Clutch pedal sometimes stays stuck
 

Hi there. I recently noticed a problem while driving on high-traffic (shopping weekends problem! :egrin:). During this traffic where is mostly moving the car 2 meters and stop, move and stop.. the clutch pedal got stuck while pressed deep. When I pulled smoothly with my feet it would release.

A friend told me to check the oil to see if it has enough, where can I check this? Other possible problems for this to happen? (I don't smell anything burned by the way)

If you can provide some image aiming where to check would be great ;)

You need to check the clutch hydraulics immediately. Check the fluid level in the reservoir, and look for leaks at the clutch master cylinder, clutch line & slave cylinder. If everything looks ok, try just bleeding the system.

To bleed the system, put an 8mm wrench on the slave cylinder's bleeder screw, and attach a small hose over the nipple. Run this hose into a cup of brake fluid, or back into the reservoir. Open the bleeder slightly, and have a friend push the clutch pedal to the floor. It will stick there. Now close the bleeder and have them pull the pedal back up. Repeat this over and over until bubbles stop coming out of the hose. It is very important that the hose end remain submerged in brake fluid or it will pull air in. It's also important that the bleeder be closed before allowing the clutch pedal to come back up.

If there is a visible leak, consider replacing all 3 items (master, slave, flexible line).

There must be some kind of return spring on the clutch pedal maybe it went south..

There's no return spring on the clutch pedal. This is likely a hydraulic problem.

Thanks for the answer's.

About the fluid level you mean the oil reservoir from the engine right? This one have good levels and the oil was changed recently. The problem doesn't occur often, it is even rare and happen's on massive traffic like I said. I also didn't saw any leaks at least on the floor, but could be leaking bits for the plastic protection under.

Since this should be like any other car it should be better to ask someone that know's to give a look.

From your reply I'm thinking you should really consider taking the car to a respectable shop. The engine oil has absolutely nothing to do with the clutch system. There is a completely separate reservoir of brake fluid that is used in the hydraulic system. Your brakes have a similar one right next to it in the back corner of the engine bay.

It's unlikely you would have a large enough leak to produce drips in the ground. Usually a small leak develops from one of the 3 main components I listed earlier, which can lead to paint being stripped off the immediate area & rust formation. You have to inspect the components themselves.

There are 2 things that would cause that: a hydraulic problem or a the diaphragm spring in the pressure plate going "over center". The latter would typically only happen at high RPM though. It's safe to say that you most likely have a hydraulic issue related to the slave or clutch master though.

mine had some problem
change the master clutch cure the problem for me

I had some issues replaced slave cylinder then on the there was an ajustmenton the pedel

There probably aren't many shops in Portugal that understand this car. What RotaryRocket posted should give you a good head start. On the FD (like many other cars, Miata for example), the clutch is hydraulically operated. Some cars (Miata) have a brake reservoir for brake fluid and a clutch reservoir for the clutch, which uses brake fluid as well. On the FD, the brake master cylinder and reservoir also doubles as the clutch master cylinder and reservoir. So...

Check the condition of the brake fluid. If it is dark and looks old, flush it and bleed your brakes and clutch. If the fluid looks light colored and fresh, consider bleeding the clutch (similar process as doing the brakes).

It could also be a clutch slave cylinder is bad. The clutch slave cylinder is located on the transmission a little under where the oil filter is. Follow the "clutch line" down to the slave cylinder.

The Factory Service Manual has diagrams of all this. The 3rd gen section has some recent threads on this topic as well if you wish to search for them.

Boa Sorte.

It doesn't have to be a shop that understands the car; just one that knows how to work on clutch hydraulics. I'm thinking the OP might be in over his head, otherwise I'd suggest overhauling the system on his own. Maybe it's a good time to start learning. These cars will make a mechanic out of you.

Gotcha

I had an Audi that did this. I had neglected the car for a few months during the summer, and when I started driving it again in the fall the pedal would stay on the floor. I just gave it some excercise, and after a few days it was working fine.

You might try just sitting in the car, working the pedal for a while. This will also be great excercise for your left leg. :)



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Thank you all again and gracer7-rx7 for the detailed how-to. I won't touch the car alone due to my lack of knowledge but I always carry the manuals, offline pages from here and all I can get on my laptop to help. The car has 42k Km's and the fluids look ok but I should replace them when winter ends next year; I'll ask a mechanic friend to check the system, an experienced eye is always useful to notice the little things.

Hehe.. ;) My problem is different I think and for it to be stucked it needs to be really pressed deep at end and hold in there a bit - which happen's on congestioned traffic when we brake and press clutch sometimes to much. Outside this scenario I never had problems, it works perfectly.

It could also be the clutch fork is cracked or is in the process of braking. Might want to search for past threads on the topic of "clutch fork" or check the FAQ.