Clutch imminent failure?

Wivvix · Postby **Wivvix** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 4:32 pm

So I pulled into the driveway (just now) after a 30 minute trip on the fwy.
As I rolled down the driveway into the garage I went to clutch out for some more power and the car almost stalled.
I shifted to neutral and clutched out again while stationary, and the clutch pedal returned only about an inch.
About 30 seconds later it was back to normal operation.

So i've checked fluid levels, checked for leaks on the slave rubber boot, and thus far no glaring/obvious signs of failure.
Is it possible/probable for air to get into the line and cause a momentary issue like such, or am I right in predicting imminent failure?

de Bounce · Postby **de Bounce** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 6:38 pm

When you say you checked the slave boot rubber did you give it a squeeze to check if any fluid was inside or peal it from the cylinder and check for fluid.

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 5:25 pm

It sounds more like hydraulic failure than mechanical. Are both slave and master cylinders bolted in OK? If the car was of Italian origin I'd say make sure the firewall around the clutch master cylinder is not breaking or rusted out.

Wivvix · Postby **Wivvix** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 11:19 pm

de Bounce wrote:When you say you checked the slave boot rubber did you give it a squeeze to check if any fluid was inside or peal it from the cylinder and check for fluid.

I mean to say I visually inspected it, and checked it for evident residue/fluid on the boot. There hasn't been any fluid on the ground, and the master cylinder fluid was full when I checked it yesterday.

manga_blue wrote:It sounds more like hydraulic failure than mechanical. Are both slave and master cylinders bolted in OK? If the car was of Italian origin I'd say make sure the firewall around the clutch master cylinder is not breaking or rusted out.

I can say for certain the master cylinder is bolted in correctly. As I didn't have the car off the ground, it was very awkward to get access to the slave cylinder, so I couldn't actually see it's attachment points.

I'll put the car on jack stands tomorrow for a better look if I can't get it into my mates shop.
Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback guys.

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Mon Nov 15, 2010 10:28 am

When you're under there looking get a mate to depress the clutch pedal and make sure the pushrod from the slave is pushing out all the way, moving the clutch release lever correctly and holding out there if you keep the pedal depressed for a few seconds. As I said, it sounds like hydraulics - loose mounts are only a long shot.

de Bounce · Postby **de Bounce** » Mon Nov 15, 2010 4:33 pm

Wivvix wrote:
de Bounce wrote:When you say you checked the slave boot rubber did you give it a squeeze to check if any fluid was inside or peal it from the cylinder and check for fluid.

I mean to say I visually inspected it, and checked it for evident residue/fluid on the boot. There hasn't been any fluid on the ground, and the master cylinder fluid was full when I checked it yesterday.

Mine was clean and dry with no sign of fluid - until I squeezed the rubber boot.
Amazing how little it needs to leak to cause the clutch to play up.