Clutch slip

[Tony Griffiths]

So, to be clear, do you mean the slip takes place on a straight action of hill AFTER you have turned a sharp corner onto it? If so, is it instantaneous or does it last a while?

Correct. Turn right - or left - on a flat section of road and drive up a straight hill. After some indeterminate point that various inconsistently, the clutch will sometimes slip, then grip again - or force a stop. After which, it does not slip again. As we are not short of hills in the Peak District, I've just returned from a test drive. On our "normal" hills, 1 in 8 to 1 in 12, it proves no problems at all; approach in top, down to second, occasionally and it pulls with without slipping.
Let's try something steeper - the 1 in 5 Cressborok hill. After a flat-out run through the left-hand turn on approach, slip stated in second gear about one-third of the way up. Dropping down to 1st and nursing it, it picked up; a change into second and, with full throttle, slip again; backing off, it grips, down into first and in climbs slowly up to the top without slip. Back to the bottom for a second run, but this time from a standing start. No slip at all in first so, flat out, peak revs and into second - and it pulls strongly without slip until down to a crawl on the steepest section; into first, full throttle and - surprisingly - again no slip. Change up into second - still no slip until, just before the top, first is needed for the last few yards, but still no slip. Conclusion? Might the condition be just "in extremis" - maximum power and a maximum gradient? I suppose the next trick will be to put some weight into the car and see what happens....