LV Focus XR5 - Clutch pedal dropping overnight

Brent-EA Ghia · 29-10-2012, 09:45 PM

Hey guys,

For some time now we've had an issue with the clutch in our XR5, we'd find in the morning that the clutch pedal would be nearly half way to the floor, this would only happen if it had been driven a reasonable distance such as work (~50km's) and not just up to the local shops, which showed if the car had got hot and then cooled the issue would occur.

After a fair amount of research i decided i better sort it out. After whats a long story i replaced both pedal springs as they are supplied by Ford as a spring pack, but the main one required was the over center spring and this fixed the issue, it's been a week now without issues and the clutch pedal feel is as new, and the nice over center/pop feel of the clutch is back (if it means anything ours has 115,000k's on her now)

So what i found is the clutch master cylinders fitted don't have there own internal return spring and solely rely on the return force of the pedal to hold the push rod out, the clutch does force it back when the pedal is released, but as the fluid cools and contracts slightly rather than drawing the fluid past the primary seal it actually pulls the piston and pedal down. And this is why it only occurred after longer trips, as it allowed the clutch fluid to get hot.

The over center spring does most of this, and more so when the pedal is at its returned position, the lug from the clutch pedal had dug/worn into the plastic housing of the spring and this greatly reduced the spring return of the pedal, and actually felt very soft at the top of the travel.

Hope this may be of some help to others experiencing the same symptoms.

Cheers Brent

XR5-Boy · 19-11-2012, 03:49 PM

Yeah my car had this happen to it after 40k. All fixed under warranty.

marcosanga · 07-06-2013, 11:44 PM

Im experiencing a similar problem with an 07 TDI, return spring you say.....?

brenx · 15-06-2013, 09:15 AM

marcosanga you will find your master cylinder is failing. My partners XR5 did the same. Ford couldn't find a fault but we replaced the master cylinder anyway and it's never done it again.

marcosanga · 16-06-2013, 11:12 PM

Damn thatd suck, had a quick look and it looks like the fluid is shared with the brake master cyl.
Im assuming the clutch master cyl is a separate unit to the brake one...?

brenx · 17-06-2013, 09:21 PM

No same unit and around a $500 job at ford

marcosanga · 21-06-2013, 02:16 PM

Had the clutch master cyl replaced by ford, was ok for half a day, clutch pedal then returned to its ol half stroke trick, driving home last night, pedal gradually diminished to the point that i cant get a gear anymore, now they think it may be the clutch slave cyl which is mounted in the bellhousing.....!!

brenx · 12-07-2013, 10:28 PM

Sounds expensive.

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marcosanga · 15-07-2013, 11:28 PM

sure was, all done now cost me more than 2500g in the end, not impressed to say the least, but i did throw a new flywheel n genuine clutch kit in it while the box was out as friction plate was pretty worn......

brenx · 16-07-2013, 03:07 PM

Well worth it to replace the clutch while your there. I am going to put an rs clutch and flywheel in when mine goes.

Pronto_the_xr5 · 02-09-2014, 09:57 AM

Hi all,
I've just joined this forum, looking for an answer to this exact problem!....
My partners 2009 XR5 has had this issue for over 18 months.
I've been sceptical about letting anyone start work on it as every workshop has had a different theory....... and price!
Ford said clutch slave - $990
ABS - " definitely clutch master"- $550 plus fitting
From there I have had suggestions of replacing everything in between including a mechanic suggesting a pin hole in a fluid line....
No one has performed any tests to diagnose..... literally just popped the bonnet, had a browse and thrown up a cause.
Not one person has felt the pedal, and only one checked fluid level! ( it hasnt used any)
So, frustratingly, in the mornings she starts the car and gently lifts the pedal back to full height. Once lifted its fine until tomorrow..... its been like this for over 20k
I'm going to start with the return spring theory.....
Its got a bit of work done, a great little beast, little klms and certainly earned its spot in our stable!
Thanks for the rant, and a possible solution.... ill let you know how it goes.

Cheers.

brenx · 02-09-2014, 10:53 AM

It won't be the slave. Mrs had the same issue. Fluids bleeding down over night is the master. The master cylinder is the clutch and brake system. It's plastic and internally fails due to heat. $550 fitted at Ford from memory and it's never done it again.

A slave usually leaks when it's failed.

Pronto_the_xr5 · 02-09-2014, 01:33 PM

Thanks brenx,

I too had ruled out slave as no fluid was missing, and sure cant smell it burning. I might just change the master too..... erring on the side of caution. I have bought one from a smashed unit.
Reading the posts previously, I don't want the Mrs stranded.

There used to be a system for isolating the clutch slave from the master to see if fluid was bypassing the seals in the master.
no- one seems to do this anymore......

Cheers.

Pronto_the_xr5 · 02-09-2014, 02:10 PM

Thanks brenx,

I too had ruled out slave as no fluid was missing, and sure cant smell it burning. I might just change the master too..... erring on the side of caution. I have bought one from a smashed unit.
Reading the posts previously, I don't want the Mrs stranded.

There used to be a system for isolating the clutch slave from the master to see if fluid was bypassing the seals in the master.
no- one seems to do this anymore......

Cheers.

marcosanga · 03-09-2014, 08:46 PM

Our pedal was dropping then coming back and I couldn't see any fluid leak but it was the slave cyl

brenx · 03-09-2014, 08:49 PM

Would have been leaking inside the bellhousing. You can inspect them without pulling the gearbox which iss expensive.

furiousgibbon · 03-09-2014, 08:59 PM

if it's been consistent for 18 months I'd be looking at the spring. Mine broke when the car was still in warranty, but Ford rejected the warranty claim (I swore I'd never buy another Ford, whoops).

I looked into fixing it myself, but I couldn't buy the spring itself, it came with the pedal assembly for nearly $700. So for the next 3 years I got used to lifting the pedal when starting the car, and it's still fine.

Here's what the spring looked like, if you can get your head under the pedal with a torch it should be easy to see if it's failed (the plastic housing breaks):

Pronto_the_xr5 · 03-09-2014, 09:59 PM

Thanks all for the insight.... and as bad as it sounds, Im pleased others have been here before.. looks like some educated investigation is needed.... the car has 71k on it now..... woulda rather be spending the money on further enhancements.
Ill post of my findings as discovered.
Cheers.

Franco Cozzo · 03-09-2014, 11:14 PM

Is this problem unique to XR5s or are us LV manual owners going to get burned as well?

brenx · 04-09-2014, 09:57 AM

Not sure Big Damo. My LV hasn't had a problem. It's now got 122000 on it. Mrs LS has the master cyl fail at 85000. Both our cars are XR5's.

oemdenied · 27-09-2014, 02:27 PM

Common problem that we see a lot of in the xr5s.
Most common cause is owners "resting" their foot slightly on the clutch pedal during driving.
Just because fluid level doesn't drop enough to notice visually doesn't mean the slave isn't faulty. Replaced many a slave cylinder on an XR5 but not yet had a faulty master - majority of our customers are XR5 and RS owners.

If your clutch starts to slip or if your having the box removed to replace the slave cylinder replace with RS clutch and flywheel if you have a modded xr5 or plan to mod it. Most of our customers also get us to fit a Quaife LSD to the gearbox whilst its out as this was not offered as a factory option here in Australia like it was in the UK.