Alasdair1

It does sound like one of them has failed and fluid is getting past the seals or there is air getting into the system somehow. Every car I have had that clutch pedal went to floor and didn't return was either the master or slave. I think its happened around 5 times now over the years. Most were Master but I just replaced both. Some were easy like Volvo 940 others not. To do the master on my Octavia was tricky. You could see the part but getting to it was damn near impossible as it was behind the engine and low down without a garage ramp plus pedal assembly had to be removed plus part of lower dash etc Shouldn't take them too long to do it as they will have ramps and hope it solves the problem. Alasdair

I would get a slave as well. For all the cost plus you then know they are both new plus your going to be bleeding it anyway. If its the original clutch at 100000 then I would replace the slave as well anyway as a matter of course. When my master went I reckon the fluid was getting past the seals a while before it started leaking. It does say if I remember corrrectly to get new bolts when fitting master cylinder. I didn't bother and its been fine for over a year. I took them off and got the part number from them to make sure I got the correct ones as my car had an option of two different ones. Like said try parts in motion. Its free delivery and for an extra few quid you can get next day. Been using them for a while now as they are about 1/3 cheaper than my local motorfactors and so far service has been excellent.

Might be air filter related. I just did my sons clutch and had stuffed a rag into air intake on top of engine just in case anything went down there when I had engine cover off. Forgot to remove it and had same problems. Removed rag and EPC light stopped coming on. The old code of P0171 is I think mixture too lean so also perhaps was fuel filter/fuel system. If theres no new stored codes not sure what else it may be. May have to keep driving until it stays on or stores a code. Alasdair

Meant to add It could be electrical. Does the dash go blank when it happens or are there all the ignition lights on. If all the lights are still on it might be a fuel pump issue or fuel cut off. I think the pump is in tank. Not sure what number fuse on yours or if the pump has a relay? If its fuel related I doubt it would throw up a code, Car probably thinks its ran out of diesel I have in the past cars that have had fuel pump problems. One had an in tank filter that came loose and started floating about so when tank was half empty started drawing in air. If its running well most of the time I doubt injector cleaner would help. Alasdair

Odd there are no codes etcc. Could be air getting into diesel system or a long shot but not sure if the fuel cap is vented. Had an old van that did the same. Fuel cap vent was blocked and caused a vacuum. would stop randomly and then after a while would start again. Eventually stopped completely as bottom of tank caved in under vacuum and blocked fuel uptake. I assumed it was an in tank filter. Alasdair

Thats correct the one reservoir does both and must be split somehow as I still had brakes when the clutch failed. Think the level warning is for brakes only. Its a nightmare to check the fluid level by eye as the tanks are not that clear.

When mine went to the floor I used to raise it back up with my foot a couple of times and it seemed to cure itself. Lasted for a good few weeks then failed completely. In my case it was the Master that leaked. When it went completely every time the clutch was pressed it pumped fluid out. If I remember the pipe from the reservoir or the pipe from the master clips into the cylinder. On my octavia there is a small rubber grommet that goes into the master cylinder with the pipe. Its not that obvious and can get left stuck in the old one. Make sure its fitted if not theres no seal. Alasdair

I just replaced my slave and it was around £30-00 from parts in motion https://www.partsinmotion.co.uk Think the master is about £40-00 That was on a 1.2 06 plate fabia mk1. I used Sachs if I remember correctly. Not sure of your engine/gearbox . Is there any fluid leaking. The slave on mine is external mounted but operates inside gearbox housing. I took mine out to check and the rubber gator was split inside box and as I was replacing clutch did it as well. It may not be master/slave but perhaps sticking release bearing etc. At 100,000 I reckon the clutch must be pretty worn if its the original. Check around drivers footwell and also back of engine on mine below brake reservoir for leaks from the master. Had an octavia that leaked there and pedal would randomly go straight to floor and not return Fluid was landing on undertray so didn't notice leak until it got winched onto recovery truck. On a rare occcasion the flexi hose that connects to the slave can colapse internally. I reckon aroud £80-00 in parts if you do it yourself, Not sure what garage labour would be. Slave is fairly easy but master takes a bit more time and if its like the Octavia requires pedal removal etc. I used a gunson pressure bleeder on mine. Alasdair

My MOT garage had a problem getting my 1.2 through the emissions test as well. There was a tiny leak at the joint in the centre pipe. Covered it in sealant and emissions were spot on. Reckon the system is very sensitive to leaks or reduced back pressure. I had fitted a new front exhaust and didn't get the seal right at the join. It was so small you couldn't hear it but the MOT guy noticed a bit of black soot around the joint an sealed it up. Alasdair

Just done the clutch on mine. It wasn't slipping at all then totaly failed. I replaced slave cylinder and bled system first to see if it would help. (Note when I took the slave out the inner gator was split and looked like it was about to start leaking). On gearbox removal the friction disc had disintegrated on the pressure plate side. If the clutch isn't slipping you could always try to set the cables. Its pretty simple and solved my poor gear changes before clutch went. Theres a Utube vid that I used. It might help plus doesnt take long. Alasdair

Hi there, Clutch is finaly in and car all back together. Got a bit worried at first as wasn't very good but after about 20 secs its spot on. Reckon it just needed settling/bedding in. Clutch pedal felt ok but bled system again and got a few tiny air bubbles out. The plastic slave bleed nipple has to be opened a good bit to get it to bleed. Bite point is low but I expect it will rise slightly with use. Gear changes are smooth and easy. I don't drive this car much so nothing really to compare it with but it seems good. Managed to sort the brakes at the same time. When I was under car looking up I noticed the hose from the servo was split at every joint. Not long enough to cut and reuse. Taped up just now and will try and source some replacements. Cost me £120 in parts LUK clutcch kit plus slave and some brake fluid plus £50 for a support beam so happy with that. Was quoted around £700 from a mobile mechanic but he said it could be more once he got into it. God knows what a garage would charge these days. Many thanks again for all your help and advice. Alasdair

