Ok here is the scenario. I start up my car put it in first and drive about 1/2 a block. I come to a stop sign put it in neutral and the clutch stays on the floorboard. I lift the pedal back up with my foot and it works normally all the way home. Any clue as to what this issue might be? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Shogun

 

Start with the clutch hydraulics - either they're bad or need to be bled.

I've had a master cylinder on my old TurboII that would slowly fail - driving around it was fine, but if you didn't push the pedal for a while (for example, after cruising down the interstate for a few hours in 5th or first thing in the morning) the pedal would go to the floor and need to be pumped back up.

The other possibility is a broken clutch fork, which is a pain to replace.

But, I would suspect the clutch hydraulics first.

Dale

 

Is this the same as the brake master cylinder or is there a specific one for the clutch?

 

I had the same problem...drifting in 2nd gear on a racetrack with another car only inches off my rear bumper..

went to put it into third and the clutch stayed on the floor....ended up in neutral coasting until i could select a gear (rev matching to select without clutch)
don't know how the car behind me missed me..

Turned out to be the hydraulic line that runs down near the spark plugs had failed. Maybe yours fails under higher pressures?..

 

One reservoir is shared by the brakes and clutch.

-Max

 

How can you tell if the line is bad, do you look for a leak? I assume there is only one line going from the master cylinder to the clutch. Is there a bleader on/near the transmission housing to bleed the line in case there is just a bubble in it? Thanks for all the help guys this is my first time trouble shooting a clutch issue like this.

 

Is there a way to tell if the slave cylinder is bad?

 

The car has these hydraulics:
One reservoir, two master cylinders (one brake, one clutch), and a slave cylinder for the clutch. The brake 'slave' is the calipers themselves. The clutch slave has a bleeder screw on it, pointing toward the rear of the car.

I don't know of a direct way to inspect or test the slave, other than to be sure that 1) the clutch fork and pressure plate are intact and providing normal resistance to the slave, and 2) the slave somehow isn't getting the job done. If you find fluid leaking from the bellows of the slave, you know it's bad.

Inspect the lines leading from the clutch master cylinder to the slave, looking for leaks. If nothing, I would replace both the clutch slave and master together and bleed the system well. Replacing only one side supposedly has a high failure rate, so 'they' recommend doing both.

Dave

 

Thanks for the info. I inspected as much of the tubing from the clutch master cylinder to the tranny as I could see and no leaks there or under the car. I will order the Clutch master/slave today and change them out.

 

I had the same problem last week. Ordered a clutch master cylinder from Ray Crowe, installed and bled it, now it works like a champ!

 

If you don't need your old ones for a core replacement, I'll buy them. I have rebuild kits sitting here, and I would prefer to not have to do the rebuild while the car is on stands.

Dave

 

If your clutch operates normally some of the time, it is not a bad clutch fork. I think it is the slave cylinder.

 

Bringing this thread back to life as a reminder to all noobs that you can find what you want by searching rather than posting....I sometimes get sick of people asking questions that have been answered before.

(And yes, I AM still angry about having to get towed home after either my slave cylinder or hydraulic line shat itself and spewed fluid everywhere. The above description is exactly what just happened to me, except for the drifting bit. I wasn't hammering it at the time)

On a more serious note - according to the FSM the clutch fluid runs in solid metal tubes out of the master, and into the slave. Is it a solid metal tube all the way or are there rubber sections I should be checking out on the weekend as a possible failure location. I can't see how a solid hydraulic line woud fail so suddenly.

 

There is a rubber clutch hose that starts right near the oil filter and runs about 15" down toward the slave. It's about $30US to replace it with a steel braided one.

Dave

 

Awesome, thanks Dave. I'll be investigating further Sat morning. Hopefully it's a quick fix so I can get into my boost issues (which is what I had this weekend pencilled in for)

 

That rubber hose was the culprit. There was a large split near the fitting at the lower end. Nice and easy fix.