I had a weird problem with my clutch yesterday. The pedal was half way down compared with the brake and when driving felt like the engagement point was also half what it should be. When I stopped and moved the pedal by hand it came back up to the top and is now OK. I checked there is no carpet near the pedal.

Assume the cable is getting caught on something in the engine bay or is it the lever mechansim?

I think the octy is "auto adjusting" so will get lower as wear increases, maybe it was this mechanism that was fooled?

Ian,

Don't think so as I am talking about almost half the pedal travel compared with normal when the brake and clutch pedals are in-line on my car. This is the second time it has happened; last time was in the summer as I wondered if it had frozen up last night.

Was thinking of taking it to the delaer but it feels quite normal today.

Chris

I think the octy is "auto adjusting" so will get lower as wear increases, maybe it was this mechanism that was fooled?[/quote:49a3122402]

Chris,

I get a similar feeling, I find my mats slide up and block the pedal, as a result you get a flicking feeling, like the clucth is sticking.

I know I should lock the mat to the floor carpet, but thats too much like a good idea.

..and I thought it was just me that still meant to get round to that!

In my case it's not the mat getting caught up and there is a metal plate over the fitted carpet to prevent the carpet getting caught.

Feels like you have a very short throw pedal all of a sudden as the engagement point is almost at the floor. I think it must be something else like the auto-adjust gone wrong.

Chris,

I get a similar feeling, I find my mats slide up and block the pedal, as a result you get a flicking feeling, like the clucth is sticking.

I know I should lock the mat to the floor carpet, but thats too much like a good idea.[/quote:b67a333e15]

Another war story coming up. A couple of years ago I worked 2 days a week (for pocket money, you understand) for Inside Track/Exel Logistics delivering and collecting Ford demonstrators (and very nice cars Ford make these days, although I had never considered buying one). I had occasion to collect a top of the range Galaxy 2.8 Ghia Auto from a customer who had it on loan over the weekend, and had been mightily unimpressed with the performance. It didn't take me long on my journey from the Dartford area to St Neots to confirm that the acceleration was pants. I had previously driven a Police spec Galaxy 2.8 manual which had very nice gunmetal grey alloys, and more than enough performance to generate a big smile and to raise a reasonable suspicion that it had been tuned - although Wiltshire Police HQ vehicle workshops denied that Ford did that to their Police Galaxies. (Being a law abiding citizen, I drove the Police Galaxy down the A1, around the M25, and down the M4 enroute to Devizes at exactly 70mph on the calibrated speedo, probably causing the longest tailback in the M4's history. The message here is don't assume that every police vehicle you see is being driven by a policeman, and for the time being it won't be me either. But I digress).

As I was waiting to pay the toll at the Dartford Tunnel (I believe that the toll was instituted to encourage the locals to stay put in Kent), for some reason I glanced down at the floor mat and noticed that it had worked its way under the throttle pedal where it was not only preventing full throttle being applied, but kickdown too. A quick heel jobber on the mat and performance was restored. The customer was subsequently invited to try the new Galaxy a few months later, which he did.

(My next trip in a Police vehicle involved ferrying a fully marked Transit from Stafford to St Neots. Every Tom, **** and Harry overtook me on the M6 and A14 as I drove back. That's Midlanders for you - no respect for law and order like those of us that live south of Watford Gap.)

chris,

exactly the same thing happened to me this morning, for the second time, after a cold night.

the clutch initially felt soft and had very little travel. i remembered the last time it happened so i hooked it back up to its normal resting angle with my foot whilst in a jam with the handbrake on. no probs for the rest of the journey. like you, definitely not related to mats sliding or clutch wear etc.

Huck,

Interesting that someone else has had this. The first time was in the summer so unlikely to be freezing I think. Shall we ask Skoda what's up? Too cold to go under the bonnet

Chris

chris,

exactly the same thing happened to me this morning, for the second time, after a cold night.

the clutch initially felt soft and had very little travel. i remembered the last time it happened so i hooked it back up to its normal resting angle with my foot whilst in a jam with the handbrake on. no probs for the rest of the journey. like you, definitely not related to mats sliding or clutch wear etc.[/quote:c32084dc19]

i'll phone gary at horners, finish off at work and post later in the evening if there's anything that the problem may be.

later.

Denis,

Are you one of those guys who stand at the side of the motorway with those red number plates? I always think they look very shifty...

