SOB, I get in the car today and barely have any pressure in the clutch and have a hard time getting it in to gear. So from reading up on this board, I figure its my slave or master cylinder right? Now someone said that this is associated with cold temperatures - why is that? Is it more likely that the cylinder failed altogether and is not just leaking if it happened when it got cold?
Other questions: So now should I check my clutch fluid level and if they look ok I have to replace the cylinders right? What if one is low - can I use motor oil or is that only for the transmission fluid and not the clutch fluid??
if the fluid is fine then your sound like the master cylinder is dead and you can just go buy a rebuild kit from pep boys. if the fluid is low (like really low) you will have to rebleed it.
It's on the slave cylinder. The master cylinder is on the firewall and has the reservoir where you add fluid. The slave cylinder is down on the transmission and there is a line running between the two. You will probably find fluid leaking out of one or the other.
Well I think I'm too dumb to figure this out. I checked the fluid in the master cylinder and it looks a little below the lower line. Low enough that I can see a second hole inside the cylinder?? I guess I'll just try adding a little fluid and see if that fixes it up. I don't think I can do the release valve thing - I don't have jack stands to put the car up on yet.
And to think I have a helm's in the mail right now!! Always works out that way....
Thanks
You don't need jack stands. The slave cylinder is on the front. If you look down inbetween the radiator and the transmission, right under the upper radiator hose, the thing sticking out of the transmission is the slave cylinder. The little nut with the rounded end sticking out towards the front of the car is the bleed valve. Basically how it works is this: The clutch pedal is attached to the master cylinder. When you press on the pedal it compresses the clutch fluid. The pressure travels through the line down to the slave cylinder. The pressure forces a piston inside the slave cylinder to press on the lever sticking out of the transmission. If you are low on fluid the seal on the slave cylinder is probably worn and is allowing some of the fluid to escape every time you step on the clutch. You can rebuild them but it's way easier to just get one from the local auto parts store already rebuilt. To bleed the system (to get air out if the fluid got low enough for air to get sucked in or if you need to put on another slave or master cylinder), you open the bleed valve (by just unscrewing it a little) and have someone else step on the clutch pedal and hold it down, then tighten the bleed valve and have the other person release the clutch pedal. You just keep doing this until no air bubbles are coming out anymore and don't forget to keep adding fluid to the reservoir or air will get in and you will have to start over. I'm sure I have forgotten something but that's basically it. Good luck on the repair job.
Okay, I am going to jump in here. I have told MANY people on this board what to do when this happens to you. maybe this should ge stickied or something, it seems to be a problem that plagues guys with 4th gens.
Okay, open your drivers door. Slide the seat all the way back, look under the dash up onto the firewall where the clutch pedal attaches to the back side of the master cylinder. Look up and down the firewall in that general area. You are looking for fluid leaking. The master cylinder ALWAYS leaks inside the car if the internal seal is bad. That is where I would say 85+% of the leakage takes place. If you find fluid in this area, you can do a couple of things. 1.) you can buy a new Master cylinder. Forget the genuine Honda part, as you can go to Advanced Auto, autozone, O'Reily's etc for the EXACT same Nissin part that Honda uses. You will pay less than half the cost of the Honda Parts store part. The part is sold through one of the parts distributors that the Autoparts places get their parts from. Take your old one in to compare the two. The ones that I have used from the parts store have the exact same part number and have Nissin cast onto the housing. 2.) buy a rebuild kit. The worst thing to do. Just pay the extra money for the entire assembly. A rebuid kit might get you a little more time out of the original unit. 3.) do nothing, just keep adding fluid until one day the master cylinder fails totally. If I were you I would spend about 40 bucks on the new part. And while you are at it you might as well replace the slave too. They should really be replaced as a set. If you decide to do both at the same time, it shouldn't take more than 1 hour to remove the originals and install the new parts. I suggest that you buy a set of line wrenchs to bus the lines loose off of both the master and slave cylinder, this should save you some stripped nuts. Use the proper DOT3, DOT4 brake fluid in the clutch resovoir, bleed the system and voila your done.
