I think my clutch is dead!

[Romano89]

Lately my clutch pedal has been getting harder and hard to depress, with the engage point moving further and further into the pedal, almost to the floor.

 

Getting into gears has been not been smooth, even at higher RPM. I figured my clutch was on the way out and then this morning, I could not get the car into gear with the motor running! Fortunately it happened while I was at home!

 

When the car is off I can put it into gear and as soon as the motor cranks over the car moves. I am pretty sure my clutch is history but I would like to be totally positive before I begin tearing it down.

[PtPixel]

Could be fork/spring and not the clutch itself... Probably would have had a much more dramatic death if it was the clutch plate or disc.

 

You can put it into gear when the motor isn't running as the gears aren't spinning. Unless you're really confident at rev matching you'll need to pull some bits apart

[Max Capacity]

If your going to pull it apart, might as well have a new clutch ready to go in.

 

Unless you have a ACT with low miles on it.

 

How old is the clutch in the car ?

 

Do you need a SMFW too ?

[DeltaNu1142]

Welcome to the forum.

 

I'll have a CCI stage 2 clutch and lightweight flywheel up for sale in a few weeks. Only about 3-4k miles on it. If interested, let me know.

[Romano89]

If your going to pull it apart, might as well have a new clutch ready to go in.

 

Unless you have a ACT with low miles on it.

 

How old is the clutch in the car ?

 

Do you need a SMFW too ?

 

As far as I know, the clutch is stock. I got the car with 30k and now it has 80k.

 

SMFW?

[BarManBean]

This sounds like a slave cylinder / master cylinder issue. If you can change gears while the car is running it's because the slave isn't moving the clutch fork enough to allow for the clutch to completely disengage. The fact that it's been gradually happening over time makes me think you may have developed a small leak. Check the fluid level in the clutch master cylinder and go from there. Might want to remove the TMIC to check for drips on the top of the transmission from the hose / slave cylinder area.

 

For kicks, try to put the car into gear while it's off, leave it in gear and while holding the clutch all the way to the floor start the car. Hold the clutch all the way to the floor--does the car begin to roll?

[DeltaNu1142]

SMFW?

SMFW = single-mass flywheel.

DMFW = dual-mass flywheel.

LWFW = lightweight flywheel.

MCFW = Miley Cyrus flywheel.

[Romano89]

For kicks, try to put the car into gear while it's off, leave it in gear and while holding the clutch all the way to the floor start the car. Hold the clutch all the way to the floor--does the car begin to roll?

 

The only way to get the car in gear is with engine off. Once in gear and I turn the motor over, the car does move. I also cannot get back into neutral with the engine running, I have to shut it off.

[BarManBean]

The only way to get the car in gear is with engine off. Once in gear and I turn the motor over, the car does move. I also cannot get back into neutral with the engine running, I have to shut it off.

 

That means your clutch pedal isn't providing enough travel to allow the clutch to completely disengage. You can adjust the clutch pedal to fix this, although from the sound of things that will only be a temporary solution. Check / bleed your clutch master cylinder (CMC) and clutch slave cylinder (CSC). Address any leaks that you find--it's sounds like you have one. It's possibly your slave cylinder is failing as well, although I don't think that's a typical failure.

 

Edit: I had a similar situation when I installed my new clutch. I had to adjust the pedal to make the overall travel longer. My issue was clearly related to new clutch install though, yours has been gradually getting worse which is why I'm suggesting looking at the hydraulic system.

[RWebb]

This sounds like a slave cylinder / master cylinder issue. If you can change gears while the car is running it's because the slave isn't moving the clutch fork enough to allow for the clutch to completely disengage. The fact that it's been gradually happening over time makes me think you may have developed a small leak. Check the fluid level in the clutch master cylinder and go from there. Might want to remove the TMIC to check for drips on the top of the transmission from the hose / slave cylinder area.

 

For kicks, try to put the car into gear while it's off, leave it in gear and while holding the clutch all the way to the floor start the car. Hold the clutch all the way to the floor--does the car begin to roll?

 

^ This.

 

 

the easiest way to know if the clutch is going...get on the HW in 5th and floor it. If it slips its going.

[Max Capacity]

If the fluid level is good, you can adjust the pedal travel but that is only going to work till the clutch wears out again.

 

Personally I have not had to change the pedal adjustment on my cars.

 

I don't understand why it may be nessary. If the clutch is working correctly you should not have to adjust anything.

