Hydrolic Clutch Question

[stdreb27]

Guys,

I have an 06 civic. (hey It's my commuter). Anyway been mainly bullet proof. 140K +.

Hopped in the car tonight, and my clutch started doing weird things.

Peddle was soft. But it would shift, but going from 1st to second it got really soft and almost wouldn't engage. (I wiggled it in)

It repeated. IF I ran for a little bit, then I could get the clutch to engage and go out and in gear. But If I engaged the clutch, disengaged the clutch then re-engaged it in a short period of time, Say within 4-5 seconds, like going from first to second gear. Then the clutch wouldn't fully engage.

Got home and there was fluid in the system. Plenty.

I am confused, because it's basically opposite of my understanding of the clutch system failures. Soft peddle but pumping compresses the air and engages the clutch.

 

[jordanmills]

I don't know anything about hydrolic clutches. I do a good bit of work on civics with hydraulic clutches, though.

Bleed it. It works just like brakes. T he nipple is on a little thing coming out of the transmission on the front passenger side of it, near the radiator.

 

[stdreb27]

I don't know anything about hydrolic clutches. I do a good bit of work on civics with hydraulic clutches, though.

Bleed it. It works just like brakes. T he nipple is on a little thing coming out of the transmission on the front passenger side of it, near the radiator.

That's part of my confusion. I would imagine, if it had air in the system, that it would stiffen up when pumped not soften if it needed to be bled?

(sorry been a long day, I fixed my post to actually make sense)

 

[jordanmills]

That's part of my confusion. I would imagine, if it had air in the system, that it would stiffen up not soften if it needed to be bled?

Not sure about that. It's a cheap thing to try first.

 

[TexasRedneck]

No - air in the system will "soften" it. If pumping it makes it work better, ya have air, or a failing master cylinder on the clutch.

 

[stdreb27]

No - air in the system will "soften" it. If pumping it makes it work better, ya have air, or a failing master cylinder on the clutch.

I said it wrong, It's the opposite. When I pump it, it softens up.

 

[cbigclarke]

Clutch Slave. Change it.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[ROGER4314]

Before you do anything, check the clutch master cylinder for proper fluid level. If the fluid is low....there's a reason for it.

Flash

 

[stdreb27]

Before you do anything, check the clutch master cylinder for proper fluid level. If the fluid is low....there's a reason for it.

Flash

It's not low. This particular slave cylinder is special order from oreilly auto. The zone doesn't have a listing for it and the dealer is also a week out

 

[SR9TEX]

Based on your description my guess would be to replace the slave and bleed the system.

 

[T-FAST]

I owned an 07 civic SI for a long time and with that it did tend to have a problem with leaking clutch master cylinders and the slave cylinder. Might be worth your while to check for leaks. Replacing both is fairly easy.

I would buy all my OEM parts from hondapartsdeals.com

 

[TexMex247]

There are 2 basic checks you can do that will point you in the right direction. First, follow the linkage from the clutch pedal itself and observe the area where it enters the clutch master cylinder under the dash. If you look at it with a flashlight and spot any kind of liquid(brake/clutch fluid is a clear/amber color) then you have a leaking master cylinder. Next, look at the front of your transmission, behind the radiator and locate the slave cylinder. It will have a rigid brake line going to it that feeds it fluid. They typically also have a bleeder screw similar to a brake caliper or wheel cylinder. There will be a rubber boot that encapsulates the rod that pokes out of it. You should be able to use a metal pick to remove the dust boot. If it pours any amount of fluid out when removed, it is leaking externally.
If you remove the top from the master cylinder and open the bleeder screw at the slave, you should easily be able to "gravity bleed" the system. Of course you will want to make sure you keep the level in the master cylinder full. Moving about half a reservoir of fluid through it should be sufficient to get any air out. In theory, the system is fully sealed and should not capable of aerating unless the master cylinder is bypassing(internally leaking) or it has run completely out of fluid. Either way, both are pretty easy DIY jobs whether you need to replace one or both.
The best test for the clutch disk itself is to get the car up to about 30 mph , shift to 3rd rev the motor up to about 4k rpm or so and "dump" the clutch. If the cars bucks, then clutch is biting fine. If it continues to rev high, the clutch disk and pressure plate will need to be replaced. I would not recommend doing this more than once or twice, it is pretty taxing on the disk and pressure plate. Anyhow, hope the info helps, good luck with it.

 

[scap99]

Maybe what feels mushy is the shift fork flexing and about to break...
If you're not leaking fluid, there shouldn't suddenly be air in the system

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[T-FAST]

We are all just kinda shooting in the wind for ya, but all you really need to do is a pin point test and just check over the system and look for faults.

 

[SR9TEX]

Slave......
If masters full as he stated I would assume the master and slave are leak free.A clutch fork breaking on a stock car is so rare I have never even seen or or heard of someone suggesting it as a problem.

 

[stdreb27]

This is the worst possible week for this to happen. Had 2 tests working probably60 hrs this week and my kid and wife are both sick. Basically on 4 hours of sleep a night. I don't do 4 hours of sleep well..

I've been puttin around town. Without being able to depress my clutch for more than a a split second. Basically having to depress my clutch take it out of gear count to 3 then put it in the next gear. Been fun...


Hopefully I can more thoroughly troubleshoot it this weekend.

 

[TexasRedneck]

Sounds to me like a seal has started leaking on the piston, allowing the fluid to escape from the pressure side of the piston back to the reservoir side.

 

[TheDan]

I've been puttin around town. Without being able to depress my clutch for more than a a split second. Basically having to depress my clutch take it out of gear count to 3 then put it in the next gear. Been fun...

Hopefully I can more thoroughly troubleshoot it this weekend.

You get it figured out? It sounds like the master is leaking internally, but I guess it could be the slave as well. You learn to shift without the clutch yet? You really only need the clutch coming off a complete stop; if you're moving you can shift without it. Just takes a little practice matching the revs just right.

 

[stdreb27]

You get it figured out? It sounds like the master is leaking internally, but I guess it could be the slave as well. You learn to shift without the clutch yet? You really only need the clutch coming off a complete stop; if you're moving you can shift without it. Just takes a little practice matching the revs just right.

No, about the only productive thing I accomplished this weekend was cook dinner for my wife twice, watch the kiddo all day Saturday and snake out my wife's bathroom twice. I need a longer snake.

Started my lawn mower to tackle the lawn tall enough bail and was greeted by at least 2 inches of rain. So I said a screw it. Went inside and did my laundry.

 

[stdreb27]

I found a salve cylinder supposed to be in tomorrow. So drop lights and a late night mosquito filled evening under the car is planned...