Clutch Dissapears 100% instantly

[Fryguy]

so I'm driving down the road, 45 in 4th, coming to a stop light, apply brakes, downshift to 3rd, and it downshifts REAL funny. I pop into neutral, and my clutch just dissapears. Absolutely 0 pressure. Car still running, at the light in neutral. Stupid me turns it off, and it's a bi*** to get started. Car will not go into gear AT ALL. I'm right across the street from my destination (friends house), I call him up, he comes outside, helps me push into parking lot. Look at it some more, and manage to get the shifter stuck in between gears and the car won't start at all.

Clutch is like 8k old, and hasn't been abused THAT badly to die that fast (I know how to drive etc). Am I in for a new transmission, or may it be something like master cylinder?

 

[Mike1992]

kinda sounds like a broken fork to me

 

[2GeNTSi]

your situation sort of sounds similar to what happened to me a couple of months ago. One morning before going to school I went to go warm up my car and as I pushed in the clutch I noticed it felt a little soft but I didn't think anything of it. So once it was warmed up I started driving to school and on the way I ran into a couple of stop lights and I noticed that when I pushed in the clutch and moved the shifter into whatever gear, it would grind and it would grab the gear almost instantly. After driving about 10min like this, I came to another stoplight and tried to put it in gear but it would refuse so I pulled over and kept trying to put it in gear then the clutch just stuck to the floor. Fast-forward to when I got it towed home, found out that my clutch fluid was depleted. My dad checked it and found that some little metal piece was stripped (looked like a nut to me) and lost all its threads or something so all the fluid just leaked out. Got it replaced, bled the rest of the fluid out and replaced it with fresh brake fluid.

 

[Defiant]

Didja check the clutch fluid?

 

[MrPikolo]

Originally posted by Defiant
Didja check the clutch fluid?

My first thoughts as well.

 

[Fryguy]

haven't had a chance yet, it's down at the shope now. I'm hoping it's lines/master cylinder related

BTW, if it is my lines, are SS clutch lines worth it at all? Or would it be just a "feel" item? (I LOVE the way my clutch feels when it's working, great for racing, fast shifts etc), so if there is no quanitifiable performance from it (being able to shift faster or anything), then I'll just stick with plain lines, but..

 

[awd4g63]

Originally posted by Fryguy
BTW, if it is my lines, are SS clutch lines worth it at all? Or would it be just a "feel" item? (I LOVE the way my clutch feels when it's working, great for racing, fast shifts etc), so if there is no quanitifiable performance from it (being able to shift faster or anything), then I'll just stick with plain lines, but..

If you upgraded your clutch, you may want to think about braided lines. As you get a heavier pressure plate, the harder you have to push to engage and disengage it. When you have to press harder, your stock lines tend to flex and get all out of shape. Upgraded lines are good for fixing that. The only thing you may notice by not doing it, is that it might be a little difficult to get into gear the faster your shift. If your pressure plate is high lbs, you may want to think about upgrading your master cylinder as well.

 

[SportinWood]

Where can I get upgraded master cylinders??

 

[awd4g63]

http://www.dsmparts.com/throw_out_bearing_oem_dsm.htm

It's not necessarily an 'upgraded' one per se, it's an OEM replacement; however, with 118k miles, you may want to think about it with a heavy clutch. If you're good with picking things apart, you can always rebuild the master cylinder. Not sure what kit your need or what parts you need for that, though.

 

[SportinWood]

Actually I've already replaced the slave, all hard lines, the tank, and the mastercylinder on my car but I need a clutch and was thinking of just going with the ACT 2100... can my stock setup work with this?
Thanks!

 

[awd4g63]

No reason why it shouldn't. A buddy of mine has a 2600 in his DSM, and the stock system handles it fine. The system will be in need of replacement soon, as we've found it grinds just a tad when shifting hard at high rpms.

A 2100 shouldn't be a problem with a new hydraulic system

 

[Fryguy]

My clutch is an OEM replacement, but it's a "heavy duty" oem replacement. it's nothing crazy like an ACT 2600, but it does grab more than stock (hell anything grabbed better than the clutch when i bought it and subsequently learned to drive stick on).

I'll know for sure what's up tomorrow. Most likely the system is going to be bled and I'm going to have to relearn my clutch anyway, so it's gonna suck for a good week until I learn how to speed shift again

If I _DO_ have a busted line, where can I get an SS clutch line kit, just out of curiosity?

 

[SportinWood]

Sounds good to me
I beleive RRE has those kind of lines.
Their cheap, or you can order the original hard lines for 10 bucks a piece from Mitsu.