Clutch pedal has no resistance! Tried everything!

[Colossus]

Yeah....I was pulling into Circuit city last Wed. and put my clutch in, only to find it won't come back up! Well, it does come back up, but it has absolutely no resistance. You press it, it snaps to the floor, pull it, and it snaps right back up.

I dropped the tranny, inspected the centerforce clutch and TOB. I decided I'd replace it since I had a spare ACT 2600 sitting in my room from a previous tranny swap that I didn't replace the clutch in.....sooo I put it back on. Nothing. I replaced the master cylinder. Nothing. I replaced the slave cylinder. Nothing. I bled all the lines...Nothing.

I'm fresh outta options. When the pedal snaps down, the slave cylinder moves just slightly, but not enough. There are no leaks in fittings or lines.

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm fresh outta idea's.

 

[dynatos]

a kink in the line? air in the line? Did you adjust the push rod to the master cylinder?

 

[rabidfox]

It sounds like a bent clutch fork to me, while you're down there replacing that, shim the pivot ball with a 1mm washer. One more thing, try adjusting the clutch with the nut by the pedal.

 

[Colossus]

Fork looked fine when I took it out....the slave cylinder moves...just not much....

 

[rabidfox]

hrmmm.....try bleeding the crap out of the lines, if it's not the clutch fork then it's gotta be air in the lines or the clutch pedal isn't adjusted and you're not pushing the rod on the master cylinder enough.

 

[ohio98eclipse]

try replacing your clutch m cylinder there likee 50 bucks and you can do it easy because i bet thats what it is

 

[speedy13]

ill try and make it short,we had a mits 3000 n/t at the shop. we did the clutch on it.guy kept coming back to the shop every month with no more clutch dropped the tranny like 4 times and 4 clutches later,2 clutch master cylinders, and 1 slave cylinders, we found the problem.the 3000 gt has something like a distribution valvefrom the master cylinder to the slave. anyways point being check the lines very carefully and yeah check the pedal adjustment as well.

 

[HokieDSM]

This exact incidident happened to me last year. It wasn't the clutch, or the fork, or the master/slave cylinders. The welds on the clutch pedal assembly linkage actually blew - I had to replace the pedal assembly itself. Got the assembly for $35 from a junkyard - unfortunately it's a major pain to install. But it's known that a ACT2600 can cause enough pressure to actually break the assembly itself. You could reweld it, and that may be a little easier... FYI if you're going to replace the assembly you need to make sure that you pick up an assembly from a Turbo car, as the NTs use a different assembly that won't fit properly.

RRE has a section on clutch pedal adjustment here. Scroll down the page.

I was getting symptioms beforehand where the clutch was slowly going more and more out of adjustment and closer to the floor and then one day it just went out completely as you said above. Best of luck getting it fixed.

 

[Colossus]

Actually, after replacing the master cylinder slave cylinder clutch (spare NIB ACT 2600 I had) dropped the tranny added a SS clutch line bled the lines like 80 times.....went through a bottle and a half of brake fluid..

I discovered the bolt holding the end of the pedal linkage had come lose. The clutch pedal goes up, then attaches to a long rod that goes str8 over to the gas pedal side of the interior. The bolt at the end of this rod came lose, so the clutch would turn normally until it met resistance with the master cylinder, then the pedal wouldn't turn...without the rest of it turning......stupid pivot joints.

 

[Colossus]

This is my list of solutions to clutch pedal resistance problems.

Things to check FIRST:

Clutch fluid level. If Low, refill. You'll probably need to bleed the master cylinder, or even the whole line, if the fluid got low enough to allow air into the line.

Check the rubber section of the line. It's on the passenger side, in front of the motor mount holding up the transmission. Just follow the line from the master cylinder, you'll find it. If it's leaking/broken/cracked/etc. Replace it. The best replacement would be the $25 dollar or so Stainless Steel flex line replacement. Many DSM parts vendors carry these lines.

Check on the interior for the pivot bolt to be lose. The clutch pedal goes up and connects to a long rod, which extends over to the gas pedal side of the car to attach to the master cylinder. At the end of this rod is a bolt, holding the rod up. Check to insure this bolt is tightened. Sometimes this bolt can come lose, and allow the pedal to move normally until it reaches back pressure from the master cylinder, then it stops turning and just pivots the clutch pedal with spring force. This normally is made sure of by pressing on the pedal, and noting wether or not it makes a quick snap to or from the floor. If it does, check this bolt.

Bleed the lines to insure all air has been removed from the line.

Remove the master cylinder. It's hold on by 2 12mm bolts, 1 10mm clutch line, and one VERY painful cotter pin to remove. It's located above the gas pedal on the interior. The clutch pedal is attached to a very long rod, which runs over to above and behind the gas pedal. From here, it's attached directly to the master cylinder. There's a pin between the two rods which connect, holding the pedal to the master cylinder. This pin has a cotter pin on it, allowing it to be held into place. This pin is one very PITA to remove, so take you're time. Remember the replace the cotter pin upon reinstallation to insure the pin doesn't fall back out (it will). Replace the pin with a NEW pin.

Check the master cylinder. Place an ample amount of brake fluid into the container, and try compressing the rod with your finger over the line attachment hole. If you have a good deal of pressure with minimal free-play, the master cylinder is ok. Reinstall it.

Check the slave cylinder. I believe it, too, is held on by 2 12mm bolts and for sure a 10 mm line. Remove it, and check to make sure the piston is ok, the pushrod functions properly, etc. If not, replace it. If so, reinstall it. It's located underneath the car on the transmission.

If all else fails, remove the transmission.

Check to insure that you're clutch fork isn't bent or broken. Make note of a worn down Throw Out Baring (TOB), Clutch disk, Clutch Pressure Plate, or a warn down pivot ball on the clutch fork. Replace any if necessary, and reinstall.

This is my list of all possible solutions to have no pressure on your clutch pedal.

Always bleed your line if you detach any of the components connected to it until ALL air is removed from the system.