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I had read about your suggestion of looking by the firewall before but it got too dark out before I could check and my flashlight died. I was really wondering if I could just top it up for a temp fix but now that I think about it I don't want to risk getting stuck in gear (or in neutral) out on the road.
Well, I'll try the mechanic tomorrow as I think the replacement is too tricky for me. I'm a novice as it is, although I do have a Helm's that is supposedly in the mail. I have to drive 10 hours home on Friday though so I don't want to mess with it and end up making it worse. Thanks for the help.
I just looked it up in my helms, looks like one cotter pin and two bolts for the master, and just two bolts for the slave. Should take an hour tops, with basic hand tools.
Originally posted by yield I had read about your suggestion of looking by the firewall before but it got too dark out before I could check and my flashlight died. I was really wondering if I could just top it up for a temp fix but now that I think about it I don't want to risk getting stuck in gear (or in neutral) out on the road.
Well, I'll try the mechanic tomorrow as I think the replacement is too tricky for me. I'm a novice as it is, although I do have a Helm's that is supposedly in the mail. I have to drive 10 hours home on Friday though so I don't want to mess with it and end up making it worse. Thanks for the help.
This is an extremly easy repair. I think that even the begining novice should have no problem. You can use this as a time to get familiar with your car . You should at least give it a shot before paying a mechanic to do it.
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WARNING: The Surgeon General has determined that motorcycle riding will cause swelling of the testicles, shrinkage of the brain and severe trauma to the ego.
This is an extremly easy repair. I think that even the begining novice should have no problem. You can use this as a time to get familiar with your car . You should at least give it a shot before paying a mechanic to do it.
Yeah. it looks like maybe four 12 mm bolts and one cotter pin. I'd recomend buying some flare wrenches so you dont risk rounding off the line fittings, they are a few bucks each
hmmm, I'm thinking about it - I'll look more carefully tomorrow. I think the limiting factor right now is that it is supposed to be around 30 degrees tomorrow. Not sure my fingers will work at that temp!
hey, I just received your PM about your clutch, now is 4:29 am midnight. lol.....
sorry if it is too late to reply.
anyway, go pop up your hood. stand right in front of your car.
now ask somebody to step on the clutch pedal up and down, up and down....
YOU NEED TWO PEOPLE FOR THIS JOB BTW.
and meanwhile you concentrate and pay attention to the area between your trannmission and radiator. Don't look at anything close to firewall, if so you have gone too far. That release valve is just located right in front of you.
ok, so while somebody is pressing the clutch pedal up and down.... you will only see there is a little FORK looking thingy (like "Y") that moves about 1.5 inches back and forth.
Up to this point, if you see it, then you found it..
then search around that thing. you will see the release valve that is covered with a little cap. Remove the cap, then go get yourself a wrench. (forgot what size) and once you are ready.
Ask the person in car to pump the clutch pedal hard few times (maybe 3 times). then hold the clutch pedal all the way down. At this moment, you have to loosen the nut and you will see some fluid spill out. This action take just a second. you have to loosen the nut and immediately tighten it.
Then you are done!!! just have to keep doing it until the person in the car feel the clutch pedal pressur back to normal then you can stop. And wipe off all the fluid that spill out.
If you still don't understand I can scan my helms to you. I have it on my car just feel lazy to take it.
I changed out both the master and slave cylinders, and the clutch feels 110% better. I paid $90 for both at the local parts store. They are the exact same in every dimension and size. The procedure was conceptually simple, but decievingly frustrating. The only tough part was getting the clevis pin out of the clutch arm pin. There just is minimal room to work with a pair of pliars under the dash. I strullged with it for about 20 minutes, then just drilled the clevis pin out. . .promblem solved. Oh yeah, the top nut on the master cylinder seems nearly impossible to access, you almost need child size hands to reach it. On a "DIY" scale from 1-10 (1=oil change, 10=timing belt installation), I'd give this a 2.5. Nothing complex and no special tools needed, but man, that damn clevis pin about gave me a hernia. . .
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