I was - and it was one of the reasons I gave up the job. The reason for using the plates (apart from the obvious one of being able to drive untaxed or unregistered vehicles) was that it gave one at least a slim chance of a lift with a HGV driver. Why did we need to hitch - because we were not paid to travel to or from vehicle collection/delivery addresses where the trip was one way only. And, to add insult to injury, we were not paid for the time wasted travelling to collect or returning from delivery. Towards the end of my 2 1/2 years with the Company, it saw fit to bid for a contract to deliver some 5000+ BT vehicles from Ford at Dagenham to the various BT Depots around the country. All of a sudden a number of us were faced with hitching from Alconbury (A14/A1 junction) down the A1 or A14/M11, around the M25 to the A13, and then along to the Ford works, finishing with a couple of miles walk to the vehicle. All unpaid. Having delivered the vehicle, there could then be a hitch from, say, Winchester up the M3 to the M25, around to the A1, up to the Alconbury turn-off, followed by a 3 mile walk back to the Depot - again unpaid. That didn't happen often but it was lousy money for a dangerous job. I should have seen that coming because my first long hitch was within 3 weeks of joining the company in mid-December. I was due to deliver from St Neots to Pembroke Dock, and return (290+ miles each way). The delivery was cancelled, but another of our drivers gave me a lift to Newport, leaving me to hitch the last 100+ miles along the M4 then A40. It rained, snowed and blew a gale. I took 5 hours to get to Pembroke Dock to be handed a Ford Fiesta which had been drained almost dry of fuel. Fortunately it was downhill to the filling station, and some 5 hours later when I arrived back at St Neots I had just about dried out. Noboby had bothered to mention that for trips over 284 miles, I could have had a hot meal at company expense. Since leaving Exel, hitching has been stopped! But that was ineviatble given that it is illegal (and dangerous) on motorways, clearways and just about everywhere else. Plus very few people are prepared these days to give lifts to strangers.

Nevertheless if you should ever see a 'plater' standing somewhere dangerous or just plain stupid - probably because that it where he has been dropped off by a 'helpful' driver who suddenly remembered that he needed to take another route - take pity and at least give him a lift out of trouble to somewhere where he stands a chance of getting a lift, or can at least get a hot drink! Ta

PS Its a far more dangerous occupation than most military flying. And if anyone looks shifty, its all those smug drivers in their warm company cars trying to avoid eye contact while seeing how fast they can take the roundabout. I've even given some of them lifts when they run out of petrol...

DGW

Thanks for that post , it was most informative because untill i read it I had no idea that a your ex-job even existed! How on earth any company got away with treating employees like that is beyond me , especially the hitching on M ways bit , which everyone knows is illegal!! I havent ever seen this going on , as i live over an hour from my nearest M-way im not likely to see anything like that up here...or am i? Anyway cheers for the info , will keep an eye out for any 'platers' in need of a cuppa and shelter from rain!

Seriously, someone once told me that the reason these guys were hitching was so they could save what they'd already been paid to take public transport! I see them alot on the M1 sliproads around Sheffield but I always reckon I'm not going far enough to be of any real help, a couple of junctions at the most usually.

Maybe I'll stop and see if they still talk of 'the Denis', a mysterious traveller, his name still whispered late at night over a cup of luke warm

ok guys..let's try and keep this one on topic for a bit shall we?

:roll:

Sorry! If I could I would move myself to the Lounge, whilst flogging my back with birch twigs enroute.

Back on topic, I thought I had a problem with my Felicia's clutch recently. It felt OK on a 4 mile drive to answer an SOS from my son who's Nissan 200SX had a flat tyre. Having inflated the offending tyre, I drove the 200SX 1/2 a mile to a local tyre dealer who found 3 large screws embedded in the tread. As the patches to repair 2 of the holes would have overlapped, the tyre was declared a write-off. (But see Puncture - Perfect Timing in Briskoda General). Once a new tyre was fitted, I drove the 200SX back to where it had been parked and then drove the Felicia home. I didn't have to make many gearchanges on the way back home but each time I depressed the clutch the pedal shot to the floor with no resistance, which was most disconcerting. My first thought was that the clutch return spring (if fitted) had become disconnected. The next day, and ever since, the feel of the clutch has been normal. So what was wrong? Answer - the 200SX has a very strong spring (or whatever) on the clutch and needs a hefty shove to operate it. :?

)

Answer - the 200SX has a very strong spring (or whatever) on the clutch and needs a hefty shove to operate it. :?[/quote:4d48f993af]

Yeah, I find my Octavia clutch really light after driving our company

pool car (Ford Scorpio). I too was worried about the clutch first time

I got back in the Octavia (mainly 'cos I kept trying to push it into the

engine bay ), but got used to it again pretty quick.

Can't explain it otherwise, unless it's something to do with the hydraulics

getting cold with the weather change/not being used for a bit. That's

assuming that there are actually any hydraulics. :?

Rob.

Huck,

Have you been able to contact your dealer about this problem? This thread now seems to have gone off at a tangent from my original query.

Chris

i'll phone gary at horners, finish off at work and post later in the evening if there's anything that the problem may be.

later.[/quote:135844941a]

chris,

left a message with him yesterday but he had gone. will wait a little longer today and give him a call. as soon as i've had the discussion, i'll post it up here.

regards.

Huck,

As this issue seems to have died I thought I would ask you if there was ever any feedback given to you by your expert dealer?

I haven't had the problem reoccur.

Chris

chris,

left a message with him yesterday but he had gone. will wait a little longer today and give him a call. as soon as i've had the discussion, i'll post it up here.

regards.[/quote:cadf4ead98]