clutch problem.
 

i got a 88 GXL and about a month ago the clutch pedal kept getting stuck to the floor when in neutral at least, still worked for a while for changing gears, i knew the clutch was messing up but the times i had to use the car were kind of emergencies. but after that i tried flushing and bleeding so many times. and from what i was told and from what i read on here that the master/slave cylindars went out and the hydrolics are pretty much gone for the clutch, cuz now the car wont even start when the clutch is pressed in so im guessing since theres no hydrolics its not being engaged to start the car. what i want to know is, i have the service manual for it and it looks pretty easy from what it says, but are there any really special tools or anything i need to do with the clutch pedal for fixing it? or is it just unscrew the cylindars from the hose take them out put the new ones on fill her up with brake fluid bleed and done? place i take it too is going to charge me 40 providing i get the parts for it. i guess thats not too bad but if i could save that money i would like to. also, i noticed some small black plastic looking pieces which looks like they broke off from something and the clutch for a while made this slight noticable clicking sound but stoped after a while. so if anyone can get back to me about this as soon as possible that would be grate.

Swapping the cylinders is fairly easy, though the slave is a pain to access so you will need a wobbly socket and a few extensions.

Generally you will want to replace both the master and slave as well as the flex hose. When one fails, they are all about to go.

$40 also isn't a bad price either.

You'll need to be more specific about the plastic pieces before anyone can comment.

im not sure, they looked like they broke off, they were just small black plastic looking peices, sorry i cant be more spefific then that, thats just exactly what i saw. i guess i can say they were kinda squarish. so for the cylindars though nothing special is needed? its just unbolt, unhook, re-hook bolt back in and bleed right and thats it?

Where are you located in CA? If it's in the Bay Area I'll cruise up and help, if you'd like me to. I'm only 40 minutes out of the Bay Area anyways.

im in the san gabrial valley east los angeles county. so no where near the bay area, appriciate the offer though man, actualy makes me feel good there are people still out there willing to help others, i think i should be okay though, orderd the parts today, i got the tools i need so as long as its just unbolt/bolt back on kind of installation i shouldnt have a problem. and my landlord is real good with cars so he said he will help me. thanks anyways man really appriciate the offer.

Well, were are these plastic pieces? Where did you find them? Do they have a wire attached?

i saw them on my floor board and no they did not have any wires attached, they were just broken pieces of black plastic things, im sorry but thats as spefific as i can be because thats what i saw.

definitely a clutch master/slave cylinder and hose replacement. I had the exact same problem last month. I have a first gen rx so not sure about the plastic issue your dealing with. Oh yeah. MAKE SURE YOU GET ALL THE AIR OUT.

Yeah man, good luck. Bleed the shit out of it, you should use at least one small bottle to ensure that it's out.

thanks all, cant wait to just get the parts now, orderd them so now just a waiting game, thanks for all the input as to helping me out. probably gonna need a new battery too car has been sitting for over a month now with no way of starting it. prob should change the sparks plugs and stuff too, if you drive everyday isnt it about every 10-12k miles you should get um replaced? i use NKG spark plugs.

okay, so i got my master and slave cylindar today. when i took the rubber boot off the slave cylindar to insert the push rod, im not sure if its a cover or what, but there is no spring or anything its just this like black looking covering but i cant get it off. though i cant tell if its a cover or not. plz help. in short i cant access the spring or anything to insert the push rod into.

its just a little rubber boot to keep dirt and nasty stuff getting into that area and into the cylinder. There is no spring, its just a push rod with a boot covering it. The larger diameter end of the boot slips over the end of the slave cylinder. The head of the push rod goes into the release fork, don't do it the other way or the rod will just slide through and not engage the release fork.

yeah, okay thank you, i have like 2 more questions to ask, 1 with the clutch and one about my steering.

if the clutch isnt engaging, which is why im replacing the cylinders cuz of course they went bad, could that not cuase the car to start? im trying to narrow things down if the car doesnt start after the new cylinders are put in if it still doesnt start. im looking into seeing if while im out and about today if i should pick up a new bat, new spark plugs and wires, its been about 35K miles since i last had spark plugs put in. and the battery is about oh id say 5-6yrs old.

now about my steering, though i had the steering pump replaced a while back and it did fix a problem of my steering wheel not wanting to turn period. when my car was working still about when i passed oh 30mph or so the steering would get extremly tight? what can cause that? could the PS pump have gone bad? rack and pinion messed up? bearing in the steering column?

If the clutch disc is not engaging (not getting pressed against the flywheel) then you should no problem starting the engine because its not transmitting power to the rear wheels. Was your transmission in gear? If the clutch is stuck engaged, you should be able to force the trans into neutral with a little force. But thats the mechanics...

How exactly is it not starting? Describe... I had a issue with my engine not starting after I replaced my clutch and the hydraulics. Weird thing was I removed and reinstalled the starter motor, and installed new spark plugs and it started then. It ran for a day, slow to crank starts then wouldn't start anymore. Eventually I got it to start by removing the fuel return hose and blew air through the check valve to make sure it was clean. Since i've done that my engine has been starting every time but it still is slow crank at first then it starts.

As for your power steering issue... this only happens when you go over 30 mph? I don't see how the pump would stop working when you go over that speed but be perfectly fine when below. Is this an instant change in steering weight? Like an on/off switch feeling? I'm not sure about that issue, may want to start a new thread for it to get the attention of those with knowledge about power steering. My only knowledge of it how to replace it in my 350Z...

well my master and slave cylinders went out, so the clutch is pretty much dead at that point. im getting them replaced, my car has been sitting for 2-2 1/2 months without being able to be started. it started fine at one point still, but i tried to flush the cylinders out to give that a shot it wouldn't start once i did the flush, i noticed that the engine was extremly and i mean extremly low on oil, so i did an oil change to see if that would help start it. didnt work, so i dont know as to why it wouldnt start unless the clutch since the hydrolics were dead wasnt engaging the safty switch to start the car, and i had the car in neutral, though now the battery is dead cuz its been sitting there and i know after that long the engine is flooded, so im hoping after i get the new cylinders in, new battery in, deflood the engine, and install new spark plugs that she will fire up.

as far as the steering issue it does feel like an on and off switch, like the steering will operate normaly until i hit about 30 then it gets extremly tight almost impossible to even make a normal turn, drop below 30 its fine again.

just installed a brand new master and slave on my car, i tried bleeding it for almost an hour, no fluid is coming out of the slave bleeder nor any air it seems like and the master res is staying full. is there something i missed along the line? or could it be that there is just so much air in the system that there is a blockage of some sort? ive read other forums of leaving the bleeder screw open and pumping the pedal to get the air out. also at first when i put the new master in the clutch didnt want to depress all the way to the floor, i loosend one of the bolts and it goes all the way down now but still no pressure in the system.

nvm, i got the thing working, just had to grav bleed the master to get fluid into the line, it was severly backed up with air, blew compressed sir through the metal line and blew out the blockage, then just bleed as normal then deflooded the engine car works grate now