Suspicious clutch behavior.

[thegoat4]

Actually, it's the linkage.

After driving down the highway for 30 minutes or better, my clutch pedal starts to stick. It takes a lot more force to push down, and is slow to come up. It hasn't gotten stuck down yet, but my foot can easily outrun the pedal on the way up.

But, when it cools down, the pedal returns to normal. When it's still hot I can shut down, pump the pedal a bunch, and it frees up somewhat, but it'll get stuck all over again after a couple more minutes of driving.

Anyone had this before? I figure it's that craptastic slave cylinder. I didn't change it with my clutch 9k ago, just the throwout bearing. Nothing has been submerged or stuck. No fluid loss yet.

 

[MAKG]

If you can have a buddy do that after driving and setting the parking brake, you can diagnose further.

Open the bleed screw and then let up the clutch. If it's better, it's the slave. If it's not, it's the master.

You'll have to bleed the clutch afterward (though it may be enough to just push the clutch back down and close the screw), but that will at least let you know if it really is the slave.

I wish I understood why people hate that slave so much. It lasts twice as long as the external form, and doesn't have significant problems with chatter, and has fewer failure modes. Just, once every 150K miles or so, you have to pull the transmission. That's about as often as you would have had to to replace the release bearing on an external setup.

 

[thegoat4]

I don't mind the design so much as the construction. Plastic anything seems junky to me, especially in areas with a lot of heat. I'd much prefer a steel cylinder with replaceable seals to a plastic piece of crap that has to be replaced as a unit.

 

[MAKG]

Plastic doesn't corrode.

NO one made steel slave cylinders. They are all aluminum, if metal at all.

 

[thegoat4]

Yeah, I know, that's why I wish they did.

 

[thegoat4]

Well, I tried that test--hard to coordinate with my buddy and I've got a face full of hot brake fluid to show for it. But, it is the slave dragging. Damnit.

I actually modified the test after a couple of tries. Push the pedal half way down and hold it. When I break the bleeder open, the pedal falls very quickly, so it's not the master dragging. That avoided the whole timing thing and I didn't have to squeeze my face up in there to watch the show.

It isn't THAT hard to pull the tranny, but it's still a hassle.

 

[hurron]

just had similar problem.....get the slave cylinder checked for leak before your clutch gets burned up too.....