Hello everyone,
this is my first post here and decided to register to ask about specific problem i have with my manual transmission, i have 508 2015 manual 1.6hdi 120hp BlueHdi.
I bought the car used it was in great shape but a month later it started to rattle when starting it was very annoying so i decided to change the clutch kit, it seems that friction plate was thin, car had 100k kilometers but i guess someone was not driving properly, so i changed friction disc, plate, DMF and hydraulic bearing (dont know the real term). Now the car drives fine, no more rattling, starts like normal, no shaking when starting or stopping, however the problem is:
- When you press the clutch and try to shift in first gear its somewhat hard.
- When you try to switch gear to second gear its hard as if something is stuck but it goes into gear.
- If i try to press clutch and keep it pressed for about 2 seconds, the gear shift is smooth as butter (no problem)
- When i press clutch and try to shift to first or reverse fast without 2 seconds delay, there is loud “thud” sound coming from somewhere on the left side of a car, but there is no that sound if i keep clutch pressed for a few seconds then try to shift into gear.
Here is video:
This problem is very annoying and i tried visiting few mechanics they all say different things and the guy that changed the clutch set dont want to work on it, as per him everything is fine, but i have like 500k+ kilometers of driving manuals and know something is not right. Hope someone can shed some light on what this problem might be or at least point me in the right direction.
Regards
It sound like there is debris inside the lines for the hydraulic clutch system. Many such systems have a small hole in the system somewhere to soften the clutch release. If dirt gets in when the system is serviced, that small hole could get clogged. Even if there is not restricter in the system, the lines themselves are small.
Hi,
thank you for your reply, can you reference me to some documentation about this so i can find for my car where this is, i cant seems to find anything online about how to soften the clutch release?
Solving this requires opening the clutch cylinder bleed valve and flushing the system. It might require removing the hydraulic hose as well.
This is mostly a USA site. We in the US haven’t had a Peugeot sold here in over 30 years.
I know about the peugeot in us part 
but i guess hydraulic clutch system is same on most cars, mechanic that worked on the car says he de-aired or flushed the system twice and it still happens, anything else that might be the problem? Thanks for your help.
The same? No. Similar, Yes. But the details matter. Since you are talking with the mechanic that replaced the clutch, that person is ahead of me… They have seen, touched and installed the clutch. The mechanic’s opinion matters more than someone on the internet who’s not seen or touched the car.
Either insist your mechanic find and fix the problem or find a better mechanic who can.
Problem is i already went to 2 mechanics and they all say that the clutch is normal, seeing my video do you think its supposed to act that way? The guy that did the clutch swap says he wants to put new gearbox, i think that is bit too drastic considering that the car have 60k miles and drivers normaly when gears are engaged. Its hard to find good mechanic in my country, you always have to feed them the information.
Yes.
The transmission internals are still spinning when you quickly release the clutch and they slow to a stop when you wait 3 seconds. This is normal and it should get better as the clutch wears in a bit.
This happens in reverse the most also sometimes when the car is moving slowly and i put it into first gear, i can feel the “thud” benith my legs as if the car shakes a bit once the thud sound happens, two of my friends drive this same car and it doesnt happen to them. Its very frustrating.
That and the 2 mechanics that say nothing is wrong confirm the problem is you, not the car.
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It sounds to me like your clutch is slow to fully release, so that it is dragging the input shaft of the transmission. This could occur if the hydraulic fluid has restricted flow. It could also occur if the friction plate is binding up, not moving freely back and forth, causing clutch drag. Since this does not occur for your friends, it indicates that you are probably shifting faster than they are. Finally, if the input shaft to the transmission is not coasting down in speed rapidly, it would give this “notchy” symptom. Have you checked the transmission fluid level?
No experience w/your make/model, but had several cars w/manual transmissions over the years. When you say it is hard to shift, do you mean the clutch pedal is hard to push? Or do you mean the gear shift lever is hard to get into gear? If the latter, one possibility is the clutch pilot bearing is sticking. Located in the very center of the flywheel, supports the end of the transmission input shaft. It’s supposed to allow the engine to run, turning the flywheel, without turning the transmission input shaft. If the pilot bearing is sticky, when the engine is running the transmission input shaft will also turn (even if clutch pedal depressed) and it will be hard to engage the gearshift lever.
This was a Car Talk puzzler question as I recall.