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Clutch feels loose, wnt go in gear when started

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vishnu267

10+ Year Contributor
30
0
Apr 6, 2011
philadelphia, Pennsylvania
hey guys i need some advice, so today i went to start my car and my clutch felt very loose. so i started driving the car and figured maybe it was just me. soon down the line i noticed the car would barly go into gear and i had to force it. so i pulled over and noticed that all my clutch fluid was gone and the resivoir looked empty.:banghead: so i went to a nearby pep boys to buy the brake fluid. i got pennzoil dot3 brake fluid. i put the fluid in and it seem to ease a tad bit and stuff but as i kept driving and trying to shift it seemed to be that it didnt really even get better. so i noticed that when the car is turned off it will go right into all gears with no problem at all but when the car is started and i step on the clutch it wont go into gear unless i force it or start the car in a gear already. so does this mean that i definatly need a new clutch? or a flywheel? or what? ### let me know asap what u guys think! thanks
 
I would check the slave cylinder first, make sure theres no rips in it and check the line going to it for rips. much easier to change the slave cylinder then the clutch. mine went out in june and at first it was just loose feeling then it would go all the way down and not come back up couldn't get it in gear at that point was lucky enough it was a slight leak and I could fill it up make it a little ways before it would start doing it again. got my slave cylinder from napa was the only place around that had one in stock.
 
check the master cylinder, look under the dash at the top of the clutch pedal ass. if there is any fluid there it is leaking. also you have to bleed your system after it gets air in it, or else you won't see a improvement.
 
thanks alot for the advice guys im definatly gonna check that out! i rlly appriciate it! but like when i step on the clutch petal it goes down but its like so loose as if the springs are loose or something. its really weird
 
You have a hydraulic leak, so you will not have the pedal "feel" you had before due to the lack of pressure in the line.

I just had to replace my hardline from the dampener to the slave cylinder a few weeks ago actually.

Make sure to bleed your clutch properly, or else you wont have any improvement. Air compresses, so any air in your lines will leave you with either a spongy or non functioning clutch, depending on the amount of air in your lines.
 
i bleed the line and it was driving fine for awhile then i parked it and later on that day i went out for a drive and it started feeling abit loose and was stuggling to go into gears again but would if i forced it. where would that hydrolic leak be? what area should i look around for it? and do u think maybe my master cylinder or slave cylinder is bad?
 
I had a problem just like that, the clutch is no good replace it, on or more of the springs on the clutch disc popped or broke, recomend replaceing the clutch.
 
that was what i thought but then i looked in my fluid bottle and ifi rub my finger at the bottom of the rsevior with the fluid in it its black and also the fluid looks a dirtyish color but maybe ## right maybe the clutch needs changing to
 
I highly doubt its a clutch issue because if it was it wouldn't have driven fine after bleeding it. You sir have a leak somewhere and most likely still have air in the system. Find the leak, check under the dash by the clutch pedal. If there is oil under there then your master cyl. has taken a dump. Like mentioned previously, inspect the lines to make sure they are not leaking. The slave cyl. should be pretty simple to check for fluid leaking. Verify all the parts mentioned are working properly before changing out the clutch.
 
alright im probly gonna do that by this weekend, thanks alot of the advice i really appriciate it
 
I was following your thread and replays,i was surprised,that no one suggested to take a look at your flywheel..... Had alot of issues with clutches in my past 8 years for 2g's and 1g's, and your problem sounds like a warned out flywheel...
 
wow man that definatly makes sence but i definatly hope its not my flywheel thats went bad ### that will cost so much more but im hoping its just the master cyl becuz the first time after i bleed the fluid line it ran great with no problems but i never bleed the slavce cylinder to could that be a reason? should i have bleed both the slave cylinder and master cylinder?
 
Tell me the way you bleed your clutch system??

I doubt when you bleed the system first time you bleed it through the slave cyl,because if you want to bleed the master cyl ,you need to take the master cyl out of a car and "Bench bleed" it. Which part of philly youre located?
 
ahh i see hmm and i live in southwest philadelphia like 10-15 mins from the airport around 56th and baltimore avenue

and well my cousin bleed it for me but he only bleed it from near where the resevior is and i pumped the clutch and everything so like idk if theres another spot or something where its supposed to be bleed or not

and if my fluid in my resevior turned a thick blackish color what does that mean? is the whole master cyl bad? should i just buy a new one or is it something simple?
 
ahh i see hmm and i live in southwest philadelphia like 10-15 mins from the airport around 56th and baltimore avenue

and well my cousin bleed it for me but he only bleed it from near where the resevior is and i pumped the clutch and everything so like idk if theres another spot or something where its supposed to be bleed or not

and if my fluid in my resevior turned a thick blackish color what does that mean? is the whole master cyl bad? should i just buy a new one or is it something simple?

The master and slave cyl are bed when they start leaking fluid. Because nottin else it could be bad in both cyl. BTW check the master cyl clutch rod. The lock nut might be lose,causing slave cyl rod to adjust itself......
 
oh wow ok. and i checked inside where the clutch thing pushes in like i looked under my dash and pushed my clutch in, the pistin looking thing looked like it had alot of fluid on or around it so does that mean both the maser cyl and slave cylinder are bad or just one of them? and what exactly is that part called?
 
oh wow ok. and i checked inside where the clutch thing pushes in like i looked under my dash and pushed my clutch in, the pistin looking thing looked like it had alot of fluid on or around it so does that mean both the maser cyl and slave cylinder are bad or just one of them? and what exactly is that part called?


Under the dash is clutch master cylinder
Under transmission is clutch slave cylinder

replace both cylinders ,and if you have a lil more cash upgrade clutch line to Stainless steel one,Helps alot.

And if you ever decide to change your clutch,Make sure you will change the Pivot ball (where the clutch fork sits on) and always use OEM throw out bearing

Alot of people forgets about pivot ball,this little thing could cause clutch issues
 
ahh ok thanks alot man i really appriciate all of the help im gonna see if i can work on that hopefully next week and i will keep u guys updated but thanks again

Hey man by the way, how much would u charge me if I asked u if you could come down here and fix it for me? I want someone who knows about these cars and knows what they're doing wih it, how much would you want?
 
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