'86 clutch problem

mrcarson2 · 05-15-2007, 07:24 PM

Hey all, last summer the clutch went out on me, the pedal just went to the floor and felt like the fluid was gone. The reservoir is full and never drains but I can pump the clutch for 30 mins and it never catches and no fluid drains. I belive the clutch line has a hole in it, but the brake fluid reservoir never drains, so what could it be? I am planning on taking it to a mechanic soon but I just wanted someone else's input on to what this could be or if it is a common thing to happen. Thanks. PS. I just went to a junk yard and found a perfect rear plastic sun visor thing and a complete set of sideskirts all for $40! Since mine never came with these and those parts on ebay cost a fortune, I think it was a steal!

Mista 2 · 05-18-2007, 05:54 AM

[QUOTE=mrcarson2;183674]I belive the clutch line has a hole in it, but the brake fluid reservoir never drains, so what could it be? .QUOTE]

the clutch fluid has nothing to do with the brake reservoir. it is called brake and clutch fluid but they have differant reservoirs. clutch slave would have gone but im not too experianced with this issue, sorry

toyotaspeed90 · 05-20-2007, 02:01 AM

mr2's can be a pain in the ass to bleed the clutch system....

if the car is a pre 88 then you could have a leaking master cylinder.... otherwise you could have a leaking slave (all years).... it's recommended to change both... they're relatively cheap.....

mrcarson2 · 06-05-2007, 11:05 PM

Ok so now I think that it must be the master cylinder because i pulled both underbody plastic pieces and found no leaks. I had the slave done a couple of years ago but not the master. I ordered a rebuild kit from advance auto for $16, I hope it is not too difficult to put together as I never did this before. But while I am waiting for the kit to come in I think that I will try to bleed the clutch because it may just have too much air in the line for whatever reason.

TigerZ · 06-09-2007, 03:19 AM

you have the Brake master cylinder and Clutch slave cylinder mixed up. two completley different things.

let me know how this goes beause i am having a similar problem.

mrcarson2 · 06-09-2007, 11:56 AM

Ok, I know the differences between the two, but since I found no leaks under the car, I took out the clutch master cylinder and I tested it out of the car with a little brake fluid in it and pumped it a few times and it would not squirt any fluid out of the area where the banjo bolt connects. I am fairly sure that it should suck fluid out of the reservoir. Before I disconnected the clutch MS I tried to empty the clutch line from the bleeder valve and nothing drained out, however when I had the hose coming from the bleeder valve immersed in a little brake fluid it would get sucked up the hose whenever I would pump the clutch. So now I figure that it must be the clutch MS. I have since ordered a rebuild kit from advance auto parts and it should be in today so I will try that and see if it works. I will post the results of my findings whenever I get it done.

TigerZ · 06-09-2007, 02:23 PM

ok. well i just searched around autozone and found both clutch master cylinder - $50 lifetime warranty. and slave cylinder - $36 lifetime warranty. i think i might just replace both.

and they werent autozone brands either.

mrcarson2 · 06-10-2007, 11:28 PM

Ok I went to autozone and just purchased the master cylinder rebuild kit for $16. It needed to be ordered and they said it would be in in two days so I waited and then called them and it still wasn't in and they could not tell me when it would be so I cancelled the order and went to advance auto parts and same story 2 days shipping but it was there in two days and I rebuilt it today and it now will pump properly. So I installed it in the car and bled the clutch. I didn't do anything to the slave cylinder because I had a new one put on a couple of years ago and just thought that it should be ok. I tried the clutch and it now works! I took the two big plastic underbody pieces off so I can observe if it is leaking anywhere in the clutch line. One thing to make sure of is that the line is bled fully because the first time I bled it by myself it still had air in it and would not engage. If you are having the same problem as I am I would try to bleed the clutch first to see if that is the problem and then after that tear out the master cylinder and pour some brake fluid in the reservoir and hand pump it to see if it is working properly, since mine was not I purchased the rebuild kit and after rebuilding it pumped properly. So the root of my problem was in fact the master cylinder. There are step by step instructions online on how to do all of the work which is what I used. Good luck!

