Clutch popping out?

[mada808]

So i drove to work today and noticed right before I pulled into the garage that the clutch has popped out further than normal. It has no "spring" feel when compressed until I get to the normal height of where the clutch used to be. My car has 6k miles and I drive like a grandma most of the time. What causes this and what do I need to do? Is this a spring issue or does it sounds like my clutch is prematurely about to go? Thank in advance!

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[MSMStannyl]

I can't imagine your clutch is about to go with 6,000 miles. Have you messed with the helper spring at all? I would take a look under there and see if the spring is still installed correctly. Frankly, I'm not sure how it's even possible for the pedal to come out further than normal (I think that's what you're saying?). The helper spring would simply make the resistance feel different but shouldn't affect that normal movement of the pedal.

Assuming it's not something simple like that, I would definitely take it to the dealership.

 

[mada808]

I can't imagine your clutch is about to go with 6,000 miles. Have you messed with the helper spring at all? I would take a look under there and see if the spring is still installed correctly. Frankly, I'm not sure how it's even possible for the pedal to come out further than normal (I think that's what you're saying?). The helper spring would simply make the resistance feel different but shouldn't affect that normal movement of the pedal.

Assuming it's not something simple like that, I would definitely take it to the dealership.

I would sure hope not! I have not touched the spring or messed with the clutch at all. I'm about to go take a look. I did hear a small crack/pop before this happened so maybe something came loose? Yes, the pedal is coming out further than normal with no spring feeling until I compress back to normal height and then it engages.

Edit: So i just went and checked it out. Whatever component holds it in place is definitely not working. It has no spring support until i push the pedal down to where it normally is and then it acts as it should. Is this something simple with the helper spring that holds it in place?

 

[MSMStannyl]

I would sure hope not! I have not touched the spring or messed with the clutch at all. I'm about to go take a look. I did hear a small crack/pop before this happened so maybe something came loose? Yes, the pedal is coming out further than normal with no spring feeling until I compress back to normal height and then it engages.

Edit: So i just went and checked it out. Whatever component holds it in place is definitely not working. It has no spring support until i push the pedal down to where it normally is and then it acts as it should. Is this something simple with the helper spring that holds it in place?

Hmmm...The helper spring is a simple mechanism that attaches to the pedal and the firewall (or some stationary part of the pedal assembly). It basically looks like a mini coilover kinda thing. Many people, myself included, hated the artificial feel that the stock helper spring caused and removed it altogether. I probably drove for several months with no spring in. It made the clutch stiffer to work but made the engagement much more predictable. That being said, it did not change the normal pedal travel. If anything, without the spring the pedal actually wouldn't return all the way back to normal. It would kind of stop 1/4" short since there was no spring to push it back in place. Steeda has since solved this issue by offering a replacement spring that has just enough tension to push the pedal all the way back without creating that artificial feel of the stock spring.

Bottom line though, I can't think of anything that would possibly bring that pedal out past it's normal travel. It sounds like something definitely snapped or broke. Obviously it should be under warranty so I would definitely take it back to get checked out.

EDIT: It sounds like whatever "stopper" is used for the clutch pedal, broke. That's a strange issue to have but I can't imagine it's too big of a deal to fix from the dealership. Good luck!

 

[mada808]

Hmmm...The helper spring is a simple mechanism that attaches to the pedal and the firewall (or some stationary part of the pedal assembly). It basically looks like a mini coilover kinda thing. Many people, myself included, hated the artificial feel that the stock helper spring caused and removed it altogether. I probably drove for several months with no spring in. It made the clutch stiffer to work but made the engagement much more predictable. That being said, it did not change the normal pedal travel. If anything, without the spring the pedal actually wouldn't return all the way back to normal. It would kind of stop 1/4" short since there was no spring to push it back in place. Steeda has since solved this issue by offering a replacement spring that has just enough tension to push the pedal all the way back without creating that artificial feel of the stock spring.

Bottom line though, I can't think of anything that would possibly bring that pedal out past it's normal travel. It sounds like something definitely snapped or broke. Obviously it should be under warranty so I would definitely take it back to get checked out.

EDIT: It sounds like whatever "stopper" is used for the clutch pedal, broke. That's a strange issue to have but I can't imagine it's too big of a deal to fix from the dealership. Good luck!

I have an appointment on Tuesday of next week. I'm hoping nothing else goes wrong. It's definitely not the spring(that still works fine once engaged). It's getting to the point of compression where the spring "grabs" is the weird part. Some cable or something must have broke.

 

[MSMStannyl]

I have an appointment on Tuesday of next week. I'm hoping nothing else goes wrong. It's definitely not the spring(that still works fine once engaged). It's getting to the point of compression where the spring "grabs" is the weird part. Some cable or something must have broke.

The helper spring is kind of a weird setup in this car. At least I don't know if it's typical or not but when I first got it, it definitely felt unusual to me from the countless other manual cars I've had.

Most of my previous manual cars had a pretty linear engagement. With this car, it's a weird feeling because the spring is set up to both offer resistance and assistance at different parts of the pedal travel. As you push down on the clutch, the spring is offering resistance, trying to push it back out to normal. Then, once you get to the middle of the pedal travel, it's in a sort of "neutral" position. Once you pass that middle point and continue pushing the pedal towards the floor, the spring is now "helping" pushing outwards to get the clutch disengaged.

I get the "cool" idea behind it but hate the feel of it. Pulling it out definitely helped with the feel.

In any case, as I mentioned above, when you're not engaging the clutch, the spring is in a position of resistance where it's pushing the pedal outward. As such, there should be some sort of mechanism in place to stop it. It sounds like that stopper broke. What is it? I don't know but that's definitely what it sounds like. Without it in place, it's probably pushing the pedal out as far as the spring can until it's reached its limit.

I guess this isn't detrimental or unsafe although I'm not sure I'd be willing to wait that long to get the dealer to fix it. Perhaps you can drop it off and get a loaner car or something? Guess it's up to you on if you feel that you can deal with it until then.

 

[mada808]

Well I just went to lunch and was easily able to change gears and all of a sudden my dash says "see manual" with the maintenance wrench now on the dash too. Once I parked my car back at work it said hill start assistant won't work or something. THEN I go to start my car, and it won't start now. AHHHHH I'm so pissed right now. I guess I'm towing my car to ford for it to sit over the weekend(hopefully they can get to it at some point this weekend).

 

[mada808]

update to this: My car is still at ford and already had a new sensor(and some small part that holds the clutch pedal in place) and it is still flashing a code for the PCM so that is being installed tomorrow. No rental car for me since the Enterprise next to them doesn't have any fords right now and ford wont pay for another make. ugh

 

[whatsup62]

update to this: My car is still at ford and already had a new sensor(and some small part that holds the clutch pedal in place) and it is still flashing a code for the PCM so that is being installed tomorrow. No rental car for me since the Enterprise next to them doesn't have any fords right now and ford wont pay for another make. ugh

Sounds like a shitty dealer...When my clutch went out they put me in a Dodge Ram for 4 1/2 weeks.

 

[mada808]

yea won't be going back to this one. They don't even call me for any updates, I have to call them to see what's going on.

 

[mada808]

Another update: They realized after all of this that there is another sensor near the top of the clutch pedal that broke because of the clutch pedal going so much past the normal point/position. They are having to get all of the parts from Detroit so it's taking some time to get this all done. I finally got a rental VAN lol(Ford Transit) but hope to have my car back today. I'm not holding my breath. The dude even said that they are always behind(who admits that?). Rant over.

 

[Bwatkins83]

Did you know what kind of sensor broke? I have the same issue and now car won't start after replacing the safety switch.

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