Clutch pedal won't return (Intermittent)

[abweber]

Good morning. This is my first post to the forum. I've done some searching, and I'm not able to find anything with the exact symptoms I'm having. I'll try to lay it out as best I can, with as much detail as I can provide. I just got the car a few days ago, so much of the history is spotty.


Car: '90 Laser Turbo, 5SPD, ACT 2600 Clutch (About 10,000Mi on the clutch). (See profile for other mods, all done before I got the car)


Issue: I got in the car yesterday and lightly rested my foot on the pedal (Car not started). It went all the way to the floor with little resistance, and did not return from that position. I pulled it back by hand, depressed it again, and it worked fine (Was able to start car, get into gear, and reverse out of the parking spot). I then drove the car for about 20 minutes, with a couple of runs into boost (Getting on the interstate). Coming back home, it happened again when I depressed the clutch to downshift from 3rd to 2nd. Again, it went all the way to the floor, and wouldn't come back up on it's own. I pulled over to the side of the road, pulled it up by hand again, and was able to drive the remaining ten minutes home without issue. During my 1/2 hour drive (when the clutch was working) it worked just fine, full pressure, no slippage, even on hard shifts.

When the issue presented itself (Clutch on floor, wouldn't return) the clutch was still fully engaged I.e. I couldn't get it in gear.


Initial thoughts: I initially thought that I had a leak in the system. I checked the fluid level, and it was normal. Also, I was unsure if a leak could cause the intermittent issue like this. Second thought was the slave cylinder, but, again, I'm unsure if it could cause an intermittent issue like this.


I've tried to explain the situation as thoroughly as I can. I'd say that I am a novice--intermediate garage mechanic. I can accomplish all basic maintenance tasks, and some of the more advanced ones on my own, but my knowledge on the theory of engine/driveline/transmission issues is a bit weak.

Any help in getting this going in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[Xit40]

My girlfriend's car had the same issue for a while. I would be driving it and when I went to shift the clutch would end up going all the way to the floor with little or no resistance and the car would go into gear kinda hard, but it still went in. Then it would drive fine for a while. After a while of this it just decided that it didn't want to work anymore. The whole process of this took about a week and it ended up being that her slave cylinder was going down the dumps. At first when it happened everything seemed to be fine no fluid level drop and no puddles under the car, but when it finally decided to stop working fluid just exploded everywhere. This happened on her 2001 Eclipse with like 45,000 miles. I thought it was ridiculous that a slave cylinder could go that fast. We just ended up replacing with a used on from a junkyard for like $20.

 

[bling5tatus]

Good deal, I also read somewhere, possibly here, that your clutch slave cylinder may not be droppping fluid, but if there's fluid inside the rubber boot that's on it, it's still leaking and is probably bad. Right now my clutch is doing the exact same thing you're describing. It's a competition clutch, I'm unsure of which one it is, but it's a competition clutch.... anyway, I plan on replacing the slave cylinder and after I do this weekend I'll update my post here and let you all know if it worked out.

 

[Xit40]

Yeah pretty much that's what happened to my girlfriends car. If there's fluid inside your boot it's shot. Eventually it starts leaking thru the rubber and then it's bye bye clutch pedal. It sucked when it happened to me. Brake fluid everywhere no way to drive the car. Also check you master cylinder and see if there's any wetness on your firewall where the rod goes thru it or in the engine bay under it. That could possibly cause the same problem, but it seems to be the slave.

 

[bling5tatus]

Yeah I've already checked for fluid inside the driver's compartment, and on the firewall, that's all good, I just think I'm gonna change the slave cylinder tomorrow and hopefully it'll be all good. The pedal does seem a bit soft, and I know I installed the flywheel/pressure plate correctly. Anyway, thanks for the advice and I'll write back here when I get the new slave cylinder on and let you all know if it fixed the issue, I'm sure it will.

 

[abweber]

I ended up just replacing both the Master and Slave cylinders this weekend. That seemed to do the trick. Thanks for all the help!

 

[tsunari]

I ended up just replacing both the Master and Slave cylinders this weekend. That seemed to do the trick. Thanks for all the help!

Good job- I was going to suggest this, because when I changed out my slave cylinder . . . about a month later, the master cylinder started to leak- best to change them both out at the same time

 

[bling5tatus]

Sorry for forgetting about this, I did change my slave cylinder and it fixed the issue.