s2cho

?

NFRAP2

Fix the leak and properly bleed the fluid before trying to troubleshoot any further...

s2cho

leak is very very minimal, like it would take a good year for it to leak 1/2 the reservoir

ahrmike

Its not the leaking thats the problem, its the air that gets in as the fluid leaks out that causes the problems you're mentioning. you need to properly bleed out the lines.

s2cho

looks like ill be busy once the snows gone!

hypforlife32

yeah, about a 80 dollar fix and a couple hours tops of your time. When my master cylinder went i bought a brand new slave cylinder as well. I didn't want to take any chances.

s2cho

any tips that you can give me? looks like the part will be coming in a week or so.

ahrmike

Master cylinder or slave? or both? For the master cylinder, buy a generic cotter pin that fits, you're going to hate Honda Engineering when you attempt to remove the OEM one. Just rip it out with needle nose pliers and replace it with the generic. The other stuff is pretty self explanatory.

slalom44

I had the exact same symptoms a few months ago. My clutch master cylinder was empty. Without any help, here's what I did:

1. Jack up the car and attach a plastic tube (1/8" clear tube from the hardware store, IIRC) to the slave cylinder bleeder valve
2. place the other end of the tube in a small cup or bottle
3. fill the master cylinder with DOT 3 or 4 fluid
4. Have someone press the clutch pedal to the floor. If alone, wedge a stick or something between the seat and clutch pedal to hold it down. I used a 2X4.
5. Open the slave bleeder valve then close it when fluid stops flowing
6. lift up the clutch pedal then press and hold it back down again
7. Repeat step 5 and 6 around a dozen times, topping off the master cylinder when it gets low.

This will purge the air from the line. I still have a tiny amount of free play (around 1/2") at the top of the stroke of my clutch, but that may be normal - I can't remember if it was like that before. Billman suggests removing the slave cylinder to get all of the air out and just open the bleeder and gravity will purge the line, but I didn't have time to do that. Maybe next summer. I can tell you that after bleeding, it's working fine.

I have checked my clutch fluid level periodically, and it hasn't gone down at all. I guess that over 8 years it very gradually seeped out. I see no drips anywhere. I'm not going to replace anything until it drains the master cylinder faster than at least once a year.

s2cho

thanks a ton!!!!