If only they made them on galvanized chassis etc. They would last for years. Probably last too long for the manufacturer though. Good luck with the strip down and I hope you don't find too much welding. They are total workhorses and do get abused a lot. Alasdair

His had a plastic liner but underneath it was just holes. Even the chassis was like cardboard in places. Past an MOT one year and was actually condemed the next. We reckon the bolt holes or what was left of them held a salt spreader out the back. He sold it on for parts and got most of his money back as the engine was a pretty new replacement and low miles plus seats,lights etc were good. Everything else was scrap. Alasdair

Mine is an 06 but no rust at all apart from front wishbones which I have to replace at some point to. I think mine originally was devon/cornwall. Going to get it properly cleaned underneath and then Either dinitrol or lanoguard. Used to use waxoil but new stuff isnt quite the same. Have had good results with Bilt hamber hydrate 80 rust killer and was looking at their rustproofing Dynax UB and Dynax UC. Will have to wait a bit as got a few other bits I neeed to do first. At least the clutch seems good now. Havent road tested it as still puting bits back on it. My son in law had an L200 and god it was bad for rust. Looked good as it was jacked up with massive off road tyres but absolutely rotten. I reckon it was used for hauling salt. He got rid of it as I don't think the tub was actually attached to the car anymore and bought a galvanised chassis LR110

Yep thats the same as mine just in blue. Your right absolute godsend. Used both chains so I could raise and lower engine plus having gearbox suspended makes it a bit easier to wiggle into place and no chance of dropping it. Previous cars have had to use trolley jacks. Nightmare to get it right by yourself and to stop the gearbox falling off plus you need two to drop engine and support gearbox. This is the first FWD I have done myself. I do miss my rear wheel drive cars. 4 bolts propshaft off then a few more and gearbox out with loads of space. FWD are a nightmare especially the drive shafts and lack of space. Looking for a 4 post lift. There not that expensive second hand and reckon it would pay for itself in no time plus it means you can get to the underside for rust protection etc which up in Inverness kills cars very quickly. Have a project I need to start as I got given a MK1 Mazda Eunos 1.8 auto (MX5 import) which is in pretty good condition. Alasdair

This is the one I got. Worked a treat and for £50-00 it saved me a lot of hassle. Says it will support 500kg. Hopefully wont be using it mucch but its brilliant for changing engine support brackets etcc.

I ended up adding every 3/8 extension bar I haave and just made it. Problem now is getting flange to match up with shaft. Alasdair

Didn't faancy the angle grinder under car. Its petrol and the amount of releasol I was spraying reckon it wasnt a good idea. I had a thought that if I pop the alignment dowels out of engine and put them in gearbox. That allowed me to drop metal plate enough to get flange in then had to fiddle with the plate while I aligned box and pop in it went eventually. I got a cross beam support that fits accross wings to raise engine plus used it to support gearbox so I could move it up and down. I would reccomend one. Got it of ebay for about £50-00. It looks the same as the sealey one but a lot cheaper.

My old octavia had a 3.5mm jack socket marked aux which was for adding MP3 player etc. My latest one has a USB style socket and on my sons 06 Fabis theres nothing. You change the radio setting to Aux and you can listen through the cars sound system. I assume this was before bluetooth/wifi etc. I also found a multi cd changer in boot in left hand side pocket which I didn't know I had. Alasdair

Will double check. Think I left them in or marked them but will check. Recckon I might trim the plate between the box and the engine to clear the flange. It seems to be slightly proud at that point. Don't think I could get the flange off and then back on again once the box is in place. Its bad enough getting to the drive shaft/flange bolts. Alasdair

Hi there Managed to get gearbox out, well half way out and suspended so I could get to the clutch. Couple of problems like flange hitting metal plate between gearbox and engine. plus a few other bits catching on just about everything so decided to leave it half in car. should be able to change fork etc and give it a good clean. Good news is its dry with no contamination. Old clutch disc was very worn on gearbox side but didnt look like it was slipping. Once removed the reason the clutch failed instantly was obvious, flywheel side of disk had totalled itself and disintegrated . Bottom of bell housing was full of shredded disc. All that was left was metal and a few slightly polished rivets. Dont see any damage to flywheel so think it should be ok. At least it wasn't the gearbox. Going to fit new clutch tomorrow and see if I can get the box back in again which doesn't look easy but it came out so should go back in. Thanks for all the help with this one. Will post a pic of the old clutch if I can. Alasdair

Many thaanks Pete, I reckon I'm good. Have axle stands under car on square chassis looking lengths plus also sills and built up wheels under sills as well.

I have been using them as well but wasn't sure if they were suitable. Been ok so far but got a bit worried as Skoda say the only approved points are the sills. Probably just covering themselves. I tend to put axle stands under sills and also under the box section running along the underside. Alasdair

Hi there appologies if this has already been covered but I need to jack up my Fabia mk1 a fair height to remove gearbox. Where is the best place to put a trolley jack apart from the sill as I need to put axle stands there. I Can't jack near to the mark on the sill cause the axle stands base are too big. Was thinking of using the end of the front suspension swing arm mount where it meets the car/chassis . Wondered if there is a prefered solid spot for a trolley jack. Really Don't like using sills, My current Octavia has a slightly crimped sill due to I assume a previous owner missing the jacking point or perhaps its a weak point as both octavias I have have similar damage in the same place.

Well done. Mine dropped completely and had to drive 30 miles in subzero with slush all the way home. They never fail in the summer. Alasdair