I have never seen a hydro clutch that needed some oumph to push down. It has a full thing of fluid. why the hell is it so stiff? the car has sat for some time but that should be doing it should it?

 

.Brake fluid is Hygroscopic.. weaning that it will draw moisture from the air.. Hence, the warning to use only fluid from a sealed, unopened bottle when changing or adding fluids...

My guess is that significant moisture has built up in the clutch master that the interior has corroed and it needs to be rebuilt, or more likely, replaced.. could be the slave cylinder as well, but more likely the master

 

onward to napa. it looks a little...ummm...worn. could i try to change to fuild out completely to see if it makes a difference and perhaps save my *** from buying something?

 

I've found that its best to replace it.. doing a rebuild kit isn't all that hard.. but, if its corroded inside.. you need to run a hone through it.. and thats a damn small hone....

 

Would putting new fluid in then the next day after driving its black again signal corrosion?

 

pull the slave cyl off and get it up higher than the master, and bleed the fluid till it's clean. Put it back on and see how it works.

you'll need to use a clamp or something to prevent the slave cyl from coming out while you try and bleed it

 

What clutch? How hard are you talking? If it's an aftermarket clutch it can be stiffer than stock, some more so than others.

 

i had both off and rebuilt it was clean for about 2 days then it was black again lol

 

I have the original slave and master still on my car- 210K on 'em now- and I rebuild them once a year (25,000 miles for me). They really don't corrode as much as build up gunk at the edges of the pistons' travels (same thing with brake master)...

Take some green scotchbrite, roll it up, and clean the gunk out of the bore using the scotchbrite and a solvent (I use acetone). Do this once a year while rebuilding the cylinders, (about $20 for both kits) and you'll never have clutch hydraulic problems again

 

You and your acetone...

My clutch is somewhat heavy compared to new vehicles, and I rather like it that way. I've test driven a few newer cars, and the clutch feels like it's not connected to anything! I've almost put my foot through the floor when pressing the clutch.

-=Russ=-

 

i like a stiff pedal too, myh centerforce feels about perfect to me. driving my stock fc feels like im squishing pillows together with the pedal

 

Lol, there's actually a good reason I keep recommending it- it's the "happy medium" of solvents...I've used them all in my career, so I know what works...

You have your kick-*** stuff: 1,1,1 trichchloro (now illegal) and MEK, the ultimate solvents, but they evaporate very quickly, and they kill the ozone and your liver, in that order...

Then you have the toulenes and acetone, still kick-*** as solvents, not quite so hazardous, and don't evaporate as fast, yet fast enough that you can use them on your car without worrying about taking the paint off...

And on the whimpy end of the spectrum are your turpentines, thinners, alcohols and ammonias, which is what most of the over-the-counter store bought solvents contain. They just don't clean up as good for me, therefore...

Acetone rules

Disclaimer: just don't sniff it for extended periods, lol

 

To thoughs of you who have dark fluid a few day's later, check your lines. I replaced my 86's clutch thinking it was pretty bad, slipped like crazy. Turned out it was some ver old, britle, worn out Hydralic lines from the Master to the Slave. The lines literally broke down from the inside which ruined the slave cylinder, only let it retract about 2/3 of the way in, keeping just enough of the pistion out to keep the clutch engaged, hench the slipping. Replaced the slave cylinder, thinking that was just the problem, bleed the system and the junk in the line backed up into the master cylinder and ruined that too. Ended up replaceing nearly the whole Clutch Hydralic system because of some old lines.

 

mine is reminisant of a Semi truck.