kevinkachoww

Hello,

I was driving my car today and I felt 1st and reverse very hard to get into. At one point, I had to start in 2nd gear since I couldn't get into first gear. When I got back home, I parked the car and went to check to see what was going on. I noticed that the clutch master cylinder was leaking and that the clutch fluid was really low. I found most of the liquid leaking through the back of the clutch pedal and not much on the firewall.

My question is should I replace the whole clutch master cylinder and clutch slave cylinder or can I try to salvage this situation by cleaning out all the old dirty clutch fluid and topping it back with fresh new clutch fluid? I'm a bit worried about swapping both parts as I'm not very experienced in bleeding the clutch system and have read horror stories about people getting air trapped in them. I'd appreciate some insight.

I've attached some photos of the reservoir and the clutch master cylinder.

https://imgur.com/a/4yTiKkW

Thanks a lot in advance!

JWN6264

Start with suctioning the old fluid out, clean out the reservoir with a paper towel and clean up the leaked fluid in the cabin.

If this seals the leak, then do the same procedure every month to keep the seals in good shape. I do this every month during driving season.

If the leak persists, then you can look at replacing.

Good luck.

cosmomiller

Many here will frequently (every few months) suck out the clutch fluid (often with a "turkey baster bulb" hence the name of the procedure) and then top it off. Doing this often solves a leak problem and prevents one from occurring.

kevinkachoww

Sounds like a plan. Is there a chance that the clutch system already has air in it and I need to bleed it regardless? The reservoir was really low and below the min line.

I appreciate all the help, thanks a lot!

Car Analogy

Doing a reservoir fluid swap is a perfect way yo maintain the fluid. Much less effective at resolving issues.

Brake fluid is cheap however, and if you keep repeating the reservoir fluid swap, it'll eventually do a decent job if cleaning it.

Each time clutch pressed, fluid mixes. So just a few days of driving you can redo fluid swap.

It'll take a while for leak to stop. Dirty fluid leaves deposits, which are uneven, and as shaft slides in and out of seal, that uneveness results in leak.

Clean fluid has a detergent effect. So it won't be until fluid is clean enough for it to even start helping the leak.

Even if you do a full fluid swap with gravity bleed, the clean fluid will become dirty as the deposits are lifted. So even with ideal full fluid swap fix you'll likely need to follow up with a few turkey baster sessions on reservoir.

With a reservoir only sequence it'll just take forever, and if there is any air, won't help that.

kevinkachoww

Update: Went out to clean out the clutch fluid and filled in fresh fluid. Looks like the problem is persisting. I'm guessing the reservoir got way too low and there is 100% air in the system (saw some air coming out while pumping) since there's play in the clutch toward the top. Going to check around with some shops to see how much it'll cost.

Again thanks for all the suggestions and tips, going to try to get this sorted.

noodels

prop the pedal down overnight ,bit of wood ect if your unable to bleed yourself is worth a try

kevinkachoww

Will try propping the pedal to see if it alleviates. At this point, it might be too dangerous to drive it with how hard it is to get into gear. Going to try bleeding the clutch myself. Any suggestions/tips to not screw it up even more?

Car Analogy

DON'T let reservoir run dry during bleed. Keep topping off.

DON'T spill brake fluid on paint.

Attach a hose to follower cylinder bleeder, so you can see fluid run clear, see bubbles, keep everything clean.

Run hose into a jar (empty soda bottle, drill hole in cap to fit hose into). Or better yet, buy a bleeder bottle.

https://a.co/d/6DJ5Ke1



Crack bleeder loose, then immediately close. Attach hose, then open again and leave open. Watch fluid in hose. Keep topping off reservoir. When fluid runs clear and no bubbles, your done. Close bleeder. Top off reservoir.


Not rocket surgery

Save the Manual Wagons!

In case this wasn't clear, you need to start by doing a complete flush to get all the old fluid and air out of the system. It's not difficult. The gravity bleed video linked in the post above is the method I used.