Hey guys,

thanks heaps for the guidance on performing the clutch bleed. I did it today, a little bit of air came out and it seemed to slightly improve clutch operations however the problem of the car sticking in gear (as mentioned in a previous thread this is mainly when sitting in 1st gear at the traffic lights or moving slowly in reverse) and stalling still exists. Someone suggested that it may be the master or slave cylinder that needs replacing.

If it is something bigger like this im guessing that i shouldn't do it myself since im nowhere near a mechanic. Is there a way however to determine the exact problem? is the sympten i have a sign that a cylinder needs replacing.

Any guidance here guys would be GREATLY appreciated. I live in australia and have $400 aussie dollars left to get the car into good nick before going for the road worthy certificate. Then i can register it. I want to do as much as possible myself or with the help of mechanically minded friends whom i have, before taking the car in to someplace where they charge 22 bucks an hour just for their time.

ok, cheers for the help, talk to u all soon.

Matt.

*my vehicle is a series 2, 1982 model.

 

Not entirely sure what you mean by "sticking in gear." Can you describe it better? When the clutch hydraulics failed on my car, I lost the clutch entirely, couldn't shift out of gear at all.

Have you inspected the slave cylinder? That's the one mounted on the transmission. Look closely at the rubber boot. Peel it back some and see if there's fluid inside. That's a sign that the slave needs to be rebuilt or replaced.

Has the fluid level dropped at all since you added fluid and bled the system?

You said the clutch master cylinder was empty. The fluid had to go somewhere. I would guess it leaked out. I'd start with replacing the clutch master cylinder, the slave cylinder and the lines. All the advice I've gotten says to replace the stuff at the same time because if one component failed, the others aren't far behind.

I'm not sure about whether there could be a problem with the clutch itself or the pressure plate or the bearing, as I've not experienced failures with them, so others will need to speak to those things.

 

Changing the master and slaves really is not all that bad. There are some good write- ups in this forum describing the necessary methods. This was the first problem I tackled on my 7 and I'm so happy that i did not pay somebody. Take your time and do your research.

 

In his other thread, I dont remember him mentioning other stuff. Assuming that his clutch package is ship shape condition, I bet his master is leaking so check for leak inside the car where the pushrod meets the clutch master.

If the M/C needs replacement, I highly recommend to replace the clutch flex lines and slave cylinder at the same time.

 

I had a similar problem, and found that my clutch master cylinder was leaking. I replaced it, the slave cylinder, and the rubber hose that goes to it. It's hard to get to the slave cylinder through the rats nest, but doable. Also dropped the transmission and put in a new clutch / pressure plate and throughout bearing at the same time, so I don't know if the master/slave cylinder would have fixed the original problem...

- David

 

That's the part I don't know about. Other than slippage, which I would think you'd feel, how would you know? Can you see enough through the inspection port to know if things are bad? I would think he'd hear some sort of noise if the pressure plate was broken or the bearing was shot, right?

As far as the difficulty of replacing the clutch hydraulics, frisbeedog is right. It's easy but messy. I don't have the rat's nest or the beehive, so it wasn't too hard. Bleeding was a PITA but there's lots of threads talking about how to replace and bleed.

 

Thru the inspection hole, you cant see the condition of the disc as the pressure plate would be blocking it. And you're right, you can hear or feel signs of clutch failure.

 

i cant believe no one has said this.. but if you didnt bleed it completely, and get it adjusted correctly, it could still not be releasing entirely..

when you push the clutch to the floor, when can you feel it start to get harder? does it continue getting hard to the floor, or does it ease up after getting hard before the floor.

and the clutch slipping has nothing to do with this, in fact if the clutch slipped, it would be easier to get into/out of gear. the only reason her is having problems is because the pressure plate is not releasing entirely. and the grippyness of the cutch disc is what is holding the trans in gear.

kind of like when your driving, you cant pull it out if gear, unless you clutch it, or blip the throttle.

EDIT: i missed that he said the resevoir was empty. do what they said, new master/slave/lines. because the fluid has to go somewhere. so either a seal is bad in the slave or master, or the lina has ruptured, which i doubt sinc eyou can still drive it.

 

did you adjust the clutch pedal movement? inbetween the clutch pedal and master cylinder is a rod with a lock nut. bitch to get too!!

 

ok one common factor seems to be the news that i said the "little cyclinder where you top up the fluid" was empty when i first took the car out of the garage (it was in there for about 4 years). I will have a look today and try to visibly spot some leakage but i don't think i'll be very good at finding it as im pretty crap with cars, bleeding it and doing the oil change was a massive thing for me.

i wish i was on american time as i seem to get all these great answers during the middle of the night... ah well... *sigh* at least i can read them all every morning when i get up.

GoT

 

Look inside the car, up by the clutch pedal. Pull the carpet back to see if it's damp. That would indicate a leaky clutch master (part that the fluid resevoir is mounted to).

 

ok i'll try that in a minute once my coffee is brewed. um... when i said it was empty, that was after 4 years of sitting there. after refilling i dont see any obvious evidence of leaking. i bled it and seemed better for a few mins. then... back to the old tricks... it might have just been my imagination.

i'll go out front in a minute and have a look at the carpet area.

cheers,

matt

 

Depending on how far the dry conditions got, it could have damaged the seals and/or piston inside the clutch master and/or slave.
As popinted out before, the lost fluid went somewhere, now you just have to find out where.

 

If it sat for 4 years and the fluid was down, replace all of it now and save the later headaches. Hardest part of the job is getting under the dash and removing/installing the nuts. Sucks getting older too. 2nd biggest problem is breaking the soft line loose from the hardline on the firewall. You will need a good penetrating fluid, along with both a 17 an 10 mm split spanner. The slave take an 8 mm on the bleeder.

 

Yes. Just replace the lot of it and save headaches. Don't bother looking for leaks. It's not horribly expensive, $100USD or less around here for the master, slave and flex line, not sure about the hard line. And you'll know that's one thing you don't have to worry about.