TigerZ · 06-12-2007, 09:34 AM

sweet. good to hear u got it fixed

i had to go to LA day before yesterday.
i was gonna do the rebuild kit but i looked around and a lot of people dont like doing it just cause it can break again, and if im going to all the work to fix it i might as well just replace it.
so i just decided to say screw it and buy brand new master and slave cylinder. preventive maintence ya know? and rather than waiting on shipping i called napa and asked if any store from indio to LA had it. they said i could go to the main wherehouse.<---which was badass.

screw this waiting around for shipping for 2-3 days. A 1 hour drive and i could have the part now. it was pretty sweet the wherehouse is in fontana its freakin huge and by a railroad station with like 5 blue napa semis gettin loaded up. and napa has 10% AAA member discount :P. napa is the shit.

$115 for master and slave cylinders and a thing of brake fluid. Both new and with lifetime warranties

im installing both today so if neither of these fix the problem ill probably cry. lol.
so for those of you in So Cal, dont want to wait on shipping, a short drive to fontana and you can get it now.

mrcarson2 · 06-12-2007, 12:30 PM

Thats awesome! I live in the middle of nowhere with the nearest commercial place 15 miles away so I am used to waiting of things to ship. Replacing both should do the trick but if it still is not working I would suspect the clutch line is leaking. Thats what I thought before but hopefully the clutch doesn't give me anymore problems.

05-15-2007, 07:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
mrcarson2 emardeux Join Date: May 2007 Location: NorthEast Ohio Posts: 10 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	'86 clutch problem Hey all, last summer the clutch went out on me, the pedal just went to the floor and felt like the fluid was gone. The reservoir is full and never drains but I can pump the clutch for 30 mins and it never catches and no fluid drains. I belive the clutch line has a hole in it, but the brake fluid reservoir never drains, so what could it be? I am planning on taking it to a mechanic soon but I just wanted someone else's input on to what this could be or if it is a common thing to happen. Thanks. PS. I just went to a junk yard and found a perfect rear plastic sun visor thing and a complete set of sideskirts all for $40! Since mine never came with these and those parts on ebay cost a fortune, I think it was a steal!

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05-18-2007, 05:54 AM	#2 (permalink)
Mista 2 Cage Fighter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Adelaide, Australia Posts: 463 Thanks: 16 Thanked 21 Times in 21 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	[QUOTE=mrcarson2;183674]I belive the clutch line has a hole in it, but the brake fluid reservoir never drains, so what could it be? .QUOTE] the clutch fluid has nothing to do with the brake reservoir. it is called brake and clutch fluid but they have differant reservoirs. clutch slave would have gone but im not too experianced with this issue, sorry

05-20-2007, 02:01 AM	#3 (permalink)
toyotaspeed90 No Skills Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 2,407 Thanks: 0 Thanked 149 Times in 144 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	mr2's can be a pain in the ass to bleed the clutch system.... if the car is a pre 88 then you could have a leaking master cylinder.... otherwise you could have a leaking slave (all years).... it's recommended to change both... they're relatively cheap.....

06-05-2007, 11:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
mrcarson2 emardeux Join Date: May 2007 Location: NorthEast Ohio Posts: 10 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Ok so now I think that it must be the master cylinder because i pulled both underbody plastic pieces and found no leaks. I had the slave done a couple of years ago but not the master. I ordered a rebuild kit from advance auto for $16, I hope it is not too difficult to put together as I never did this before. But while I am waiting for the kit to come in I think that I will try to bleed the clutch because it may just have too much air in the line for whatever reason.

06-09-2007, 03:19 AM	#5 (permalink)
TigerZ No Skills Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 26 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	you have the Brake master cylinder and Clutch slave cylinder mixed up. two completley different things. let me know how this goes beause i am having a similar problem.

