Clutch Pedal Sticking Half Way
02-11-2016, 07:21 PM
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Clutch Pedal Sticking Half Way
Just replaced master & slave cylinder then bled the system. However my clutch pedal only comes up half way now. I watched my master cylinder go half way in before it started to build pressure. Any advice?
02-11-2016, 08:43 PM
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Tried bleeding it more, went through half a bottle of brake fluid with no luck so I adjusted the pushrod then tried to start it. It lost all play and bent the pushrod when she started. Im dumbfounded
02-11-2016, 11:13 PM
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also it had a ton of pressure just now so i let out some fluid and it lost all pressure (didnt get air in the system) now it wont build any pressure back up again. anywayssss... heres what happened: i was pulling up to a light, everything fine, so i shifted to neutral. the light turns green so i go to push on the clutch pedal and it shifts then dies. i push the clutch in she starts back up and i can feel theres no pressure until the last couple inches. i attempt to get home with as clutch use as possible but dont make it more than a couple blocks and call a tow truck. upon hopping out of the car there is a STRONG burning smell. initially i thought it was a burnt clutch till i realized it never slipped on me. So you think it could be the pressure plate?
02-12-2016, 01:15 PM
#7
Sorry to say, now I'm thinking clutch issues even more so, it sounds like it WAS slipping on you, just maybe not so obviously. Something wrong with the clutch or pressure plate, I think the clutch was already a problem when you stopped at the light and just got worse when you started back up and up-shifted. If your clutch was fairly worn often a large piece can break off unexpectedly given there is little thickness left on the material and then it fails in an even minor stress load situation like starting up from a light for example, which is more stress on the drive train then you would expect since you're rolling the entire car from a complete stand still.
Had something similar happen to me twice in different cars in the past, granted it was on the track and it was at speed but still stock based performance clutches and in spite of a bit of heavier driving stress there was no real reasonable cause for the failures and could have happened in any case.
One time the clutch came apart in one round piece, ripped the rivets out of the center of it so the outside portion was still in one piece floating around and would engage, or not, as it lined up properly, was at Road America so it was a long track. I ran 3 more laps after making an initial pit stop as it happened going down the back section early in the race and with a new clutch so no reason initially to suspect the clutch but we were having issues with boiling the clutch fluid because the slave cylinder was too close to the headers.
As I was down shifting for Canada corner very early in the race, got a hard clutch peddle like you're describing, I rev match too on the down shift so very easy on the clutch. In fact these are the only 2 failures I've had in 30+ years of competition, but it was hard to get into a gear then hard to get out of gear so I went straight into the pits. Checked the hydraulics and bled it, but alas, no joy, was going to go behind the wall when it engaged and thought great fixed! Went back out for 2 more laps rev matching on the up shift sometimes the clutch engaged sometimes it didn't, retired and tore it down to find the clutch in about 3 whole pieces the one big one in a complete circle and the other 2 from the inside floating around and when one would overlap the outside piece the clutch wouldn't disengage and you got a hard pedal because there was no spring slack available.
Also had a similar situation at Sebring some years earlier in a different car, was hard to tell it was the clutch in that case too in both cases it was fairly new clutches so didn't suspect clutch at all, but ultimately had to be faulty parts in that case.
Had something similar happen to me twice in different cars in the past, granted it was on the track and it was at speed but still stock based performance clutches and in spite of a bit of heavier driving stress there was no real reasonable cause for the failures and could have happened in any case.
One time the clutch came apart in one round piece, ripped the rivets out of the center of it so the outside portion was still in one piece floating around and would engage, or not, as it lined up properly, was at Road America so it was a long track. I ran 3 more laps after making an initial pit stop as it happened going down the back section early in the race and with a new clutch so no reason initially to suspect the clutch but we were having issues with boiling the clutch fluid because the slave cylinder was too close to the headers.
As I was down shifting for Canada corner very early in the race, got a hard clutch peddle like you're describing, I rev match too on the down shift so very easy on the clutch. In fact these are the only 2 failures I've had in 30+ years of competition, but it was hard to get into a gear then hard to get out of gear so I went straight into the pits. Checked the hydraulics and bled it, but alas, no joy, was going to go behind the wall when it engaged and thought great fixed! Went back out for 2 more laps rev matching on the up shift sometimes the clutch engaged sometimes it didn't, retired and tore it down to find the clutch in about 3 whole pieces the one big one in a complete circle and the other 2 from the inside floating around and when one would overlap the outside piece the clutch wouldn't disengage and you got a hard pedal because there was no spring slack available.
Also had a similar situation at Sebring some years earlier in a different car, was hard to tell it was the clutch in that case too in both cases it was fairly new clutches so didn't suspect clutch at all, but ultimately had to be faulty parts in that case.
Last edited by FunRun8; 02-12-2016 at 04:59 PM.
02-12-2016, 03:33 PM
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Dang that sucks especially right after a new clutch! I guess its a good as time as ever to replace everything considering im about due for a rebuild. Just started it back up again to see if itd build that random pressure back up and nothing happened lol. So weird! Thanks for your help!
02-12-2016, 04:56 PM
#9
Well again I'm just going based on what I'm reading, and have personally experienced in the past so I wish you luck. Keep us updated as to what you find? But you're not saying that you have a brand new clutch too are you? Not that it can't be a problem still, but that's not what you're saying, you're just commiserating with my story correct?
Random pressure? Is it working now then? Or completely soft peddle with no engagement? Maybe a throw out bearing? But if you're taking it out then yes depending on how old the clutch is may be the time for an entire replacement.
Random pressure? Is it working now then? Or completely soft peddle with no engagement? Maybe a throw out bearing? But if you're taking it out then yes depending on how old the clutch is may be the time for an entire replacement.
Last edited by FunRun8; 02-12-2016 at 05:01 PM.
02-12-2016, 06:47 PM
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Was talking about your situation. Its not a new clutch i just figured it could be something else since it never lost its one inch of play until that day at the light and never seemed to slip. Just started it up again after re-adjusting the push rod. It actually worked for a good couple seconds shifting to 3rd from neutral when stationary. It didnt lurch forward after a quick throtttle blip so I tried a different gear and it didnt go into it. Instead after warming up a tid bit more it died as soon as I pushed the clutch in. At first the clutch felt very nochy. It was accompanied by a grinding noise half way down on the cluth pedal (throwout bearing?).
02-12-2016, 08:12 PM
#11
Sure sounds like it.. But definitely something is wonky with the clutch at this point I don't think you'd be wasting any time or money in a replacement, especially if it's about due based on mileage or heavy use.
Last edited by FunRun8; 02-12-2016 at 08:19 PM.
02-24-2016, 04:27 PM
#14
Very strange 
seems something is hanging up the slave cylinder causing it to over-pressure and therefore blowing out the seals still sounds like a clutch issue, but at this point.................. it's a mind bender.
seems something is hanging up the slave cylinder causing it to over-pressure and therefore blowing out the seals still sounds like a clutch issue, but at this point.................. it's a mind bender.
Last edited by FunRun8; 02-24-2016 at 04:30 PM.
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