal.. It suddenly lost pressure? Easiest thing to try is bleeding the fluid and checking the fork..

[fitfan]

or something mechanical has come dis-connected?

look up under the pedal box, make sure its all connected.

poke around in the engine bay, check the clutch mechanical connection, you may have to jack up the car and remove the undertray in order to see it sufficently.

if the brakes work - then its not the master cyl. could be the slave cyl hydraulics - but i am still thinking something came lose instead...

[tommyc]

I had this happen when I was bleeding the fluid from the clutch line. The line for the clutch draws fluid from the driver side top of the master cylinder resivoir. The car was jacked up on the drivers side and while suctioning out the fluid from the slave cylinder I did not realize I sucked in a little air. This caused the clutch peddle to have zero pressure! Well I rebled keeping the fluid level toped off in the resivoir and all worked well. I would try that 1st. rebleed the clutch line. If the flluid was low and sloshed to the passenger side in a turn and the clutch was depressed it would draw in air when released causing these symptoms. Good luck hope it is something simple Tommy

[ewalberg]

When i was at the track last tuesday with my car poppin out of 4th gear, one fellow said the stock clutch is somewhat prone to failure with heavy track time... that some retaining clips (or something like that) inside the clutch mechanism fail and you end up with a toasted clutch that needs replacement. I don't know what it all means, or where the pedals sit, but it is not driveable when it happens. I think he had it happen under warranttee.

[choi0706]

well once the clutch lets go, the bits of meal scar up the inside of bellhousing.. some are really bad, and some are bad..

[Sh4rkattk]

My pressure plate failed, one of the 3 clips broke off. The clutch would not fully disengage with the pedal pushed down.

Lotus covered parts and labor under warranty. I paid the difference to upgrade to the Lotus Motor Sport clutch and pressure plate.

[Zinhead]

Originally Posted by ewalberg

When i was at the track last tuesday with my car poppin out of 4th gear, one fellow said the stock clutch is somewhat prone to failure with heavy track time... that some retaining clips (or something like that) inside the clutch mechanism fail and you end up with a toasted clutch that needs replacement. I don't know what it all means, or where the pedals sit, but it is not driveable when it happens. I think he had it happen under warranttee.

That is what happened to mine. One of the retaining clips fell out and lodged between the clutch and the flywheel so it would not dis-engage.

[JungleJim]

Thanks for the insight into yet another upgrade I need to add to my list.

Note to self(and bank account)- new clutch and pressure plate-add to wish list from Sector111 or other supplier)

[BadMonkey72D]

Originally Posted by Zinhead

That is what happened to mine. One of the retaining clips fell out and lodged between the clutch and the flywheel so it would not dis-engage.

That sounds about right for what happened. They still haven't gotten around to looking at it yet.

I could force it into a gear and drive it, but it wasn't pretty. The clutch pedal felt normal, there's just no way to get the shifter into gear while moving. When stopped I could ram it into 3rd, start it and nurse it along with careful and excessive use of the clutch pedal.

I was told it can't be fixed under warranty unless I take it to a lotus dealer - which for me is Vancouver or Toronto - and both told me they didn't think it was likely it would be covered. Since either shop is nowhere near me, I'm going to just pay for it.

So much for the warranty ... maybe its time for a supercharger ...

[BadMonkey72D]

I'm think I'm going to go with a
ACT CLUTCH STREET STRIP DISC / EXTREME PRESSURE PLATE
ACT CLUTCH, Elise

If they're in stock and all.

I'll let you know how that goes.

[BadMonkey72D]

[quote=BadMonkey72D;1329096]I'm think I'm going to go with a
ACT CLUTCH STREET STRIP DISC / EXTREME PRESSURE PLATE
ACT CLUTCH, Elise


I got my car working again!!!!
The new clutch works just fine - no problems for street driving.

And here's a picture of the largest piece left from my old clutch

[Flash G]

Originally Posted by BadMonkey72D

And here's a picture of the largest piece left from my old clutch

[Seb]

How in the f?

[Sh4rkattk]

WOW, was the pressure plate fine? Did one of the three clips fail. If not then lotus would not have covered your clutch. On the stock pressure plate there are 3 holes in the front, this is where the clips are located.

When I first took my car in I had to authorize the tear down due to a possibility of wear and tear. If it was a parts failure then lotus would cover the cost.

[midship]

I just had the same experience as tommyc! I rebleed the clutch line - problem solved! thx ET!