 

Check for leaking fluid like BMB said.

 

What year car ?

[BarManBean]

There's no reason that a clutch wearing out should cause this--quite the opposite. If you install a new clutch with additional friction material like I did, I can see why the pedal would need to be adjusted. It's not common, but I'm not the only one that has needed to do it.

 

Wearing away material should cause the opposite scenario, if anything. The symptoms here don't seem indicative of clutch wear (although I don't know the mileage here and that could be a separate issue also)

[Romano89]

That means your clutch pedal isn't providing enough travel to allow the clutch to completely disengage. You can adjust the clutch pedal to fix this, although from the sound of things that will only be a temporary solution. Check / bleed your clutch master cylinder (CMC) and clutch slave cylinder (CSC). Address any leaks that you find--it's sounds like you have one. It's possibly your slave cylinder is failing as well, although I don't think that's a typical failure.

 

I played around with the clutch linkage last night with no change. I will take a look at the hydraulic system as soon as I have a chance.

 

Would the hydraulic leak enough to leave oil on a parked surface? I have not seen oil spots in the driveway.

[BarManBean]

Would the hydraulic leak enough to leave oil on a parked surface? I have not seen oil spots in the driveway.

 

Don't think so. If it was dripping that much you'd probably have a complete failure--you would push your clutch pedal it and it wouldn't come back out.

[Max Capacity]

The system doesn't hold that much fluid. It might not make it to the floor.

[cww]

The clutch slave cylinder and the hose that feeds it fluid are on the top side of the engine, near the pitch stop mount, where the block and transmission bell housing come together. If it's leaking, the fluid will likely be in that general area.

 

If you replace the slave cylinder, you will need to bleed it, which is is similar to bleeding brakes. You will need 2 people. Here's a tutorial on replacing / bleeding:

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/replacing-clutch-slave-cylinder-113408.html

 

I hope it's the slave cylinder and not the clutch, because that makes this a much cheaper and less time consuming repair. At 80k though, it's not abnormal for the clutch to go out.

[Romano89]

I hope it's the slave cylinder and not the clutch, because that makes this a much cheaper and less time consuming repair. At 80k though, it's not abnormal for the clutch to go out.

 

 

Thanks for the link, very helpful.

[Romano89]

Okay so I had time to inspect the slave cylinder. The fluid in the main was a tad low so I added some fluid. No change. Slave cylinder itself is clean with no visible leaks. Check out the video below - skip to 00:14. I think it is okay but I am not an expert. What do you think?

 

http://s129.photobucket.com/user/Romano89/media/IMG_0626_zpsf9a4ce12.mp4.html

[BarManBean]

Looks like it's working properly but for whatever reason you're not getting enough travel. Bleed the CSC and CMC, put everything back together and see if that solves your issue. If not, try adjusting the clutch pedal. If that doesn't work you may have to open things up.

[cww]

I can't watch the video while I'm at work. Did you bleed it or just add fluid? If there is air trapped in there, part of your clutch pedal / slave cylinder travel will be used to compress that air and not move the fluid. You will have the same problem as before (air instead of fluid in the system). As BarManBean said, your clutch pedal isn't providing enough travel to allow the clutch to completely disengage.

 

When I replaced my clutch and slave cylinder, I moved probably 300mL of new fluid through there before the bubbles were gone and the clutch pedal felt right.

[Romano89]

Bled the slave cylinder. With the clutch pumped and then held down, I opened the valve and a strteam of fluid came out, then nothing. Pedal became stuck to the floor. Is this normal? I thought fluid should come out the entire time the valve was open, not just one stream.

[BarManBean]

normal. you pump the pedal and hold to the floor; open valve; let fluid come out; close valve; raise clutch pedal back up; pump and hold to the floor; open valve....and so on.

[cww]

You only did it one time? Bleeding requires you to repeat the steps over and over until there is no longer bubbles in the fluid. Read the tutorial I posted before. Also, make sure to keep adding fluid to the reservoir during this process. Don't let the reservoir go dry or you have to start over.

[cww]

BarManBean is always a few seconds ahead of me haha. Listen to him he seems to know what's up.

[Romano89]

You only did it one time? Bleeding requires you to repeat the steps over and over until there is no longer bubbles in the fluid. Read the tutorial I posted before. Also, make sure to keep adding fluid to the reservoir during this process. Don't let the reservoir go dry or you have to start over.

 

No, bled three or four times.