sometimes while i am sitting at a light and i have it in first with the clutch pressed in the car tries to go forward but since i have my foot on the brake it just dies. does that mean my trow out bearing is going bad? it only happens the first time i drive it each day... sometimes it doesnt happen at all.. so now at stop lights i take it out of gear. i am going to replace the clutch as part of my upgrades. i just wanted to know if this was normal or not.

 

Either your clutch master cyilinder is bad, the slave cylinder is bad, or there's a small leak in the line. When you have the pedal held down the hydraulics are leaking fluid/pressure and letting the clutch engage itself.

 

I concur. I would do the complete replacement of the clutch mc, clutch slave cylinder and the rubber hose. That way you will have another 20+ years of trouble free service.


John

 

hmm i didnt think about that.. thanks guys... guess its a good time to get that ss clutch line..

 

Dont stop there, get the metal line. You'll go trough hell getting one, but Victoria British has one.

 

ss is metal... or do you mean a whole solid metal tube

 

Braided lines are rubber/similar sheathed in braid. They aren't hardline.

 

i had the same problem and i adjusted the clutch pedal using the rod and the nut and it cleared it up just fine. check your pedal adjustment.

 

i will look into that
but i think it would be a good idea to get everything replaced anyways..

 

I'm have the exact same problem, although mine is a little more severe.

I just got a new (well, re-man) set of hydraulics (both cylinders and a new rubber hose) from Advance Auto today, and I'm going to put them in over the weekend. Less than a hundred bucks, and it shouldn't take too much time.

One of the big clues that the hydraulics are most likely the problem is that my brake fluid is completely black. Even after bleeding the lines (and, in the process, cycling in a whole small bottle of fluid), the fluid is still just as black. Apparently, that indicates that the master piston seals are totally shot and it's moving the pistion back and forth, but the piston is just letting the fluid seep by.

 

hmmm... i will have to look at it tomorrow in the light

 

You diagnosed that one correctly about the black hydraulic fluid - this is an indication that the fluid is permeated with the broken down particles from the rubber seals of the piston. The black fluid won't get better if you drain and refill, since the piston is what's deteriorating, not the fluid.

New, fresh DOT3 hydraulic fluid is clear, or may have a slightly yellow tint to it, but when it starts to get darker, you definitely have a seal problem.

As stated, replacement of the clutch MC and SC, along with the flexible line will likely fix your problem. If it's still there after you perform all the work (and bleed the system appropriately), check back, as you may have a completely different problem with the clutch TO bearing, or even the Pilot Bearing - usually these are accompanied by a grinding, rattling sound when you have the clutch in or out. HTH,

 

thanks long duck.... your car looks sweet by the way

 

LongDuck, I really really really hate the way you're right all the flippin' time.

It took me a while to get the new hydraulics installed (I had to go junkyarding for a new master-to-slave hardline as my old one was fused permanently to the softline), but I bled it out this morning and gave it a try. While the clutch action is much firmer now than it was before, I still have difficulty getting the car into gear, and if I listen closely, there is definately the TO bearing noise eminating from the floorboards.

I ordered the clutch set from Advance today, and it looks like tomorrow will be drop-the-tranny day. Any sage bits of wisdom? (I'm putting in a new clutch, TO bearing, and pilot bearing. I assumed that I should also replace the pilot bearing seal, and the output shaft seal. Can I do the rear main seal at the same time, or is that the pilot bearing seal? What about the tranny's input shaft seal? Should that be replaced while I have it off the car anyway?)

 

I'm gonna bring this back to life, since I'm having the same problem. My clutch was going all the way to the floor but not disengaging, this resulted in me putting my car into reverse when I had the clutch on the floor, but it wasn't disengaged

Bled the clutch, problem solved! For a while....Now it's back and when I was pulling out of school I had the clutch on the floor and the car tried to die twice, then coming home the clutch was letting out so early it was hard to drive.

Now that I see this thread, when I bled my clutch the first time, my brake and clutch fluid were nearly solid black... So it must be my master/slave clutch cylinder and not the hose right? I'm replacing the hose anyway if I replace anything, but I'm wondering if I should just change the hose then try that, or just replace it all at once.

Now for the new question (I don't know much about this stuff so bare with me), would the clutch cylinders wearing out cause the BRAKE fluid to be black as well as the clutch fluid? Or am I looking at a new set of problems?

 

The clutch problem would not make the Brake fluid have a problem, They are entirely seperate.

It is a good Idea to replace the master and slave at the same time, Would not hurt to do the lines also.

My slave had a small leak and would pull air over a week or more, I could blead it and work fine for a few days and then started haveing the grabbing problem again.

 

Chances are since the fluid was black that means they are just worn out, not a leak right?

The car IS 20 years old afterall..and I'm sure it sitting for 3-4 years didn't help.