Driving home from work on Friday, sitting at a stoplight. The light goes green, I put my clutch in and try to shift into gear, but I can't. The clutch pedal feels very soft, there is noticably less tension. So, I wave a line of about 50 cars around me. I keep shutting the car on and off and try to get it into gear. Finally, I put the clutch in and the pedal is vibrating, sort of like what it feels like if you have ABS in your car. I manage to get it into second gear and drive a little ways and park it somewhere safe. I figure that my fluid is low, or leaking, or a hose cracked, or something along those lines. But, someone stopped to help, and was offering me a ride home, so I locked the car and left it.

Got a friend to give me a ride to the car this morning, and sat and messed with it for a little while. The fluid reservoir is full, and all of the hoses look intact. When I push the clutch, I can see the piston move back and forth, and if I open the bleeder and push it, fluid does squirt out... So I know it is getting some pressure..

I'm thinking the master cylinder? But its not leaking or anything like it probably would if it blew a seal. What are some things I can do to test?

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

 

same thing happened to me about a week before i got my new clutch put in

i was driving up a hill going like 15, went to shift and nothing... it just reved and reved... it was like there was no clutch at all and it wasnt because of it slipping.

i managed to get it the 2 blocks home, shut it off, took a shower and then left to go back to school and when i came out to drive it again it was fine...

i checked everything on my tib and couldnt find why it would do that, still not sure what it could be

 

Hmm... that sounds alot like what just happened to me two weeks ago. For me tho, a seal broke and i could see the fluid leaking. It was the slave cylinder and i just had to replace it. But if yours isnt leaking... hmmm i dont know. get someone to keep pressing the clutch to see whats going on. And check under the car/ on the transmission housing for any signs of leaks.

 

So you can see the piston moving.... It's just not moving far enough? The slave cylinder could also be leaking. Remove the rubber boot around the piston, the fluid might just be getting caught in that so you don't see a leak there. I would bleed it again before anything else. If nothing is leaking, and theres no air in there, and it's still not pushing the slave out far enough, then you're likely looking at a master cylinder problem.

 

The vibration makes me think, maybe you have lost your throw-out bearing?

 

Nooooo don't say that^^^

How far is the piston supposed to move? I was thinking I could like take a crowbar or something like that and move the arm myself to see if the problem is in the tranny or not? If I took the piston out, since it is really easy to get to, is there something I could do to test to see if that is the problem (like a broken push rod or something)?

I'm not sure how to troubleshoot this..

 

Try moving it manually. Just disconnect the boot on the slave cylinder from the body of the cylinder so you can kind of see inside it. Then move the arm manually, until you start to see the piston body poke out. Try not to go farther than that, or the piston could pop out, which is no big deal, but you'll lose a bunch of fluid trying to get it back in. I think the piston body should extend to about 1/2" before the end of the piston, although this is just a guestimate.

If your clutch is moving close to this far with pedal movement, then he's probably right, TOB. You shouldnt have to fully extend this arm to be able to engage the clutch.

 

Would TOB also explain the loss in tension of the pedal? It feels like there's no pressure building up.

 

Did you try starting the car and working the clutch lever by hand to feel for vibration bypassing the petal hydrolics? It would at least let you know where the shaking is comming from. Taking a guess i would have to say that something in the transmission like the TB needs looked at. I dont see how hydrolic line would pulse unless it had resistance to push on and also have a leak.

 

If the ears on the bearing are broken off (broken throw out fork too I guess) then the bearing would just spin, maybe occasionally catching by chance on the fork. If the throwout bearing isn't pulling on the pressure plate, then you aren't really pushing against anything except the slave cylinder itself when you push the pedal. Not saying that's your problem but it could be.