Gear selection / clutch travel

[RupLaw 0]

1984 1.6 205 GTi, now having to push right down to the floor on the clutch pedal to get into the next gear, both up and down through the box.  It used to be fine, so can anyone advise what may have caused this to deteriorate?  I have found the two nuts on the end of the clutch cable to adjust the bite point, but this is not the issue.  It's more related to the actual clutch cable / pedal range of travel.  Thanks in advance.

[Ozymandis 97]

If its a sudden change rather than a gradual deterioration, most likely the release bearing contact face has worn through the tips of the release levers on the pressure plate. The bearing acts like an "apple corer".

 

Common  high mileage fault, some brands of bearing have a narrow contact face, others have a broader rounded contact point and the fingers last a lot longer.

The right ones a Valeo, they are the worst for it, the left ones an SKF they are a lot kinder on the clutch release fingers

 

Those are later BE3 types but You get the idea. 

 

If its a gradual deterioration and there is no longer enough adjustment on the 2 nuts then probably the friction plates worn out.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

I would also check that all of the engine to gearbox bolts are there and tight. It wouldn’t be the first or last to be missing one or more so that the gearbox pushes away from the engine slightly when you press the pedal.

[Ozymandis 97]

25 minutes ago, Tom Fenton said:

I would also check that all of the engine to gearbox bolts are there and tight. It wouldn’t be the first or last to be missing one or more so that the gearbox pushes away from the engine slightly when you press the pedal.

+1

[Anthony 1,003]

Lastly, as this is presumably a BE1 gearbox being an early car, check that the L-shaped quadrant on the gearbox that activates the clutch isn't cracking or distorted - it's not unheard of.

 

My money is on Tom's suggestion though - typically in my experience it's the lower rear bolt (that goes in from the engine block to the gearbox casing) that comes out.

 

PS. Assuming that this is a BE1 gearbox, if you remove the clutch cable or the quadrant mentioned above, be careful not to lose the pin/rod that goes between the quadrant and the clutch arm, particularly if the spring is missing from a previous clutch change or whatever (like most are).

[ArthurH 7]

We started suffering from some gear selection problems on the 1.6 205 - but unlike the OP, the bite point had suddenly moved to the very top of the pedal travel.  On stripping down the clutch we found the pressure plate and fingers looked good, as was the friction plate - but the Valeo release bearing had failed as per the photos.  Part of each plastic fork was missing, and the metal plate was quite badly worn.

Is this a common failure?  Did I do something wrong during the assembly?  Is one particular make better than the others?

 

 

On a related note, what is the thickness of the friction material of a new standard clutch plate?  I don't want to bin a known good one if it has only worn a tiny amount.

TiA

[ArthurH 7]

Perhaps I should have added, it is a BE3 box (reverse below 5th)