06-09-2007, 11:56 AM	#6 (permalink)
mrcarson2 emardeux Join Date: May 2007 Location: NorthEast Ohio Posts: 10 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Ok, I know the differences between the two, but since I found no leaks under the car, I took out the clutch master cylinder and I tested it out of the car with a little brake fluid in it and pumped it a few times and it would not squirt any fluid out of the area where the banjo bolt connects. I am fairly sure that it should suck fluid out of the reservoir. Before I disconnected the clutch MS I tried to empty the clutch line from the bleeder valve and nothing drained out, however when I had the hose coming from the bleeder valve immersed in a little brake fluid it would get sucked up the hose whenever I would pump the clutch. So now I figure that it must be the clutch MS. I have since ordered a rebuild kit from advance auto parts and it should be in today so I will try that and see if it works. I will post the results of my findings whenever I get it done.

06-09-2007, 02:23 PM	#7 (permalink)
TigerZ No Skills Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 26 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	ok. well i just searched around autozone and found both clutch master cylinder - $50 lifetime warranty. and slave cylinder - $36 lifetime warranty. i think i might just replace both. and they werent autozone brands either.

06-10-2007, 11:28 PM	#8 (permalink)
mrcarson2 emardeux Join Date: May 2007 Location: NorthEast Ohio Posts: 10 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Ok I went to autozone and just purchased the master cylinder rebuild kit for $16. It needed to be ordered and they said it would be in in two days so I waited and then called them and it still wasn't in and they could not tell me when it would be so I cancelled the order and went to advance auto parts and same story 2 days shipping but it was there in two days and I rebuilt it today and it now will pump properly. So I installed it in the car and bled the clutch. I didn't do anything to the slave cylinder because I had a new one put on a couple of years ago and just thought that it should be ok. I tried the clutch and it now works! I took the two big plastic underbody pieces off so I can observe if it is leaking anywhere in the clutch line. One thing to make sure of is that the line is bled fully because the first time I bled it by myself it still had air in it and would not engage. If you are having the same problem as I am I would try to bleed the clutch first to see if that is the problem and then after that tear out the master cylinder and pour some brake fluid in the reservoir and hand pump it to see if it is working properly, since mine was not I purchased the rebuild kit and after rebuilding it pumped properly. So the root of my problem was in fact the master cylinder. There are step by step instructions online on how to do all of the work which is what I used. Good luck!

06-12-2007, 09:34 AM	#9 (permalink)
TigerZ No Skills Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 26 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	sweet. good to hear u got it fixed i had to go to LA day before yesterday. i was gonna do the rebuild kit but i looked around and a lot of people dont like doing it just cause it can break again, and if im going to all the work to fix it i might as well just replace it. so i just decided to say screw it and buy brand new master and slave cylinder. preventive maintence ya know? and rather than waiting on shipping i called napa and asked if any store from indio to LA had it. they said i could go to the main wherehouse.<---which was badass. screw this waiting around for shipping for 2-3 days. A 1 hour drive and i could have the part now. it was pretty sweet the wherehouse is in fontana its freakin huge and by a railroad station with like 5 blue napa semis gettin loaded up. and napa has 10% AAA member discount :P. napa is the shit. $115 for master and slave cylinders and a thing of brake fluid. Both new and with lifetime warranties im installing both today so if neither of these fix the problem ill probably cry. lol. so for those of you in So Cal, dont want to wait on shipping, a short drive to fontana and you can get it now.

06-12-2007, 12:30 PM	#10 (permalink)
mrcarson2 emardeux Join Date: May 2007 Location: NorthEast Ohio Posts: 10 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Thats awesome! I live in the middle of nowhere with the nearest commercial place 15 miles away so I am used to waiting of things to ship. Replacing both should do the trick but if it still is not working I would suspect the clutch line is leaking. Thats what I thought before but hopefully the clutch doesn't give me anymore problems.