Clutch questions
 

My clutch has been juddery when hot for a couple of years now, I suspect oil contamination or possibly just wearing out (270,000 on the car). I replaced the master cylinder last weekend as it was leaking fluid into the driver's footwell. I also lengthened the rod connecting the slave cylinder to the clutch fork as the bite point was very close to the limit of travel on the pedal. Now however the bite point is even closer to the limit of travel which makes for interesting driving!
So did I get the rod lengthening wrong? Should I have shortened it? Or is it more likely I got air in the system and just need to bleed it out?

Thanks,
Andrew

Lengthening the rod would put the bite point nearer the upper limit of pedal travel - if it was nearer the lower limit then this would be right, but it might be due to a bent clutch fork.

If you are getting judder when hot it's often a sign of the clutch plate distorting as it heats up. With your other issues it sounds like it's time to check all of it.

The length of the rod has got nothing to do with the bite point. An hydraulic system is self-adjusting - the slave piston will move out until it takes up all the slack and then begins to operate the clutch. If you have a longer rod all it does is mean the piston operates over a different range. The point of the different length rods is to accomodate two lengths of slave cylinder, and to make sure that the range of movement is not too close to the end of the bore risking the piston popping out.

In my very humble opinion, it sounds as though your clutch is rather worn. When I've experienced similar symptoms on other cars I've had the clutch replaced and it was found to be well worn... All the best, John.

Yes, I'm sure it's worn, I was just trying to avoid the expense at the moment, especially as the gearbox makes a bit of noise in 3rd and 5th and I was contemplating swapping in a different box at the same time as I do the clutch.
I'm going to try bleeding it again just to see what happens.

Clutch
 

Hi this happened to my 245 just before the release fork broke ,
Also it sounds as if you have oil on your driven plate and worn, hence judder, it would also account for the operating shaft problem. [you should never need to physically alter the length of it except for normal adjustment if adjustable ] I would suggest it needs a new clutch assy maybe fork [ you would see on disassembly ] and a rear main seal.
Only my opinion
Hope this helps.
Regards
Mike B

My clutch bites right at the top of the pedal, as does my mates, they are both 940 estates, so I just assumed they are meant to be like this, but maybe I am wrong. Should they be right at the top, or is there some ajustment that can be done to change this.

I just bled it again and it's a lot better now, there is actually some travel now before the bite when releasing the clutch. I'll replace the clutch when time and finances allow but for now the car is OK to drive again so I'm happy.