Probably been done to death elsewhere but, here goes.

On a brief journey out, the clutch pedal went to the floor. Got an anxious call from the wife and got over there. Pedal was stuck to floor, but giving it a tap it released and I drove it home (pedal was spongy but recovered with a bit of pumping).

At home, the pedal worked fine for a couple of dozen engage/disengage.

So, is it master or slave cylinder and, if the latter, is it located in the bell housing or outside. It's a 2008 Octavia Mk2 Tdi PD 1Z5 estate with BXE engine (5 speed).

Any clues to possible cost from an independent?

Cheers all

It could be either, I don't know if there's an easy way to distinguish between the two failures - but probably better to replace the easiest first (master cylinder if fitted with concentric slave)

It's quite possible that the Mk2 is not fitted with concentric slave cylinder.

Mine went and it was the master. Used to do it randomly. Couldnt see any leaks but they were ending up on engine undertray. When you replace it watch for the small rubber grommets/seas. They dont generally come with new master and can get left in old one. Have a 58 plate estate (same engine) sitting for spares so will check the slave and see if its external/internal for you.

Alasdair

Had a quick look and difficult to see due to battery box but looks external. The plunger/rubber gaitor on the slave is internal so if leaking wont be noticed but looks like it can be replaced without Gbox removal. Check bottom of bell housing/gearbox join for signs of fluid. Sons fabia is the same. His was leaking into bell housing but I replaced it without removing Gbox. Keep an eye on your brake/clutch fluid. It may be that fluid is getting past the seals in either slave/master but not actually leaking yet. If your fluid is dropping then theres a leak somewhere.

Alasdair

Thanks for all your help, much appreciated.

I took it in to a local independent who diagnosed the master was failing - £227 for replacement and fluid change. Seems a bit pricey, but it's not a job I have time for or fancy. Having said that, I took it up to them this morning and they said they'd have it completed today, which is a bonus as it's a car we can't do without. I think you're correct about the slave, although I'm told that's not an issue. Strange the no new grommets or seals come with the new master though, I'd have thought they'd be important to renew??

As for fluid levels, I think they were ok. I found it difficult to check as the reservoir is a bit opaque. Usually, I try to shine a bright torch through it to see if I can see the level, but not sure how accurate that is.

I got a sachs master from amazon as no one else locally had any and did it myself. Think it was around £45-00 and that was cheap but the cost of labour plus vat and any extras soon mount up. Its fairly straight forward but a pain to do as you have to remove pedals etc and its also one of those jobs you can see it but getting to it without a ramp isnt easy. I reckon say two hours labour plus parts and vat £227 is a fair price.

Alasdair

Fair enough. How easy is the slave to do, and what's the bleeding (of the fluid!) procedure? TBH, I do most things on the car but I really don't fancy awkward jobs that require scraping under the car for too long. I still have the ARB bushes to do, when I can, but the car's in almost constant use so I can't take it off the road for long. That's why I'm happy to pay the £227 if it means I only lose one day!

Slave is possible and fairly easy to access. (was on the fabia and looks the same on the Mk2 1.9tdi. You have to remove battery/battery tray and I think for easier access the gearbox selector and cables etc. two bolts and it pulls out. Getting it back in again is tricky by yourself a you need to compress plunger spring and get bolts in at same time. Bleed nipple is on the slave. Plastic and I found it needed to be unscrewed a fair bit for bleeding. I used a pressure bleeding kit as I was by myself.

As said £227 I think is fair plus lying under a car in this weather!! and if it goes wrong no car. Dont know what a dealer would charge you. Think my local one is over £100 per hour plus vat for labour alone. Skoda parts.com do a genuine skoda master and its around £140

Alasdair

I'll post back when I find out which brand of master they used. If it's Sachs, Valeo, Luk, etc, then fair enough. I have to bear in mind that there's an insurance that goes with the work - if it goes wrong it's straight back to them. If it's me doing it, it's all on me!!

I know that feeling especially when you only have one car. Pressure on to get it right and as you say down to you if it doesnt. Only had to hire one car in the last 20 years when it went wrong and yes it was down to me.

Alasdair

All fitted in time to collect the missus from work. Item was Luk branded at ca. £69+vat. Labour was £60+vat per hour. I made a point of speaking to the mechanic and, when asked about the make of cylinder, he said 'we don't fit Ebay parts here'.

As someone who has often bought cheap and bought twice, I agree with him.

First master cylinder in 182k miles - AI reckons about 2m operations😲

That seems fair plus £60/hr is very good these days. Seems like a decent garage who now what they aare doing and also quick service too. Hard to find these days.

Alasdair

You're right, and I have used them before, excellent then also. They're about 3/4 mile from me, so I could run the car up and walk back (didn't want to risk a garage further afield and get stranded). Considering the MC went around lunchtime Sunday, and the car was back on the road 3.00pm Monday, that's a pretty good turnaround.

If anyone wants to check the garage out, it's West Street Garage, Normanton, West Yorks. If you break down whilst passing through, or near, Normy, and you can only be recovered locally, this may be an option. Reviews are online. Excellent customer service, very fair prices, quality parts, very little not to like.

Sounds exactly like my old school garage (sadly retired). Used to pop in and they would put car on ramp and have a look. Very quick and exellent service. They even let me borrow a car when they couldnt get a part same day for no charge. (it was a 20 year old nissan micra but got me home).

Alasdair