Clutch Issues

[TinyGoliath]

Sorry if this is beating a dead horse. I looked through the forums and didn't find anyone with an exact same sounding problem. I picked up my car today and took it for its maiden voyage. I was told it has a brand new clutch in it but it needs a slave cylinder. I filled the reservoir up in hopes to be able to drive it home. The clutch goes in all the way, stays there, and then will slowly come back up. If I pump on it a bunch of times it will eventually let me shift at random. This does sound like its the slave however after putting more fluid in and pumping it a number of times I don't see any drips or leaks in the system. Did I get myself into a bigger problem then I thought? Could it be transmission related or worse? should I still start by replacing the slave and bleeding the system? Any threads that have already addressed these symptoms before?

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Well, to start off simple you may want to look at the following:

• Clutch fluid level. Consider bleeding it to remove possible air and/or old fluid.
• Check for any leaks at the slave cylinder and under the steering column where the master cylinder goes through the firewall.
• Check for clutch adjustment using the following:
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This should cover the easy stuff. I would only go OEM for the slave cylinder. Many vendors here offer them.
Hope this helps.

 

[inthemidst]

If you can shift thru all the gears with engine off your transmission is fine.

 

[pauleyman]

If you can shift thru all the gears with engine off your transmission is fine .

Completely wrong.

 

[pauleyman]

Op you need to first fix whats wrong. Clutch hydraulics aren't that complicated. If you have bad parts replace them, bleed then diagnosed what's left. No more than an afternoons work. I would at least try bleeding first.

 

[TunedUp]

I agree with pauleyman try bleeding the system I have seen plenty of clutch pedals come up slowly and I would say 7 out of 10 times it was air in the system. Also, to my knowledge when your pumping it up your just slowly putting enough pressure to get a shift out of it. Keep us posted and let us know if you still have problems after bleeding it.

 

[TinyGoliath]

Thanks guys! I was getting worried. Next day we get here that not a blizzard I'll limp it to a friend's place where I can get under it and bleed the system. Any good write ups on the proper way top do this? I've seen a bunch of different suggestions on here. I don't have a way to reverse bleed. Some people say to manually push the slave rod while bleeding to remove air from the cylinder itself, some say don't. Any good legitimate sources for the correct procedure?

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

One person in the car to press the clutch pedal. Another person underneath to open and close the bleeder on the slave cylinder. Remove the cap from the reservoir and place towels or rags around it to absorb spilt fluid. Have a container with a hose going over the nipple on the bleeder. Fill the container partially with DOT 3 or higher brake fluid. Open the bleeder valve with a wrench while the helper depresses the clutch pedal. Close valve and repeat a couple times then check the reservoir level. Fill with same DOT 3 fluid or higher as needed. Repeat this process until fluid coming out is both clean and lacks any air bubbles. I would also highly suggest adjusting the pedal when done using the method outlined in my first post.

 

[miketurbo]

same thing happened once in my DSM, the problem was that it had air in the system could be something related to your problem, the above video helped me a lot!

 

[TinyGoliath]

One person in the car to press the clutch pedal. Another person underneath to open and close the bleeder on the slave cylinder. Remove the cap from the reservoir and place towels or rags around it to absorb spilt fluid. Have a container with a hose going over the nipple on the bleeder. Fill the container partially with DOT 3 or higher brake fluid. Open the bleeder valve with a wrench while the helper depresses the clutch pedal. Close valve and repeat a couple times then check the reservoir level. Fill with same DOT 3 fluid or higher as needed. Repeat this process until fluid coming out is both clean and lacks any air bubbles. I would also highly suggest adjusting the pedal when done using the method outlined in my first post.

It's there a special wrench needed to loosen and tighten the bleeder valve? Some people say if you use an adjustable wrench I'll end up destroying it.

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

I would spray it with PA blaster and let it soak. I have really good luck with flare nut wrenches. I do not recall the size, but 10 mm comes to mind. You could try to break it loose with an extended socket if it is stubborn.

 

[TinyGoliath]

Update. So its still snowing like crazy here so I couldn't get under the car to look at it. However I did pull back the clutch stop sensor, it was very far forward so I backed it almost all the way out to the point where it was as far as it could go and still trigger the switch. After this I could drive the car like normal with some effort. The clutch still comes up really slow, but I can shift through all gears easily. The clutch doesn't disengage until the pedal is almost to the floor and re-engages about a half inch off the carpet. I'm glad because now I at least know that the tranny is fine. in theory, a master cylinder rod adjustment and a flush should solve my problem?

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

You should have waited to adjust only part of the system. Even in the video, as also suggested here, you need to bleed the system first, then complete the adjustment in it's entirety. After you get around to bleeding, you will need to re-adjust from scratch to do it properly. Keep in mind, if you have had to add fluid, you must be leaking somewhere. The PO also said you needed a new slave. if you are driving in the snow, brake fluid will look like water. You are going to have premature wear on the clutch and related parts the longer you let your problem continue.

 

[pauleyman]

Yes if either of the two components arent bad.

 

[TinyGoliath]

You should have waited to adjust only part of the system. Even in the video, as also suggested here, you need to bleed the system first, then complete the adjustment in it's entirety. After you get around to bleeding, you will need to re-adjust from scratch to do it properly. Keep in mind, if you have had to add fluid, you must be leaking somewhere. The PO also said you needed a new slave. if you are driving in the snow, brake fluid will look like water. You are going to have premature wear on the clutch and related parts the longer you let your problem continue.

I realize that I need to do the whole system. The clutch still comes up slow. I was just more relieved that I know the trans is good. Now with this 'band-aid' I can get it to a garage and up on a lift to really look at it in an environment without a foot of snow and negative temps . Just so giddy right now after finally driving it!

 

[TinyGoliath]

Alright, so I got under the car to see the boot on the slave cylinder was shredded. (http://imgur.com/DNTRISX) So I replaced that. In doing so I drained all the fluid from the system and replaced with new dot 3/4. Bled the system with the help of my wife and now it shifts smoother than any car I've owned. Not bad for $26 and about 2.5 hours (also with doing an oil change and coolant flush while under there)
Thanks for all the help! Now it's on to the hard starting and power steering pump.