Intermittently sticking clutch

Re: Intermittently sticking clutch (rdenton)

Sun, 17 Nov 2013 21:35:27 GMT

Thanks for all the advise.

Ended up being a master cylinder leaking internally.
Ran a seal kit through it and it's back to normal :)

Re: Intermittently sticking clutch (Nightingale)

Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:46:52 GMT

Had a similar issue recently...if I held the clutch down for a long period it wouldnt come back up. Fluid was full. Pumped a few times and it appeared to work fine. Turns out it was leaking internally. Replaced the master cylinder and its all good

Re: Intermittently sticking clutch (Reddtarga)

Fri, 08 Nov 2013 16:47:45 GMT

Just a hint on bleeding the clutch.
If the fluid has turned black it's best to flush it all out, and refill with fresh fluid.

And as s I once found out when using a suction bleeder, that tiny reservoir is very easy to run dry, so watch the level closely.
If it runs dry, the pedal will go straight to the floor and you'll have to start all over again, a PITA.

Re: Intermittently sticking clutch (Steve_A)

Fri, 08 Nov 2013 11:51:06 GMT

I had a similar problem but after leaving the car over night the clutch wouldn't disengage at all. Turned out that the slave cylinder was gone, and I got a replacement from here on the forum.

Its a cheap part but a real pain to replace. You have to go underneath the car and remove an engine mount to get to it! (There might be a better way but I just used the BGB)

If yours is having problems you should be able to tell by looking in from the top of the engine, I had a friend pump the clutch and could clearly see it leaking fluid from it.

Re: Intermittently sticking clutch (rdenton)

Fri, 08 Nov 2013 10:28:07 GMT

Thanks for that.
Had a quick look last night, and the fluid level was a little bit low (maybe, 1.5cm from the max level)...

I topped it up, and haven't had an issue since.
I think I'll bleed it over the weekend and see how I go.

Anyone else had a similar problem?

Re: Intermittently sticking clutch (Reddtarga)

Thu, 07 Nov 2013 14:16:32 GMT

The clutch master cyl is in the frunk on the front bulkhead, in line with the clutch pedal, but bleeding must be done underneath the car.

Intermittently sticking clutch (rdenton)

Thu, 07 Nov 2013 11:28:11 GMT

So I was driving home from work yesterday (hot day, 33 degrees), when my 92 n/a started having clutch issues.

It came on so suddenly, my clutch bite point went from a noticeable distance up, to 1/2 an inch. I had to pump the clutch to change gears a few times. It was on and off - for a few minutes it was normal, and then next thing, each change was a struggle.

I left the car overnight and drove it again this morning - all was good for about 25 minutes of the trip, but then I had another short stick - it was just the one change today though, and then all was well again.

It almost seems to be heat related.

I was planning on checking the clutch master / slave cylinders for leaks tonight, and maybe bleeding the system. Dumb question: Where will I find the master cylinder on a 92 sw20? Is it visible from above, or is it an underneath job? I've got a lack of space at home for getting under the car